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
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.