On Monday, BuildZoom announced it has raised $2.2 million. With the latest round of infusion, we asked the Co-Founder, Jiyan Wei, where the company is headed next.

“Our goal is to bring transparency to consumers who are shopping for a home improvement contractors. There is a knowledge gap that exists in hiring contractors. We want to bring transparency to pricing and duration of the project — we have the data.”

The Buildzoom platform is designed to help consumers look for home improvement contract work by matching them with the best-fitting professionals for the job. Buildzoom takes a far different approach than just relying on relying on customer reviews and other info. Buildzoom applies a Big Data method and analyzes more than 50 million construction permits, 3 million contractor profiles, and other third party data sources. The company’s Big Data approach is based on assorted information from state licensing boards and Better Business Bureaus; crowd sourcing via social media sites; insurance and bonding status; and self-provided information. A five star rating is just one piece of the puzzle — mitigating the risk of infrequent ratings.

“What distinguishes us from an Angie’s list is our unique focus on the regulated marketplace,” Jiyan Wei said. Buildzoom has created a two-sided marketplace — one for customers to get recommendations on contractors and the other for home improvement service providers to be listed for prospective projects.

The company will use its funds for hiring and growth. BuildZoom was founded in 2012 by Jiyan Wei and David Petersen and is based in San Francisco. The company previously raised a first seed round of $1.4 million.

The post Big Data for Big Renovations: A Conversation with BuildZoom appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Home and trade lead sites often take a simple, category-by-category directory approach, but visual contractor rankings might make more sense, argues Jiyan Wei, cofounder of BuildZoom. Wei says his team canvassed home and trade sites such as Angie’s List, ServiceMagic, Redbeacon, Thumbtack and others and noted that many don’t do much more than provide basic listing data and reviews.

Even if the home and trade sites are generating good traffic, they aren’t always producing a lot of leads, says Wei. That’s because consumers don’t have much to go on. Enter BuildZoom, which has developed a comprehensive ranking system. The company’s Big Data approach is based on assorted information from state licensing boards and Better Business Bureaus; crowd sourcing via social media sites; insurance and bonding status; and self-provided information.

BuildZoom’s “Pro Ranking” provides consumers with information on up to 25 candidates per job. For $100 a month, the site will provide consultative services to drive up ranking and search results, including access to copywriters, photo placement, etc. “The core asset is consumer value,” notes Wei. Sites that charge commissions to contractors could have an element of built-in bias. The site also earns revenue from sponsored placement.

The site, founded in August 2010, is angel-funded and currently receives more than 250,000 unique visitors a month. More than 8,000 businesses have registered, and it has 120 paying customers. A handful of salespeople have been assigned in Arizona and Southern California, but they are not limited geographically.

“We already have lots of East Coast contractors related to remodeling projects in New Jersey, Georgia and North Carolina,” says Wei. He adds that home and trade is seen as just the first of many possible verticals for the company.

The post Applying Big Data to Home and Trade (and Other Verticals?) appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.