Jonathan Swanson, Co-Founder and President of www.thumbtack.com joins me on Bay Area Ventures to talk about his journey from White House economic aide to building a high-growth fast-pace technology startup.

Founded in 2009, Thumbtack is now a Silicon Valley “unicorn”, a privately held company with a valuation over $1 billion. The company is vying to be the Amazon of the gig-economy by creating the ultimate marketplace for getting things done. To do so, Thumbtack provides a marketplace for local services allowing one to find providers for just about anything from music lessons, to construction, to janitorial services, to … you name it. Unlike most sites which force you to do all the research for choosing the best provider, Thumbtack asks you some meaningful questions and then does the research for you, finding you the best match for your project.

Jonathan, is a thoughtful, highly motivated entrepreneur who looks at Thumbtack as a way to help people around the world improve their lives. He helps independent providers find customers but, also helps them promote their skills, increase their confidence and change their lives. With over a million active customers and hundreds of thousands of providers, Thumbtack is out performing Yelp and Angie’s List and could be the Yellow Pages for the twenty-first century and beyond. Jonathan provides some solid examples of people who have achieved great personal success on the Thumbtack platform.

Jonathan, talks about forming his founding team and figuring out how to scale Thumbtack for growth. Thumbtack has over 1,000 employees in San Francisco, Salt Lake City and the Philippines. Founded in Washington, DC, Jonathan and his co-founders moved Thumbtack to San Francisco to take advantage of the Bay Area’s ecosystem. Hear how he compares the Bay Area way of business to other areas.

There is a powerful interview with a brilliant young entrepreneur. It’s a must listen.

Recorded on February 13, 2017, on SiriusXM Channel 111, Business Radio Powered by the Wharton School. Bay Area Ventures airs live on Mondays at 4:00pm Pacific Time, 7:00pm Eastern Time.

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