Rated people

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Rated People
Type Private
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Key people

Chris Havemann, CEO (appointed Oct 2012)

Andrew Skipwith,founder, former CEO
Products Online tradesmen recommendation and rating service connecting home owners to tradesmen in the UK
Website ratedpeople.com

Ratedpeople.com[1] is an online tradesmen recommendation service that connects homeowners and tradesmen.[2] The service provides homeowners with a source of tradesmen that have been previously rated for their quality of work and tradesmen with the opportunity to gain new business.

The service is free of charge for homeowners who wish to post a job. The homeowners are asked a series of questions about the job including the primary type of tradesman needed (plumbing, electricians), a skill type (electrical wiring), an estimated budget, location and a custom description of the type of work needed. The job is then sent to the appropriate tradesmen where they can issue quotes back to the homeowner. For every job posted, Ratedpeople.com will send back three quotes from interested tradesmen, and allow the homeowner to choose based on previous ratings from other customers. The tradesmen who issue the quotes for each job are charged a fee in order to bid for the work. Prices will vary depending on trade and type of job posted. The service enables homeowners to choose a tradesmen based on previous customer reviews to ensure a standard of quality and evade rogue builders.[3]

History

The company was founded in 2005 by Andrew Skipwith who decided to start the company after a negative experience with a home renovation project, when a builder walked out after completing only half of the work.

In 2011, Rated People's reported revenue generated was approximately £7m with a year over year growth rate of 47% (compounded) over three years.[4]

In October 2012, Skipwith stepped down as CEO, and Chris Havemann was appointed to replace him.[5] Havemann has previously served as president and CEO of E-Rewards, the parent company of online panel firm Research Now.[6]

Andrew Skipwith remains on the company’s board as a non-executive director.[7]

The company has appointed various brand ambassadors including TV personality Phil Spencer [8] and has recently appointed Diffusion PR for their press efforts.[9] Spencer also contributes to the RatedPeople.com blog, with nine guest posts published to date.[10]

Funding

On the 15th of February 2011, Frog Capital[11] announced a £3 million investment into Ratedpeople.com.[12]

Ratedpeople.com has exclusively appointed FirstCapital[13] as their financial advisors to increase their stake in the UK home improvement industry, estimated at around £27 billion in 2011[14] by the Office of Fair Trading.[15]

The Rated People Sponsorship Program

In 2012, Ratedpeople.com launched a sponsorship program with a 'vision to support local groups and make a difference on a community level'.[16] For the pilot scheme, two community groups were chosen: Berkhamsted Sports Centre Swimming Club (BSCSC) and Southwark Children's Brass Band. For both of these groups, Ratedpeople.com's contribution would go towards new equipment, and in the band's case, teaching and day-to-day costs. The pilot scheme also selected Shooting Star CHASE as a supported charity.[17] (visit Shooting Star CHASE's official website)

References

  1. ↑ "Rated People | CrunchBase Profile". www.crunchbase.com. 
  2. ↑ [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/kevinanderson|Anderson, Kevin]] (28 August 2009). "Elevator Pitch: Rated People helps recommend tradespeople". The Guardian. 
  3. ↑ Ross Clark (2012). "Rogue builders: how to avoid them". Telgraph. 
  4. ↑ Lara O'Reilly (13 March 2012). "RatedPeople.com doubles marketing spend". 
  5. ↑ Renovata Partners (09/11/2012). "Rated People Announces Appointment of New CEO". www.renovatapartners.com. Retrieved 28 January 2013. 
  6. ↑ Verrinder, James (2011-06-27). "E-Rewards boss Chris Havemann to step down". www.research-live.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28. 
  7. ↑ Daemon (2012-10-29). "Rated People Announces Appointment of Chris Havemann as New CEO". www.littlegatepublishing.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28. 
  8. ↑ Sara Kimberly (6 January 2012). "RatedPeople.com recruits Phil Spencer for first national TV ad". 
  9. ↑ Daljit. "RATEDPEOPLE APPOINTS DIFFUSION TO BUILD BRAND AWARENESS". Diffusion PR Blog. 
  10. ↑ Spencer, Phil. "Why I Fake It With Astroturf - guest post by Phil Spencer". RatedPeople.com Blog. Retrieved 2013-01-28. 
  11. ↑ Frog Capital. "Rated People Selects Frog Capital for Growth Funding". www.frogcapital.com. 
  12. ↑ Maija Palmer (March 2012). "Tech companies face fight for financing". Financial Times. 
  13. ↑ First Capital. "Rated People Track Record". 
  14. ↑ (PDF). June 2011 http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/markets-work/home-repairs/Research-Report-TNS-BMRB.pdf.  Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ "Office of Fair Trading website". 
  16. ↑ "The Rated People Sponsorship Program". ratedpeople.com. Retrieved 2013-01-28. 
  17. ↑ "Just Giving fundraising page for RatedPeople". www.justgiving.com. 
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