AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — RealWork Labs, a pioneer in helping Home Service companies improve their web presence and generate hyperlocal leads via their software solution, announces, that it has closed $2.5 million in funding led by LiveOak Venture Partners as well as added Krishna Srinivasan (co-founder of LiveOak Venture Partners) and John Berkowitz (EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Founder and CEO of OJO Labs, and Co-Founder of Yodle) to the board of directors. The funds will be used to accelerate product development in order to further enhance customer value and manifest the company’s vision for the Home Service market.
RealWork Labs was founded in Fall 2020 in Austin, Texas by former Yodle/Digital Pharmacist alumni: Pierce Birkhold, and Rusty Fincke. Their extensive background in the SMB space has played a significant role in the company’s meteoric growth during their first year in business. The early addition of Krishna Srinivasan and John Berkowitz to the Board will help lay the foundation for long term client retention and sustainability as the company continues to expand.
“We have known the founders both by reputation and by working with them previously, as being simply exceptional in building and scaling software solutions that target SMBs. The incredible traction the company has had in such a short period of time is both a testament to the founders’ abilities in this area and the magnitude of the market opportunity,” said Krishna Srinivasan, board member and Founding Partner at LiveOak Venture Partners.
Traditional online marketing gets businesses found locally, relative to their office location. This approach may work for restaurants or law firms- where customers drive to the business- but it has never made sense for Home Services as they drive to their customers. RealWork Labs fixes this by allowing clients to not only get found on location, but also social proof their quality work to neighbors nearby, delivering highly relevant messaging without any intrusive tracking. RealWork reimagines word of mouth marketing and how to get and convert more customers for field businesses, and put owners and their teams back in control of their internet presence.
“I am delighted to join the board of directors for RealWork Labs, and support incredible fellow Austin entrepreneurs transform the service company space. As an entrepreneur myself, I know first-hand how valuable the support and wisdom of fellow leaders can be. I’m thrilled at the opportunity to pay it forward, and help another forward-looking Austin startup continue to make an impact,” said John Berkowitz.
So far in its first year, RealWork Labs has grown explosively to nearly 500 Home Service customers like HVAC, Roofers, and Plumbers. They have 30 full time employees, including the recent addition of experienced product and technology executive, Morten Moeller as Chief Product Officer to further build and deliver on the company’s vision.
“What we are building isn’t just another ‘platform’ or dashboard that customers look at once in a while. We are disrupting how customers, technicians and business owners build trust and interact with one another- it’s social engineering through technology.” said Pierce Birkhold. “You’ve never seen anything like this.”
“The opportunity for Pierce, Warren and I to work together again, alongside LiveOak is a huge advantage for RealWork Labs,” said Rusty Fincke. “By focusing on customer retention and creating a people first culture, we are building a strong base for continued growth.”
About RealWork Labs
RealWork Labs is 100% based in the US and headquartered in Austin, TX. We follow First Principle Thinking which seeks to challenge what we think we know, throw out assumptions, and start with every problem from the ground up to build true solutions. After 17 years of smartphones, there’s yet to be a meaningful transformation for Home Services having technology in their technicians and customers hands. With common sense, easy to use systems, RealWork Labs democratizes content marketing and social proofing to your staff, and decentralizes your business from your office address to out in the field, where your customers live. By showcasing video testimonials, reviews, photos of your quality work and reputation to neighbors nearby around every job, your team replaces the expensive SEO services and lead companies that tend to cost more than they’re worth. The ‘Labs’ in RealWork is a commitment to research and innovation for Home Service Businesses that drives value in ways no one has thought to do. You’ve never seen anything like this.
About LiveOak Venture Partners
LiveOak Venture Partners is a venture capital fund based in Austin, Texas. With over 20 years of successful venture investing in Texas, the founders of LiveOak have helped create nearly $5 billion of enterprise value. While almost all of LiveOak’s investments begin at the Seed and Series A stages, LiveOak is a full life cycle investor focused on helping create category leading technology and technology-enabled service companies headquartered in Texas. LiveOak Venture Partners has been the lead investor in over 40 exciting high-growth Texas-based companies in the last eight years including ones such as CS Disco, Digital Pharmacist, OJO Labs, Opcity and TrustRadius.
