StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Nov 28, 2016 · 29m · how-i-built-this

Angie's List: Angie Hicks

Angie Hicks · 16m spoken Guy Raz · 8m spoken Brett Johnson · 46s spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of How I Built This, host Guy Raz interviews Angie Hicks, detailing how she overcame early operational hurdles and intense sales burnout to transform Angie's List from a cramped, manual call-in directory into a multi-million-dollar digital home services empire.

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 32.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Guy as informed peer 1.7 Guest teaching 1.1 Guest disagreement 0.1 Guy pushing back 0.6
05100:0010:0020:001:13–5:30 · Guy as informed peer 1/10 Post-Graduation Uncertainty and Moving to Columbus Guy Raz facilitates the origin narrative with gentle chronological prompts as Angie Hicks recounts graduating college, moving to Columbus, and securing her first member from a neighbor's church directory.5:30–10:14 · Guy as informed peer 2/10 Door-to-Door Sales Struggles and Bakery Turning Point Angie recounts the emotional difficulty of door-to-door sales as an introvert and the transition to print ads. Guy Raz synthesizes her early phone matching role as functioning as a human Google.10:16–13:28 · Guy as informed peer 3/10 Expanding to Indianapolis and Hiring First Employees Guy notes that Hicks diverges from the stereotypical hyper-optimistic entrepreneur profile. Hicks agrees and reframes her core entrepreneurial superpower as raw perseverance.13:32–18:12 · Guy as informed peer 2/10 Mid-Roll Break and Narrative Teaser Guy challenges the premise of leaving a high-growth startup for business school. Hicks clarifies that hands-on survival had outpaced her foundational business knowledge and she needed perspective.18:14–23:50 · Guy as informed peer 3/10 Assuming CMO Role and Initial Digital Transition Guy draws parallels between Angie's early model and modern sharing economy platforms. Hicks explains why homeowners willingly pay for and submit reviews due to the high cost of failure in home improvement.23:50–26:33 · Guy as informed peer 1/10 Review Integrity, Contractor Rebuttals, and Brand Notoriety Angie details the policy of letting contractors post rebuttals and the importance of emotional composure. The exchange wraps up with lighthearted banter about local contractor recognition.26:36–28:52 · Guy as informed peer 0/10 Show Credits, Producer Acknowledgments, and Contact Info Standard post-interview outro, production credits, a brief listener-submitted business spotlight on Fire Drops lozenges, and promo ads.1:13–5:30 · Guest teaching 1/10 Post-Graduation Uncertainty and Moving to Columbus Guy Raz facilitates the origin narrative with gentle chronological prompts as Angie Hicks recounts graduating college, moving to Columbus, and securing her first member from a neighbor's church directory.5:30–10:14 · Guest teaching 1/10 Door-to-Door Sales Struggles and Bakery Turning Point Angie recounts the emotional difficulty of door-to-door sales as an introvert and the transition to print ads. Guy Raz synthesizes her early phone matching role as functioning as a human Google.10:16–13:28 · Guest teaching 1/10 Expanding to Indianapolis and Hiring First Employees Guy notes that Hicks diverges from the stereotypical hyper-optimistic entrepreneur profile. Hicks agrees and reframes her core entrepreneurial superpower as raw perseverance.13:32–18:12 · Guest teaching 2/10 Mid-Roll Break and Narrative Teaser Guy challenges the premise of leaving a high-growth startup for business school. Hicks clarifies that hands-on survival had outpaced her foundational business knowledge and she needed perspective.18:14–23:50 · Guest teaching 2/10 Assuming CMO Role and Initial Digital Transition Guy draws parallels between Angie's early model and modern sharing economy platforms. Hicks explains why homeowners willingly pay for and submit reviews due to the high cost of failure in home improvement.23:50–26:33 · Guest teaching 1/10 Review Integrity, Contractor Rebuttals, and Brand Notoriety Angie details the policy of letting contractors post rebuttals and the importance of emotional composure. The exchange wraps up with lighthearted