New Marketplace For Services, Thumbtack.com, Launches

Website Aims to Transform Local Services as eBay and Amazon Have Done for Products

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (December 8, 2009) -- After more than a year in private development, Thumbtack (www.thumbtack.com) launched its innovative local services marketplace today. With a vibrant community, powerful matching features, and a comprehensive set of safety tools, Thumbtack offers a secure online community that directly connects consumers to local service providers.

With more than 15,000 providers already online, Thumbtack offers the most convenient place to find, compare and book local services. With a few mouse clicks, users can find any type of help they need, from the ordinary (tutors, painters, cleaners, translators) to the quirky (rap teachers, cartoonists, belly dancers, henna body artists).

"The local service market, though enormous, is highly fragmented, fraught with inefficiencies, and largely transacted offline," said Marco Zappacosta, Founder and CEO of Thumbtack. "Just as eBay and Amazon moved products online, Thumbtack aims to lead the transition of services online. We know this goal is ambitious, but the trend is inevitable and Thumbtack is poised to create this change."

Consumers spend more than $500 billion on local services every year according to the Department of Labor, yet, existing local service marketplaces either serve a limited niche of services or only provide consumers with reviews but no booking mechanism or provider tools. Thumbtack's marketplace makes thousands of services available, uses patent-pending matching technology, and allows users to easily compare price, availability, location, and other detailed provider information. For unusual requests not instantly available in the marketplace, Thumbtack offers a free personal concierge service that will find consumers any service they need within 24 hours.

In addition to Thumbtack's powerful search, comparison, booking and personal concierge features, the marketplace includes more than a dozen safety tools that allow consumers to verify the identity of all providers. Thumbtack aims to establish itself as a leading consumer and safety advocate in the local service market by automatically vetting each provider as well as offering additional consumer protection tools including identity verification, criminal background screens, professional license checks, and customer testimonials and reviews. "Trust is the essential ingredient when purchasing a local service," said Thea Mason, a personal chef in San Francisco. "Thumbtack's unparalleled safety tools protect consumers and allow me to build a permanent online reputation that helps me attract new clients."

Thumbtack was founded in August of 2008 and received a round of financing in June of 2009 from a group of investors including the Co-founder and former Chairman & CEO of Logitech and an early investor of Angie's List. Thumbtack's Advisory Board is led by senior leadership from eBay. Based in San Francisco, Thumbtack is making its powerful marketplace available nationwide and is focusing initial growth in the San Francisco Bay Area.

About Thumbtack
Thumbtack (www.thumbtack.com) is a trusted marketplace where consumers can find, compare, and book local services. By making it easier, more affordable, and safer than ever before to find and book services, Thumbtack aims to transform a broad swath of the local service market as eBay and Amazon have done for products.

For more information, contact:
Jonathan Swanson
910.447.9269
press@thumbtack.com
www.thumbtack.com/press

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