How HomeStars’ Brian Sharwood built a business out of building homes
Entrepreneur and HomeStars President Brian Sharwood
Being a contractor and being an entrepreneur may seem like diverse career choices, but Brian Sharwood says they have a common thread. “I love building and fixing things, whether it be houses or companies.” It was while renovating his house that he came across Homestars, a startup where he’s now President. He had recently purchased a home and found the process of finding good contractors based on online referrals frustrating. He met Homestars founder Nancy Peterson at a home show, and immediately took to the idea. “I thought the idea was fantastic, and started using the site right away,” Brian says.
Brian comes from an entrepreneurial background – he did his MBA at one of the top entrepreneurship schools, and ran and eventually sold a restaurant with a staff of 12 in the ’90s. His first entrepreneurial venture was out of necessity – it was 1991 mid-recession and no one else would hire him, so he decided to start the restaurant with only three months experience as a waiter. It was while running his own consulting business years later that he was presented with the opportunity to join the Homestars team. “Even though I knew there would be a period of not getting paid, I saw there was a big opportunity, and offered my services,” he says. “Very glad I did.”
Homestars is an online community of homeowners and home improvement companies in Canada and the U.S. It allows homeowners to find reputable renovators and retailers, and has a database of almost 2 million companies. Homeowners can rate and review companies and contractors, some of which have over 900 reviews to date. Since Brian joined HomeStars they have raised a round of angel financing, built a sales team from one rep to five, and are currently looking to hire more. The site features have expanded, and they launched the “Best of” awards in 2008 – in 2009 they had ceremonies in four cities with over 200 winners. Brian’s focus for HomeStars in the near future includes building a solid base of reviews and companies in more Canadian cities, and later this year in a number of U.S. cities.
Brian’s previous entrepreneurial experience has helped him at HomeStars because he understands the personal attachment that comes with owning a business. “I understand that personal attachment from running my own company,” he says, “and take a very personal interest in making sure it succeeds.” He also understands that a startup is 24/7. “You need to be thinking about it and caring for it all the time. In order for it to grow, it needs love and attention all the time,” he says.
He says persistence and patience are probably the two biggest traits he feels are important to being an entrepreneur. “There’s a misconception that you become an entrepreneur and there’s an event or a particular incident that defines the business – and sometimes there is,” he says. “More often it’s the hard work of building and laying groundwork for bigger and better things. There will be long plateaus, where things don’t seem to be moving. That’s when you need to persist and be patient. Things will start happening again if you continue to serve your customers and build the business.”
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You can reach Brian on Sprouter at @bsharwood.
7 Responses to “How HomeStars’ Brian Sharwood built a business out of building homes”
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Thanks for the profile. Makes me sound like I know what I’m doing…
How about revenue?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Brian. Brian said: Looking good for Homestars! Check out this article about Homestars and our President Brian http://bit.ly/bFXaZQ [...]
Brian’s a great guy, and he’ll take Homestars to exciting new places! Thank you for your help with the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation and http://yeghelp.ca.
-Jerry
Altek,
HomeStars has a tested revenue model. We have listings that are premium, with pictures, unlimited text and add sponsored links in targeted locations around the site. It doesn’t, however, affect the ratings and reviews. Those are consumer opinions, and the minute we start messing with those, we lose trust with consumers. Without trust, we have no business. Our long-time customers understand that.
Had the pleasure of meeting Brian and the HomeStars team and founders, all great people and any of the local services businesses in the Toronto area I’ve spoken with who are on HomeStars swear by the quality leads they get there.
You you could edit the webpage name Sprouter » How HomeStars’ Brian Sharwood built a business out of building homes to something more specific for your blog post you write. I liked the post however.