banter about local contractor recognition.26:36–28:52 · Guest teaching 0/10 Show Credits, Producer Acknowledgments, and Contact Info Standard post-interview outro, production credits, a brief listener-submitted business spotlight on Fire Drops lozenges, and promo ads.1:13–5:30 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Post-Graduation Uncertainty and Moving to Columbus Guy Raz facilitates the origin narrative with gentle chronological prompts as Angie Hicks recounts graduating college, moving to Columbus, and securing her first member from a neighbor's church directory.5:30–10:14 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Door-to-Door Sales Struggles and Bakery Turning Point Angie recounts the emotional difficulty of door-to-door sales as an introvert and the transition to print ads. Guy Raz synthesizes her early phone matching role as functioning as a human Google.10:16–13:28 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Expanding to Indianapolis and Hiring First Employees Guy notes that Hicks diverges from the stereotypical hyper-optimistic entrepreneur profile. Hicks agrees and reframes her core entrepreneurial superpower as raw perseverance.13:32–18:12 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Mid-Roll Break and Narrative Teaser Guy challenges the premise of leaving a high-growth startup for business school. Hicks clarifies that hands-on survival had outpaced her foundational business knowledge and she needed perspective.18:14–23:50 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Assuming CMO Role and Initial Digital Transition Guy draws parallels between Angie's early model and modern sharing economy platforms. Hicks explains why homeowners willingly pay for and submit reviews due to the high cost of failure in home improvement.23:50–26:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Review Integrity, Contractor Rebuttals, and Brand Notoriety Angie details the policy of letting contractors post rebuttals and the importance of emotional composure. The exchange wraps up with lighthearted banter about local contractor recognition.26:36–28:52 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Show Credits, Producer Acknowledgments, and Contact Info Standard post-interview outro, production credits, a brief listener-submitted business spotlight on Fire Drops lozenges, and promo ads.1:13–5:30 · Guy pushing back 0/10 Post-Graduation Uncertainty and Moving to Columbus Guy Raz facilitates the origin narrative with gentle chronological prompts as Angie Hicks recounts graduating college, moving to Columbus, and securing her first member from a neighbor's church directory.5:30–10:14 · Guy pushing back 0/10 Door-to-Door Sales Struggles and Bakery Turning Point Angie recounts the emotional difficulty of door-to-door sales as an introvert and the transition to print ads. Guy Raz synthesizes her early phone matching role as functioning as a human Google.10:16–13:28 · Guy pushing back 1/10 Expanding to Indianapolis and Hiring First Employees Guy notes that Hicks diverges from the stereotypical hyper-optimistic entrepreneur profile. Hicks agrees and reframes her core entrepreneurial superpower as raw perseverance.13:32–18:12 · Guy pushing back 2/10 Mid-Roll Break and Narrative Teaser Guy challenges the premise of leaving a high-growth startup for business school. Hicks clarifies that hands-on survival had outpaced her foundational business knowledge and she needed perspective.18:14–23:50 · Guy pushing back 1/10 Assuming CMO Role and Initial Digital Transition Guy draws parallels between Angie's early model and modern sharing economy platforms. Hicks explains why homeowners willingly pay for and submit reviews due to the high cost of failure in home improvement.23:50–26:33 · Guy pushing back 0/10 Review Integrity, Contractor Rebuttals, and Brand Notoriety Angie details the policy of letting contractors post rebuttals and the importance of emotional composure. The exchange wraps up with lighthearted banter about local contractor recognition.26:36–28:52 · Guy pushing back 0/10 Show Credits, Producer Acknowledgments, and Contact Info Standard post-interview outro, production credits, a brief listener-submitted business spotlight on Fire Drops lozenges, and promo ads.

