New Delhi: Nothing compares, well almost, like a well-paying job where you get to do what you love or you excel at the work you are doing. Not many will even think about leaving the job and start afresh, a venture of their own and turn it into a billion-dollar firm.
This is what Angie Hicks did in 1995 when, at the age of 22, she was offered a pleasant, easy consulting job. She turned down the offer and went ahead to co-found Angie’s List which later became Angi, a venture which is now worth over $1.2 billion.
Angie Hicks did not work out or plan anything related to business as a few days before her graduating from DePauw University, she had a consulting job in Washington, D.C., with a $40,000 starting salary. Things were moving on in that direction until she received a call, an unexpected call, from her former boss, Bill Oesterle. Oesterle, a venture capitalist restoring an old house in Columbus, Ohio.
Bill Oesterle noticed the potential for a service that would connect homeowners with reliable contractors and he called upon Angie Hicks to co-found Columbus Neighbors with $50,000 in seed capital for $20,000 annual salary.
This job involved responsibilities, including door-to-door sales, that Hicks just hated.
“I’m very shy. Going door to door like that was my worst nightmare,” said Hicks while talking to CNBC.
She was doubtful and unsure about taking the plunge hence she consulted her grandfather for a sage, judicious advice. He responded in a minimal yet insightful way.
“What’s the difference between being 22 and looking for a job, and being 23 and looking for a job?” Convinced, she started with Columbus Neighbors.
A college fresher, Hicks moved to Columbus and began work from a tiny, 100-square-foot office. She would often work alone as Oesterle juggled his full-time finance job. She handled difficult tasks ranging from borrowing holiday card mailing lists to parading through town to promote the fledgling service.
Battling her shyness which made sales pitches overwhelming, Hicks devised strategies to push through. “I practiced scripts, set small goals, and celebrated every membership I sold,” she said. Within a year, she had signed up 1,000 members, enough to attract investor confidence and by 1996, the company rebranded to Angie’s List.
It all started as a call-in service and newsletter, growing into a digital powerhouse, connecting millions of homeowners with service providers for everything from repairs to cleaning. Oesterle left his corporate role in 1998 to join Hicks full-time.
In 1999, the headquarters were relocated to Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana.
With the passage of time, ANGI kept on modifying itself.
In 2016, it transitioned to a free-to-use model, relying on contractors’ advertising fees and premium memberships for revenue. Today, it dominates the $90 billion US home services market with $1.3 billion in revenue in 2023.
