Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Heimbuch.
Dave, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a 20-year marketing and sales startup veteran who has participated in several successful ad tech exits including Photobucket and Shazam. The majority of my career was spent in Chicago, but I moved to Dallas in 2013 to escape the brutal winters. Before putting our house for sale in Chicago, I used the app “Thumbtack” to hire a handyman to perform some minor repairs. While talking with my brother-in-law (a firefighter in the Cincinnati area) about the repairs, he mentioned that he and other firefighters at his station all do this type of work.
I followed up with more questions about firefighters and learned that their schedules allow them 20 days off each month and most have second jobs to keep busy and supplement their incomes. Drawing on my Marketing background I asked him what firefighters use to promote their services, and he indicated that they primarily use referrals and word of mouth. If they wanted to pay to sign up with apps like Thumbtack, they simply would have to compete with everyone else. Knowing firefighters deserve better, we set out to create a home service app that was exclusive to firefighters who were looking for opportunities to work during their off-duty days.
That app that launched in DFW, named Hidrent, now helps firefighters supplement their incomes during their 20 off-duty days each month by connecting them with people looking for a safe, trustworthy and reliable handyman.
Has it been a smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, and challenges still continue. The most difficult obstacle to overcome in the beginning was finding a development partner to build the app. Creating a mobile application is not cheap, and we had to rely upon our own savings along with funds from friends and family to get started. After an app is created then you still need to generate awareness and advertising costs money as well. Additionally, we have a two-sided marketplace where the supply “firefighters” must meet the demand “homeowners”. You can’t have people asking for help if you don’t have any firefighters available to support them, and it’s hard to add firefighters to a platform when there are no jobs being requested. The timing of building both sides is tricky and took some trial and error.
At this time, we are still looking for additional funding from institutional investors to grow and scale our business outside of Texas. Raising funds is a full-time job in and of itself and creates other challenges. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s definitely been worth it.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Hidrent story. Tell us more about it.
As I mentioned before, we help firefighters supplement their incomes during their 20 off-duty days each month by connecting them with people looking for a safe, trustworthy and reliable handyman. We are the only home service marketplace that exclusively uses off-duty firefighters to supply the labor. People feel safe having a firefighter in their homes, they trust and admire them, and they enjoy giving back to those who help protect them.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The Gig Economy has fundamentally changed the world of work. It operates on technology platforms that aim to connect workers looking for flexible work arrangements with people or businesses who need them in a centralized location. Some platforms are focused on certain niches, such as car rides, dog walking, or other specific services. While others are broader, connecting gig workers with customers for tasks ranging from housekeeping services to resume writing.
Gig workers accounted for more than $1.4 trillion of total U.S. income in 2018. According to Technavio Research Report, the Online Home Services Market that Hidrent fits into, alone is forecasted to grow to $870 billion from 2018 to 2022.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hidrent.com
- Phone: 1-833-HIDRENT
- Email: hello@hidrent.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hidrent
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