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

0:00 · Guy 49.9% · guest 50.1%0:00 · Guy 49.9% · guest 50.1%3:00 · Guy 17% · guest 83%3:00 · Guy 17% · guest 83%6:00 · Guy 18.2% · guest 81.8%6:00 · Guy 18.2% · guest 81.8%9:00 · Guy 23.5% · guest 76.5%9:00 · Guy 23.5% · guest 76.5%12:00 · Guy 50.8% · guest 49.2%12:00 · Guy 50.8% · guest 49.2%15:00 · Guy 16.5% · guest 83.5%15:00 · Guy 16.5% · guest 83.5%18:00 · Guy 31% · guest 69%18:00 · Guy 31% · guest 69%21:00 · Guy 21.5% · guest 78.5%21:00 · Guy 21.5% · guest 78.5%24:00 · Guy 39.9% · guest 60.1%24:00 · Guy 39.9% · guest 60.1%27:00 · Guy 66.1% · guest 33.9%27:00 · Guy 66.1% · guest 33.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 17:40 Hanging up on Bill over overhead cuts

Angie recounts forcefully rejecting the COO's financial modeling when told the company might not afford her return, firmly declaring her return and hanging up the phone.

 Hardest push from Guy ▶ 14:31 Pushing back on going to business school

Guy Raz directly challenges Hicks's choice to attend Harvard Business School, arguing that three years of launching and running Angie's List was already an MBA in practice.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 21:42 Explaining high cost of failure home decisions

Hicks educates the host on why consumer psychology allows a paid review model to flourish: home repairs represent high-cost, asymmetric-information risks to a homeowner's most valuable asset.

 Guy holds their own ▶ 9:16 The human Google framing

Guy Raz demonstrates sharp conceptual synthesis by characterizing Angie's manual phone-operator matching in 1995 as acting as a human search engine before Google existed.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicGuy as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementGuy pushing backWhy
Post-Graduation Uncertainty and Moving to Columbus 1100 Guy Raz facilitates the origin narrative with gentle chronological prompts as Angie Hicks recounts graduating college, moving to Columbus, and securing her first member from a neighbor's church directory.
Door-to-Door Sales Struggles and Bakery Turning Point 2100 Angie recounts the emotional difficulty of door-to-door sales as an introvert and the transition to print ads. Guy Raz synthesizes her early phone matching role as functioning as a human Google.
Expanding to Indianapolis and Hiring First Employees 3101 Guy notes that Hicks diverges from the stereotypical hyper-optimistic entrepreneur profile. Hicks agrees and reframes her core entrepreneurial superpower as raw perseverance.
Mid-Roll Break and Narrative Teaser 2212 Guy challenges the premise of leaving a high-growth startup for business school. Hicks clarifies that hands-on survival had outpaced her foundational business knowledge and she needed perspective.
Assuming CMO Role and Initial Digital Transition 3201 Guy draws parallels between Angie's early model and modern sharing economy platforms. Hicks explains why homeowners willingly pay for and submit reviews due to the high cost of failure in home improvement.
Review Integrity, Contractor Rebuttals, and Brand Notoriety 1100 Angie details the policy of letting contractors post rebuttals and the importance of emotional composure. The exchange wraps up with lighthearted banter about local contractor recognition.
Show Credits, Producer Acknowledgments, and Contact Info 0000 Standard post-interview outro, production credits, a brief listener-submitted business spotlight on Fire Drops lozenges, and promo ads.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Oesterle offered Hicks seed funding for a one-year startup commitment
“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 Nov 28, 2016 ▶ 2:05
Assertion Supported
Angie's List began as a call-in service and door-to-door operation
“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 the, in the evening, I would go out door-to-door and also ask for reviews.”
Angie Hicks Nov 28, 2016 ▶ 5:07
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Selling two Angie's List memberships was considered a banner day
“I used to measure success by one or two memberships a day. Like, if I sold two memberships in a day, it was a banner day.”
Angie Hicks Nov 28, 2016 ▶ 7:18
Assertion Supported
Angie's List launched with $50,000 in early seed capital
“We raised 50,000 dollars, yeah.”
Angie Hicks Nov 28, 2016 ▶ 7:40
Assertion Supported
Angie's List signed up 1,000 members in its first year
“Yeah, so we ended up signing up a thousand members in the first year, and so we're like .”
Angie Hicks Nov 28, 2016 ▶ 10:27
What-if
Hicks likely wouldn't have stayed without her business school break
“You know, for me, if I hadn't kind of taken that time, I probably wouldn't have stayed.”
Angie Hicks Nov 28, 2016 ▶ 14:52
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Angie's List almost couldn't afford to rehire Hicks after business school
“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 Nov 28, 2016 ▶ 17:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Half of early signups came through the first basic website
“And 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 Nov 28, 2016 ▶ 19:42
Insight
Consumers pay for reviews on high-cost-of-failure home improvement decisions
“And if you think about the kind of decisions they're making around your home, I mean, these, you know, 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…”
Angie Hicks Nov 28, 2016 ▶ 21:45
Assertion Supported
Angie's List opened 100 new markets in about 18 months
“So in about 18 months, we opened a hundred markets.”
Angie Hicks Nov 28, 2016 ▶ 23:05
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 800 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more