Local startup Wellesley Home Hero says help with house projects is just a text away

Wellesley Home Hero co-founder Adam Stober, having most recently worked for Amazon Web Services and Google, knows a few things about searching for answers and recommendations. But even some of the most popular and familiar technology offerings fall short when the info you need is for local home project services, he says.

“You can buy any product online with confidence and good information, but for home services, there’s nothing like that,” says Stober, a software product builder and product manager who became a Wellesley homeowner with his wife in 2021. “People just end up in a perpetual cycle of being stuck, and their project wish lists grow.”

Locally, residents do seek references and swap suggestions on social media sites. But not everyone is comfortable putting their information online for the world—including spammers—to see.

The lack of an easy way to find, vet and hire service providers, from electricians to painters to roofing contractors, is the inspiration behind Wellesley Home Hero. Stober cited trying to find someone to supply and hang string lights at his own home as an example of the sort of help people seek, and then can let drag on if they don’t find someone right away.

The small business launched last year in private beta mode with an app-and-membership model to help busy people manage their home projects, but now has morphed into a text-based offering. The company now publishes its dedicated customer support number on its site for the first time, offering free advice to local homeowners, with hopes many will then sign on for paid booking services.

“We learned that only the most invested people were willing to learn an app interface,” Stober said. “Most people just want to be able to text.”

Stober’s “eureka moment” about texting stemmed from a realization that some segment of the population would pay for such a premium and convenient service. Wellesley Home Hero uses productivity software to support its capacity to handle inquiries.

Guaranteed Bookings launch

Wellesley Home Hero this month officially launches its text-based service, dubbed Guaranteed Bookings. Stober co-founded Wellesley Home Hero with not-so-secret weapon Eric Pinsker-Smith, a sustainability expert familiar to many in town as a versatile handyman.

The Wellesley Home Hero team handles the up front research on service providers and the initial scheduling. Once a client chooses a provider, the client works directly with the provider, and Wellesley Home Hero negotiates a booking fee up front based on the size of the project ($20 minimum). Advice and initial rough cost estimates in response to inquiries are free (see company FAQ for more details on pricing).

Stober says recommendations may save customers money, as Wellesley Home Hero seeks to find the best match between providers and clients’ needs. You may not need a plumber, for instance, to fix a garbage disposal that just needs a new part and simple installation by yourself or a handyperson (Stober’s pro tip for something homeowners should consider is an automatic water shutoff valve with smartphone access).

Rachel Walerius, who lives down the street from Stober with her husband, two kids and a dog, was an early customer who described herself as being hesitant at first to try the service or spend the money on it. “At first I said, “I can do this stuff myself even though it’s a pain,’ but once I tried [the service] there was really no going back,” she says.

Walerius, a homeowner in Wellesley since 2022 (previously in Newton), has booked services and received advice from Wellesley Home Hero for everything from gutter cleaning to a fridge leak repair and from landscaping to garage door fixes. The service has provided her with peace of mind.

“I didn’t realize how useful it would be to get help finding and researching providers, and avoiding the Google rabbit hole,” Walerius says.

The fully remote-run Wellesley Home Hero has familiarized itself with local providers in part through its employees’ own home projects, but also through those of early clients. The company is building a database—including proficient electricians and others who may not have a strong online presence—that will smooth the process of making recommendations as the business grows. The team behind Wellesley Hero also includes heads of operations and engineering.

Wellesley Home Hero from the start is purely Wellesley focused, though plans are to expand regionally and beyond if the concept catches on.

“There’s a mental health burden that comes with the unpaid work” homeowners find themselves immersed in when when managing home projects, Stober says. “We’re aiming to take a load off your brain.”