Houzz

Houzz
Headquarters Palo Alto, CA, USA
Area served Worldwide
Founder(s) Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen
President Alon Cohen
CEO Adi Tatarko
Industry Remodeling and Interior design
Employees 300+
Website Houzz.com
Alexa rank 232 US[1]
Users 25 million+ monthly unique visitors
Launched February 2009

Houzz is a web site and online community about architecture, interior design and decorating, landscape design and home improvement. The Houzz platform and mobile apps[2] feature interior and exterior home photos, articles written by architects, interior designers and home design experts, product recommendations, and a user forum. The company was founded in 2009 and is based in Palo Alto, California.

History

Houzz co-founders Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen launched the site in February 2009 as a result of their own remodeling project. Tired of cutting pages out of magazines for their inspiration file, they created an online photo database for people in the process of building, remodeling and decorating.[3] In November 2010, Houzz released an app for the iPad.[4] The Android version of the app was released in December 2012.[5] By August 2013, the iPhone/iPad apps had been downloaded millions of times[6] and the website featured millions of images.[6]

Funding

In September 2010, Tatarko and Cohen secured $2 million in first-round funding[7] and began hiring a staff for their office in Palo Alto. The round was led by Oren Zeev,[8] from Orens Capital who joined Houzz's Board of Directors. In 2011, Houzz secured $11.6 million in a Series B round led by Sequoia Capital and other investors.[9] Alfred Lin, a VC at Sequoia and former senior executive at Zappos, joined Houzz’s board of directors. In 2013, Houzz announced a Series C of $35 million led by NEA and GGV capital, with participation by Sequoia Capital, Comcast Ventures, KPCB and David Sacks.[10][11] In 2014, Houzz announced it had closed a $165 million financing round, led by Sequoia with participation from existing investors Oren Zeev, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), GGV Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), as well as new participants DST Global and T. Rowe Price.[12]

Home design photo database

As of December 2014, there were millions of images of home interiors and exteriors on Houzz.[13] Homeowners browse photos by room, style and location, and bookmark photos in personal collections the site calls “ideabooks.” Images had been added to ideabooks hundreds of millions of times. Users can click on an image to learn more about the designer, ask a question, and learn about products tagged in the photos.

Editorial content

An editorial staff in Palo Alto and contributors write daily design articles for the Houzz homepage and newsletters.[14]

Professional directory

Houzz has a directory of home improvement professionals who use the site to connect with homeowners.[15][16]

Reception

CNN named Houzz App of the Week, calling it "The Wikipedia of interior and exterior design sites".[17]  The magazine Real Simple called Houzz "the online equivalent of clipping décor images from magazines".[18] Bloomberg Businessweek called Houzz "An online antidote to the housing bust."[16] Architectural Digest wrote, "This app will stoke your imagination."[19]  TechCrunch wrote, "Houzz appears to be a decent idea that's been executed well."[20]  The Mercury News wrote, "You'll find ,,, ideas for your swipe file there that you and your architect can both contribute to and comment on."[21] The Wall Street Journal said “Houzz is ... a well of inspiration at the tip of your swiping fingers" and asserted that the app is one of the few nongame apps on iOS that have a 5 star rating.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Alexa - Houzz". Alexa Internet. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  2. ↑ BOB TEDESCHI (18 January 2012). "Before Tearing Out a Wall, Check Your Phone". Personal Tech. New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  3. ↑ Kurutz, Stevens (March 21, 2012). "Houzz Proud". New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  4. ↑ Wauters, Robin (November 11, 2010). "Heads Up, Home Design Freaks: Houzz Launches New iPad App, Raises $2M". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ Carney, Michael (August 27, 2013). "The numbers say Houzz has lit a fire under the home remodeling market". PandoDaily. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lardinois, Frederic (September 10, 2013). "Adi Tatarko of Houzz: Bootstrapping Was The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Us". TechCrunch.
  7. ↑ Robin Wauters (11 November 2011). "Heads Up, Home Design Freaks: Houzz Launches New iPad App, Raises $2M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Oren Zeev". People. CrunchBase. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  9. ↑ Lauren Goode (19 December 2011). "Exclusive: Houzz Brings Home $11.6 Million in Series B Funding". All Things D. Dow Jones & Company Inc. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Fredric Lardinois (29 January 2013). "Exclusive: Home Remodeling Platform Houzz Raises $35M Series C Round Led By NEA and GGV Capital, Launches Paid Pro+ Accounts". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  11. ↑ Colleen Leahey (31 May 2013). "Houzz's Unconventional Route to the Big Leagues". Fortune. Dow Jones. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  12. ↑ http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/01/houzz-raises-165m-series-d-led-by-sequoia-to-fuel-international-expansion/
  13. ↑ with-rabid-demand-from-overseas-home-design-favorite-houzz-looks-to-triple-its-international-reach-in-2015
  14. ↑ Houzz (February 23, 2013). "Houzz: A Year in Review". Houzz. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  15. ↑ KATHERINE BOEHRET (4 April 2012). "Professional Decorating Ideas in the Houzz". The Digital Solution. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 NICK LEIBER (14 March 2012). "An Online Antidote to the Housing Bust". Profiles. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  17. ↑ "Houzz on CNN". YouTube. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  18. ↑ Real Simple: 60. September 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ↑ "Design Apps on Tap". Architectural Digest. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  20. ↑ Rob Wauters (11 November 2010). "Heads Up, Home Design Freaks: Houzz Launches New iPad App, Raises $2M". CrunchBase. AOL Inc. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  21. ↑ Richard Taylor Zillow (28 April 2011). "How to talk to an architect". MercuryNews.com. San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  22. ↑ Tedeschi, Bob (January 18, 2012). "Before Tearing Out a Wall, Check Your Phone". New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2012.

External links