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Aug 20, 2018 · 32m · how-i-built-this

Angie's List: Angie Hicks (2016)

Angie Hicks · 16m spoken Guy Raz · 9m spoken Joel Kreitz · 1m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of NPR's How I Built This, host Guy Raz interviews entrepreneur Angie Hicks about bootstrapping Angie's List from a grueling door-to-door referral newsletter into a nationwide, multi-million-dollar home services platform. Hicks shares candid insights on overcoming founder burnout, asserting her executive leadership after business school, and pioneering a trusted, verified review economy in the digital era.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Guy holds 35.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Guy as informed peer 1.8 Guest teaching 1.3 Guest disagreement 0.1 Guy pushing back 0.4
05100:0010:0020:0030:001:35–4:18 · Guy as informed peer 1/10 Post-College Crossroads and the Spark in Columbus Guy Raz sets up the origin narrative and asks open exploratory questions about Angie's initial reaction to Bill Osterle's pitch. Hicks explains her conservative background and why she did not fit the classic risk-taking entrepreneur archetype.4:18–7:33 · Guy as informed peer 1/10 The Grinding Reality of Door-to-Door Sales Raz empathetically prompts Hicks on the emotional difficulty of cold door-to-door selling as an introvert. Hicks describes the grueling early days and her breakdown in a bakery where she resolved not to quit.7:33–10:38 · Guy as informed peer 2/10 Print Advertising Breakthrough and Coining Angie's List Raz summarizes Hicks's early operation as acting like a human Google. Hicks explains how print ads replaced door-to-door sales and how the business adopted the name Angie's List.10:38–13:54 · Guy as informed peer 2/10 Acquiring Unified Neighbors and the Value of Perseverance Raz observes that Hicks contrasts sharply with typically over-optimistic founders. Hicks clarifies and reframes her core entrepreneurial strength as pure perseverance rather than visionary risk-taking.13:54–18:35 · Guy as informed peer 1/10 Mid-Show Break and Harvard Business School Teaser Raz questions the logic of attending Harvard Business School while the startup was gaining traction. Hicks explains her burnout and shares the humorous conflict where the company's financial model claimed they could not afford to bring her back.18:35–22:48 · Guy as informed peer 3/10 Transition to the Web and Fostering a Trust Economy Raz draws parallels between Angie's List's trust economy model and modern sharing platforms like Airbnb and Uber. Hicks explains why non-anonymous reviews and high-stakes home repair decisions motivated users to contribute paid content.22:48–26:25 · Guy as informed peer 2/10 National Scaling, Chicago Expansion, and Contractor Relations Raz asks about strategic missteps during national expansion and how conflicting reviews are evaluated. Hicks details the Midwestern rollout strategy and how allowing contractors to respond created balanced accountability.26:25–31:06 · Guy as informed peer 2/10 Epilogue: ANGI Homeservices and Lasting Legacy During the How You Built That segment, Raz challenges guest Joel Kreitz for introducing screens to live baseball games, playfully asserting he has surrendered the magic of live sports. Kreitz defends the app by citing aging fan demographics.1:35–4:18 · Guest teaching 1/10 Post-College Crossroads and the Spark in Columbus Guy Raz sets up the origin narrative and asks open exploratory questions about Angie's initial reaction to Bill Osterle's pitch. Hicks explains her conservative background and why she did not fit the classic risk-taking entrepreneur archetype.4:18–7:33 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Grinding Reality of Door-to-Door Sales Raz empathetically prompts Hicks on the emotional difficulty of cold door-to-door selling as an introvert. Hicks describes the grueling early days and her breakdown in a bakery where she resolved not to quit.7:33–10:38 · Guest teaching 1/10 Print Advertising Breakthrough and Coining Angie's List Raz summarizes Hicks's early operation as acting like a human Google. Hicks explains how print ads replaced door-to-door sales and how the business adopted the name Angie's List.10:38–13:54 · Guest teaching 2/10 Acquiring Unified Neighbors and the Value of Perseverance Raz observes that Hicks contrasts sharply with typically over-optimistic founders. Hicks clarifies and reframes her core entrepreneurial strength as pure perseverance rather than visionary risk-taking.13:54–18:35 · Guest teaching 1/10 Mid-Show Break and Harvard Business School Teaser Raz questions the logic of attending Harvard Business School while the startup was gaining traction. Hicks explains her burnout and shares the humorous conflict where the company's financial model claimed they could not afford to bring her back.18:35–22:48 · Guest teaching 2/10 Transition to the Web and Fostering a Trust Economy Raz draws parallels between Angie's List's trust economy model and modern sharing platforms like Airbnb and Uber. Hicks explains why non-anonymous reviews and high-stakes home repair decisions motivated users to contribute paid content.22:48–26:25 · Guest teaching 1/10 National Scaling, Chicago Expansion, and Contractor Relations Raz asks about strategic missteps during national expansion and how conflicting reviews are evaluated. Hicks details the Midwestern rollout strategy and how allowing contractors to