Philly-based Startup seeking advice for launching in Pittsburgh

[Cj Koch]

What's up BP! I've been thinking about what the best way would be to launch my startup in the greater Pittsburgh area so I thought why not just ask as I know there are a lot of very smart and creative people here.

I launched DirectSubs in Philadelphia a couple years back, it connects real estate investors with local contractors for their flips, rentals, renovations and new construction projects. I knew from experience that some sort of unified hub would benefit investors and contractors alike. There's over 1000 users here in Philly using the service (which is still free) and I'm interested in rolling it out to Pittsburgh. I know there's a robust real estate market there plus we're practically neighbors so it just makes sense.

Any suggestions on the best ways to get the word out to investors & local contractors?

I need to populate the platform with enough local users in order to achieve "critical mass" so it can begin functioning at a high level. No wrong answers here and any questions or comments are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for any consideration!

CJ

[Anthony Angotti]

Quote from @Cj Koch:

What's up BP! I've been thinking about what the best way would be to launch my startup in the greater Pittsburgh area so I thought why not just ask as I know there are a lot of very smart and creative people here.

I launched DirectSubs in Philadelphia a couple years back, it connects real estate investors with local contractors for their flips, rentals, renovations and new construction projects. I knew from experience that some sort of unified hub would benefit investors and contractors alike. There's over 1000 users here in Philly using the service (which is still free) and I'm interested in rolling it out to Pittsburgh. I know there's a robust real estate market there plus we're practically neighbors so it just makes sense.

Any suggestions on the best ways to get the word out to investors & local contractors?

I need to populate the platform with enough local users in order to achieve "critical mass" so it can begin functioning at a high level. No wrong answers here and any questions or comments are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for any consideration!

CJ

 The PIttsburgh Real Estate Investor facebook groups are pretty active and would be a good place to start. 

The way licensing for contractors work in the Pittsburgh area though is a total mess and getting a contractor in the city vs in the suburbs is a mess. You won't have a problem getting people most likely, but you're going to run into issues with a mashup of contractors not really qualified to do work. Just my opinion. 

[Cj Koch]

Quote from @Anthony Angotti:

Quote from @Cj Koch:

What's up BP! I've been thinking about what the best way would be to launch my startup in the greater Pittsburgh area so I thought why not just ask as I know there are a lot of very smart and creative people here.

I launched DirectSubs in Philadelphia a couple years back, it connects real estate investors with local contractors for their flips, rentals, renovations and new construction projects. I knew from experience that some sort of unified hub would benefit investors and contractors alike. There's over 1000 users here in Philly using the service (which is still free) and I'm interested in rolling it out to Pittsburgh. I know there's a robust real estate market there plus we're practically neighbors so it just makes sense.

Any suggestions on the best ways to get the word out to investors & local contractors?

I need to populate the platform with enough local users in order to achieve "critical mass" so it can begin functioning at a high level. No wrong answers here and any questions or comments are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for any consideration!

CJ

 The PIttsburgh Real Estate Investor facebook groups are pretty active and would be a good place to start. 

The way licensing for contractors work in the Pittsburgh area though is a total mess and getting a contractor in the city vs in the suburbs is a mess. You won't have a problem getting people most likely, but you're going to run into issues with a mashup of contractors not really qualified to do work. Just my opinion. 

 Thanks so much Anthony, I really appreciate your advice and suggestions.