Sask. tech entrepreneurs seeing early success with app that lets homeowners post jobs for contractors to bid on
After their air conditioning unit died on one of the hottest days of last summer, two friends started tossing around the idea of developing an app for home repairs and renovations.
Within a year, Saskatoon co-founders Dave Belgrave and Steve Dillabough launched Fixter.
The app connects homeowners with contractors. Homeowners can post pictures and a description of their job and contractors can bid on it, something that Belgrave said works for both sides.
“Basically it’s kind of like public tenders, but we’re doing it for residential homeowners. It’s free for homeowners to use, and free for contractors to register, sign up, and bid on projects, and they pay a small fee if they get awarded the job,” Belgrave told CTV News.
“We just wanted to make it as simple and easy to use as possible for homeowners and contractors alike.”
The app went live in March and so far Belgrave said more than 100 jobs have been posted, 300 contractors have signed up and more than 1,000 homeowners have registered.
“We’re only a couple months in and were already seeing just a ton of traction, so there’s obviously a huge appetite for something like this,” Belgrave said.
Belgrave said Fixter is expanding to Regina and other parts of the province, with a goal to be nationwide one day.
One of the things that Belgrave said separates them from the competition is the lack of subscription fees for contractors, just one of the reasons Paul Langlois, owner and operator of Langlois Journeyman Electricians, uses the app.
“I’ve gone through three different advertising apps where they did do just that, asked for $300 a month fee and then you have to pay also every time that you want to bid. It was all take and no give,” Langlois said.
“I don’t pay a monthly fee, I wind up only paying when I get the job. So I can bid on as many projects I like, it’s been really awesome.”
Langlois said one of the other things that keeps him coming back to Fixter is their willingness to listen and make changes.
“This is different. The fact that they’re actually listening and taking the feedback and changing,” Langlois said.
“I sent a message at one point about a feedback I had and it was changed that night. That’s huge. The next morning I woke up and I was using what I had suggested.”
Langlois said with all sorts of apps and programs impacting other industries, such as curbside grocery pickup, it was only a matter of time before something like Fixter came along for home renovations.
Fixter can be found on the App store and on the Google Play store.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
BREAKING Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.