respond created balanced accountability.26:25–31:06 · Guest teaching 1/10 Epilogue: ANGI Homeservices and Lasting Legacy During the How You Built That segment, Raz challenges guest Joel Kreitz for introducing screens to live baseball games, playfully asserting he has surrendered the magic of live sports. Kreitz defends the app by citing aging fan demographics.1:35–4:18 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Post-College Crossroads and the Spark in Columbus Guy Raz sets up the origin narrative and asks open exploratory questions about Angie's initial reaction to Bill Osterle's pitch. Hicks explains her conservative background and why she did not fit the classic risk-taking entrepreneur archetype.4:18–7:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Grinding Reality of Door-to-Door Sales Raz empathetically prompts Hicks on the emotional difficulty of cold door-to-door selling as an introvert. Hicks describes the grueling early days and her breakdown in a bakery where she resolved not to quit.7:33–10:38 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Print Advertising Breakthrough and Coining Angie's List Raz summarizes Hicks's early operation as acting like a human Google. Hicks explains how print ads replaced door-to-door sales and how the business adopted the name Angie's List.10:38–13:54 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Acquiring Unified Neighbors and the Value of Perseverance Raz observes that Hicks contrasts sharply with typically over-optimistic founders. Hicks clarifies and reframes her core entrepreneurial strength as pure perseverance rather than visionary risk-taking.13:54–18:35 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Show Break and Harvard Business School Teaser Raz questions the logic of attending Harvard Business School while the startup was gaining traction. Hicks explains her burnout and shares the humorous conflict where the company's financial model claimed they could not afford to bring her back.18:35–22:48 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Transition to the Web and Fostering a Trust Economy Raz draws parallels between Angie's List's trust economy model and modern sharing platforms like Airbnb and Uber. Hicks explains why non-anonymous reviews and high-stakes home repair decisions motivated users to contribute paid content.22:48–26:25 · Guest disagreement 0/10 National Scaling, Chicago Expansion, and Contractor Relations Raz asks about strategic missteps during national expansion and how conflicting reviews are evaluated. Hicks details the Midwestern rollout strategy and how allowing contractors to respond created balanced accountability.26:25–31:06 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Epilogue: ANGI Homeservices and Lasting Legacy During the How You Built That segment, Raz challenges guest Joel Kreitz for introducing screens to live baseball games, playfully asserting he has surrendered the magic of live sports. Kreitz defends the app by citing aging fan demographics.1:35–4:18 · Guy pushing back 0/10 Post-College Crossroads and the Spark in Columbus Guy Raz sets up the origin narrative and asks open exploratory questions about Angie's initial reaction to Bill Osterle's pitch. Hicks explains her conservative background and why she did not fit the classic risk-taking entrepreneur archetype.4:18–7:33 · Guy pushing back 0/10 The Grinding Reality of Door-to-Door Sales Raz empathetically prompts Hicks on the emotional difficulty of cold door-to-door selling as an introvert. Hicks describes the grueling early days and her breakdown in a bakery where she resolved not to quit.7:33–10:38 · Guy pushing back 0/10 Print Advertising Breakthrough and Coining Angie's List Raz summarizes Hicks's early operation as acting like a human Google. Hicks explains how print ads replaced door-to-door sales and how the business adopted the name Angie's List.10:38–13:54 · Guy pushing back 0/10 Acquiring Unified Neighbors and the Value of Perseverance Raz observes that Hicks contrasts sharply with typically over-optimistic founders. Hicks clarifies and reframes her core entrepreneurial strength as pure perseverance rather than visionary risk-taking.13:54–18:35 · Guy pushing back 1/10 Mid-Show Break and Harvard Business School Teaser Raz questions the logic of attending Harvard Business School while the startup was gaining traction. Hicks explains her burnout and shares the humorous conflict where the company's financial model claimed they could not afford to bring her back.18:35–22:48 · Guy pushing back 0/10 Transition to the Web and Fostering a Trust Economy Raz draws parallels between Angie's List's trust economy model and modern sharing platforms like Airbnb and Uber. Hicks explains why non-anonymous reviews and high-stakes home repair decisions motivated users to contribute paid content.22:48–26:25 · Guy pushing back 0/10 National Scaling, Chicago Expansion, and Contractor Relations Raz asks about strategic missteps during national expansion and how conflicting reviews are evaluated. Hicks details the Midwestern rollout strategy and how allowing contractors to respond created balanced accountability.26:25–31:06 · Guy pushing back 2/10 Epilogue: ANGI Homeservices and Lasting Legacy During the How You Built That segment, Raz challenges guest Joel Kreitz for introducing screens to live baseball games, playfully asserting he has surrendered the magic of live sports. Kreitz defends the app by citing aging fan demographics.

