Hi everyone - Sam here (co-founder of PocketSuite). Happy to answer any questions around the On Demand / SMB / future of work market if you've got them!
What are some of your long term goals? Do you see enterprise companies such as Godaddy using your product to schedule their appointments? Or do you see yourself mainly focused on small businesses?
We (as in PocketSuite) are really focused on the small / service business market. There's a huge opportunity among small/solo business owners selling their time and services, so we are laser focused on that market as of now. Most software that has been created has catered to enterprise companies, so our mission is to bring those efficiencies to the millions of professionals in the U.S. and abroad first and foremost.
The medical field is an interesting one and a unique one at that.
That being said, I see a lot of similarities between a doctor and a home service professional. That is to say, if I find a doctor that I like and trust, I want to go back to that doctor each and every time I have the same ailment -- there is no real upside going back to the well to find a new doctor on the On Demand platforms for the same issue I was having before. Thus once I use DoctorOnDemand for that first time, find that doctor I like, I'm going to move off platform and the next time I need that doctor I will reach out to him/her directly.
Doctors will push for this too to avoid the platform fees and to be able to foster a more direct/warm relationship with the client. (Even though doctors do good, they still have a business to run)
However the uniqueness to the medical field is for many use-cases you only need to see a specialist once. Once I see that specialist, get my health problem resolved, then that's it - relationship over and I'm all fixed up. So I'm sure those On Demand medical platforms benefit from repeat clients needing to find different specialists multiple times throughout their lives.
What do you mean when you say that empowering the ongoing direct relationship between professional and client is going to be the next huge wave in platform creation?
My interpretation was that he meant most of the businesses nowadays does very similar things, so relationship between professionals and clients is what's going to separate them.
And that the next wave of innovation will be platforms that supports this.
We tried not to call out any one co specifically :)
HomeJoy was ideal for the first-time client -- cheap clean, convenient booking/payment experience.
However trust & quality of the work wasn't there. The platform economics for cleaners was pretty unfavorable which caused low quality workers to be part of the network. For high quality cleaners, it was increasingly common to take clients "off platform" so that they wouldn't have to pay the platform fee.
Plus as a homeowner, once I find the cleaner I like and trust, I want to keep using them and give them business directly (without the middleman).
Thumbtack has had a lot of success with its pay-for-lead model. Reminds me of ServiceMagic before it transitioned to HomeAdvisor with an updated business model. (More detail in the pay-per-lead space: http://pocketsuite.io/leads-online)
Thumbtack does a great job matching up the first time client with a business in a concierge-type way -- I (the homeowner) say what services I need, then a few pros can reach out with quotes and pitch themselves. I get my choice of the litter!
Some clients like that way of discovering new pros. Other clients like to browse reviews in a Yelp type structure. Other clients like the On Demand type of convenience. Other clients like to search for discounts and deals similar to Groupon.
Thumbtack has made the lead model cool again - kudos to them.
