Angie’s List pioneered the concept of offering local ratings and reviews for local service providers—think plumbers, roofers, home contractors–online.

Background:

Angie’s List, co-founded by Angie Hicks, started off in 1995 as a small, bootstrapped local “ratings and reviews” business focused on home and lawn-care services. Company reps had literally gone door-to-door to acquire subscribers, but the company slowly grew and carved out a unique position nationwide in the large, highly fragmented and historically inefficient local-services market. Battery participated in a growth investment round at a critical point in the company’s history in 2008. At that time, the business model worked in a small number of markets, but it needed capital and expertise to expand across the U.S. The company’s partnership with Battery allowed that to happen.

Battery’s Impact:

• Helped build out the executive team, with a particular emphasis on online-marketing talent;
• Provided deep counsel on product and pricing strategy, as well as M&A strategy;
• Steered the team through smart and steady growth nationwide, fending off competitors and copycats along the way; and
• Supported continued investment in marketing to drive growth, while guiding the team on reducing the cost of customer acquisition—all while increasing retention rates and lifetime customer value.

Outcomes:

• The company scaled to be the dominant player in its market, garnering millions of subscribers worldwide.
• NASDAQ:  ANGI, November 2011
• In 2017, IAC announced plans to acquire Angie’s List and combine it with IAC’s HomeAdvisor to form a new publicly-traded company called ANGI Homeservices Inc.