speaking balance: gold is Guy, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Guy 63% · guest 37%0:00 · Guy 63% · guest 37%3:00 · Guy 12.6% · guest 87.4%3:00 · Guy 12.6% · guest 87.4%6:00 · Guy 18.4% · guest 81.6%6:00 · Guy 18.4% · guest 81.6%9:00 · Guy 18.3% · guest 81.7%9:00 · Guy 18.3% · guest 81.7%12:00 · Guy 49.1% · guest 50.9%12:00 · Guy 49.1% · guest 50.9%15:00 · Guy 20.5% · guest 79.5%15:00 · Guy 20.5% · guest 79.5%18:00 · Guy 34.5% · guest 65.5%18:00 · Guy 34.5% · guest 65.5%21:00 · Guy 13.5% · guest 86.5%21:00 · Guy 13.5% · guest 86.5%24:00 · Guy 36.7% · guest 63.3%24:00 · Guy 36.7% · guest 63.3%27:00 · Guy 65.4% · guest 34.6%27:00 · Guy 65.4% · guest 34.6%30:00 · Guy 74.3% · guest 25.7%30:00 · Guy 74.3% · guest 25.7%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 30:15 Joel Kreitz defends gamifying live baseball

Kreitz pushes back against Raz's critique that phones ruin the stadium atmosphere by citing concrete data on the rising median age of baseball viewers to justify digital engagement.

 Hardest push from Guy ▶ 29:51 Guy Raz challenges the stadium screen concept

Raz directly challenges Kreitz's app premise, arguing that going to a ballgame should be about disconnecting from devices rather than gamifying live at-bats on a smartphone.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:13 Angie Hicks redefines what makes an entrepreneur

When Raz characterizes her as uniquely un-optimistic compared to typical founders, Hicks educates him by explaining that successful entrepreneurship is fundamentally about enduring the hard parts through perseverance rather than starting with visionary hype.

 Guy holds their own ▶ 20:27 Guy Raz connects Angie's List to modern platform economics

