• Sweeten

  Participated · Series A · Oct 2015

  Sweeten operates a closed marketplace that connects homeowners with only the most qualified, pre-vetted contractors. Contractors undergo a 10-point inspection and an interview before joining the platform, and Sweeten follows projects from start to finish on the site with real project photographs. Project sizes range from $15,000 to $1 million, with an average project around $100,000, and the site has approximately $300 million in deals posted. The company monetizes by taking a sliding-scale "success fee" from contractors when jobs are completed. Launched in 2011 and led by cofounder and CEO Jean Brownhill-Lauer, Sweeten is currently available only in New York City. The company plans to use its Series A funding to expand to two more cities soon. Sweeten operates a marketplace that lets homeowners post renovation, decoration, or repair jobs and matches them to reviewed and qualified contractors and designers. Its matching technology selects professionals based on factors such as project start date, cost estimate, location, style and project duration; contractors then bid and the top three to five matches are returned with reviews and ratings. The marketplace has facilitated projects ranging from a few thousand dollars up to $15 million for a single project and has done more than $100 million worth of renovations through the platform since June. Sweeten charges contractors between 1.75% and 3.75% per transaction, according to the NY Business Journal. The company launched out of beta after a bootstrapped test period led by co-founder Jean Brownhill Lauer, who started the service after difficulty finding the right contractors for her own renovation.

No current team members are available.