Goodnest gets out of the way

Leading New Zealand home services platform Goodnest (goodnest.co.nz) is changing the way it helps Kiwis get jobs done by local professionals, moving from a 'Book a pro' model to a 'Find a pro' model.

Founder James MacAvoy said the change would see Goodnest directly connect people needing jobs done with local tradies. “Previously we've been obsessed with handling everything from booking times to billing and payments, but so many jobs are actually pretty tricky to book and require lots of guesswork.

“We wanted to reduce this friction for our customers so we've been running a series of trials and experiments. The upshot is that we realised it was more convenient for Goodnest to get out of the way and let the local pro work out the details with the prospective customer directly. So we built that and it has gone live this week.”

Mr MacAvoy said it meant local trade and service professionals could find new jobs and customers at the drop of a hat. “There’s no subscriptions or fixed costs - the person who will do the work liaises directly with the person who wants the job done. We don't charge consumers one cent.

“The only money that will change hands is a small fee paid to Goodnest by the local professional who is put in touch with an interested customer, but it is completely free for now as we want to encourage people to try it out. And if the customer is not keen, there won’t be any fee at all.”

In other exciting news, Mr MacAvoy said former Trade Me executive Jimmy McGee has been appointed as interim CEO of Goodnest.

“Jimmy's a shareholder and has been involved behind the scenes for a few years. He has a wealth of experience with businesses like ours and it's great having his energy and nous on board.”

Goodnest initially provided a concierge-style service for home cleaning. It has expanded well beyond cleaning, to provide Kiwis with the choice of more than 330 trades and services jobs. To date it has helped more than 35,246 Kiwis complete more than 183,823 jobs. “We want to be the number one place Kiwis turn to for help in and around their homes,” Mr MacAvoy said.

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