Raz demonstrates industry perspective by linking Angie's List's paid review system to the contemporary trust and sharing economies later popularized by Airbnb and Uber.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicGuy as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementGuy pushing backWhy
Post-College Crossroads and the Spark in Columbus 1100 Guy Raz sets up the origin narrative and asks open exploratory questions about Angie's initial reaction to Bill Osterle's pitch. Hicks explains her conservative background and why she did not fit the classic risk-taking entrepreneur archetype.
The Grinding Reality of Door-to-Door Sales 1100 Raz empathetically prompts Hicks on the emotional difficulty of cold door-to-door selling as an introvert. Hicks describes the grueling early days and her breakdown in a bakery where she resolved not to quit.
Print Advertising Breakthrough and Coining Angie's List 2100 Raz summarizes Hicks's early operation as acting like a human Google. Hicks explains how print ads replaced door-to-door sales and how the business adopted the name Angie's List.
Acquiring Unified Neighbors and the Value of Perseverance 2200 Raz observes that Hicks contrasts sharply with typically over-optimistic founders. Hicks clarifies and reframes her core entrepreneurial strength as pure perseverance rather than visionary risk-taking.
Mid-Show Break and Harvard Business School Teaser 1101 Raz questions the logic of attending Harvard Business School while the startup was gaining traction. Hicks explains her burnout and shares the humorous conflict where the company's financial model claimed they could not afford to bring her back.
Transition to the Web and Fostering a Trust Economy 3200 Raz draws parallels between Angie's List's trust economy model and modern sharing platforms like Airbnb and Uber. Hicks explains why non-anonymous reviews and high-stakes home repair decisions motivated users to contribute paid content.
National Scaling, Chicago Expansion, and Contractor Relations 2100 Raz asks about strategic missteps during national expansion and how conflicting reviews are evaluated. Hicks details the Midwestern rollout strategy and how allowing contractors to respond created balanced accountability.
Epilogue: ANGI Homeservices and Lasting Legacy 2112 During the How You Built That segment, Raz challenges guest Joel Kreitz for introducing screens to live baseball games, playfully asserting he has surrendered the magic of live sports. Kreitz defends the app by citing aging fan demographics.

Statements from this episode (12)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Co-founder Bill Oesterle funded Angie's List's first year via friends
“He said, like, why don't you move to Columbus and we can start a business. I'll raise a little bit of money from, you know, friends and enough to get you through the first year, but I want you to commit for a year.”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 2:27
Assertion Supported
Angie's List was modeled after Indianapolis service Unified Neighbors
“But in Indianapolis, he was introduced to a little business called Unified Neighbors that had been around since the early seventies, which was basically a list of who was good and who wasn't in the city for home improvement. And so when he moved to Columbus, h…”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 3:55
Assertion Supported
Angie's List launched in 1995 with a $19 call-in membership
“19 dollars. So 19 bucks for the year. We were a magazine and a call-in service. So during the day, you'd call in, and you could ask me for the name of a plumber or an electrician, and then in the evening, I would go out door-to-door and also ask for reviews.”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 5:24
Disclosure
Hicks: Angie's List started with $50,000 in initial funding
“We raised 50,000 dollars, yeah.”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 8:02
Disclosure
Hicks: Angie's List was originally named Columbus Neighbors
“It was called Columbus Neighbors.”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 9:53
Assertion Supported
Angie's List acquired 1,000 members in its first year
“We ended up signing up a thousand members in the first year”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 10:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bill Oesterle warned Hicks the company might not afford her MBA return
“By that point Bill had hired a chief operating officer Who had conservatively modeled the business in such a way that after I had agreed to come back, Bill had to call me and say we may not be able to afford you.”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 17:37
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Angie's List realized half of early signups came via basic website
“Bill asked, so how's that website working one day? And we realized it was like, you know, half of our signups were coming in over this little website.”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 20:03
Insight
Home service hiring is a high cost-of-failure decision for consumers
“I call these like the high cost of failure decisions, right? I mean, it's a time when you probably know the least about what you're buying. You're spending a lot of money and if it goes wrong, it could potentially ruin your largest asset. Your house.”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 22:07
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Angie's List opened 100 markets in 18 months
“So in about 18 months, we opened a hundred markets.”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 23:26
Assertion Supported
Angie's List reached over 3 million paid members by 2016
“We have over three million paid members.”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 24:06
Insight
Occasional complaints reveal more about a business than perfect glowing reviews
“I honestly believe you learn more when you can see a company that has a couple of complaints here and there than you do about a company that has all glowing reviews.”
Angie Hicks Aug 20, 2018 ▶ 24:22
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