Matt
Porch CEO Matt Ehrlichman

Home-improvement data startup Porch this morning launched a new “Porch Premium” service that aims to give home remodelers, contractors and other service providers new tools for generating business — including the ability to let customers contact them from the Porch profiles and project pages of their competitors.

It’s the latest in a series of new initiatives from the fast-growing Seattle startup. The company has compiled large amounts of data — including details on cost — about home improvement projects across the country, and leveraged its position to strike key strategic partnerships with home improvement chain Lowe’s and online real estate site Realtor.com.

The new Porch Premium service, which starts at $50/month, expands beyond Porch’s existing $35/month subscription for home-improvement professionals, which includes the ability to access analytics about home improvement projects in the geographies where the professionals work.

Porch Premium includes all the features of that entry-level subscription but adds a variety of lead-generation tools, including premium promotional slots, special branding on Porch, and the ability to be contacted by potential customers from their competitors’ profile pages.

The approach could create an arms race among home-improvement pros — and a financial boost for Porch —as they jockey to make sure competitors aren’t getting an edge in competing for new business. The company says participants in a pilot program saw a 12x increase in lead generation with Porch Premium.

“We believe PorchPremium will be a difference maker for millions of home improvement professionals because of the overall service and new business they will generate through our network,” says Porch CEO Matt Ehrlichman in a news release announcing the new service.

The company says its core search results will continue to be based on data, not favoring Porch Premium subscribers, in “a commitment to providing a trusted experience to homeowners.”

Porch offers its service for free to homeowners, charging remodelers and other home-improvement professionals for market insights and promotional exposure in specific geographies. The company has grown from 25 employees to 125 employees in the past six months, quickly filling up a new headquarters space on Eastlake Avenue in Seattle.

Porch last year announced $6.25 million in seed funding from investors including “super angel” Ron Conway, former eBay president Jeff Skoll, Facebook’s Javier Olivan and Seattle’s Geoff Entress. A regulatory filing discovered by GeekWire in September signaled plans by Porch to raise up to about $28 million.

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