Jul 28, 2000 02:40 PM ET
Handyman Online, Domania nail a link
By Phil Adamsak, dbusiness.com
BEAVERTON, Ore. and BOSTON, July 28 (dbusiness.com) -- Handyman Online, an
online contractor-referral service, today said it is partnering with
Domania.com, an information site for homeowners.
Domania.com of Boston will link to Portland-based Handyman for homeowners with
repair or remodeling projects, to provide free referrals to Handyman's bank of
pre-screened local contractors.
Handyman has formed similar alliances with other home-resource Websites,
including OurHouse.com and CornerHardware.com. It offers free referral to
screened, qualified home-improvement contractors.
Handyman operates on the West Coast, Denver and Chicago, and is adding more
cities. It has more than 600,000 contractors on its rolls, and has served more
than 65,000 homeowners.
Domania.com provides asset-management information to homeowners. This includes
records of home sale prices, home price estimates and property tax tools. It
also carries its own columnist, Domaniac, to bring humor to real estate.
Both companies are privately held and venture capital financed. Handyman
recently closed a $24 million round of venture funding from a group led by
Technology Crossover Ventures.
Domania is bankrolled by CMGI @Ventures, the venture-capital affiliate of CMGI
Inc., a network of Internet companies.
Eric Doebele, president and co-founder of Handyman (www.handmanonline.com), has
said, "We're focused on becoming not only a critical link between homeowner and
contractors, but a resource center for the industry itself." A contractor
himself, Doebele said, "I know first-hand that this industry is one of the most
fragmented and independent businesses out there."
Steven Kropper, chief executive of Domania.com (www.domania.com), said, "Real
estate consumers increasingly think holistically about their homes as
investments to manage, demanding a (Web) destination that marries planning to
buy, sell or manage a home with a range of real estate and home-service
|
