Why Thumbtack Is Buying Setter

By Amit Chowdhry ● Dec 9, 2020
  • Leading local services marketplace Thumbtack recently announced the acquisition of Toronto-based home management platform Setter. These are the details.

Leading local services marketplace Thumbtack recently announced an acquisition that will enable the company to provide detailed home care and maintenance action plans, deepening its relationship with homeowners. Thumbtack is adding this powerful new capability to further assist homeowners through its acquisition of Toronto-based home management platform Setter.

This acquisition is expected to drive even deeper loyalty and engagement while accelerating Thumbtack’s already robust growth. And as the company continues to create great experiences in-home services, it has seen 15 million unique households use its marketplace in the last year.

Homeowners are spending nearly half of all home improvement dollars on home maintenance projects. However, most homeowners don’t have plans or programs for managing maintenance in a way that helps them avoid crises and costly repairs.

And with Setter, Thumbtack will introduce one of the first personalized maintenance services for homeowners across the U.S.

Through the acquisition, Thumbtack can now offer any homeowner the opportunity to plan, budget, and complete the right home maintenance projects while providing savings, and convenience. And Thumbtack homeowners will receive a virtual home consultation led by a home care expert.

During this video consultation, homeowners will share the condition of critical parts of their home including roofs, heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing, windows, doors, etc. Following the consultation, a dedicated home specialist will use data-driven insights to develop personalized plans that homeowners can easily understand and use to complete both urgent repairs and seasonal maintenance projects.

KEY QUOTES:

“This acquisition will allow Thumbtack to become a critically important partner for homeowners who want to be sure they have an ongoing program in place to protect their most important asset — their home. Delivering this new maintenance program alongside Thumbtack’s instant access to skilled home service professionals will help put home care on autopilot.”

— Marco Zappacosta, co-founder and CEO of Thumbtack

“Thumbtack now has the capabilities to help homeowners better understand the jobs that need to be done around their homes. With our regular maintenance programs, we can stop emergencies before they happen. Homeownership is hard. Together with Thumbtack, we can give our homeowners both a game plan and a way to tackle their to-dos all on one platform.”

— David Steckel, co-founder and President of Setter

“Thumbtack set out to innovate and create great experiences around home services and in the process created a multi-billion dollar business. By handling future to-dos for homeowners, Thumbtack will now also deliver the peace of mind that comes from having a trusted partner for managing homeownership.”

— Lily Sarafan, co-founder and CEO of Home Care Assistance and Thumbtack board member