Angie’s List, a subscription site that provides consumer reviews of local services, received $18 million in funding this week.
Founded by Harvard MBA Angie Hicks in 1995, Angie's List has been featured several times on *Inc. *magazine's as one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the country. The company has tripled its footprint in the last three years, and now has a presence in the top 120 cities across the country.
Hicks attributes some of the site's success to the company's commitment to quality — anonymous reviews are not permitted — and the detail of the data they collect. Also, the company's reliance on a subscription model has helped to insulate Angie's List from some of the pains currently felt by ad-supported businesses.
"We went out looking to gain some more financing, for our aggressive expansion plan," says Hicks. Angie's List plans to expand into Canada in 2009. "There is a lot of bad news on the economy right now, but we found that there are still opportunities for financing and growth when you show proven results."
This is the second time this year that Angie's List has received venture capital — Battery Ventures invested $35 million in the
Indianapolis company earlier this year. Another previous investor, BV Capital, provided $3.5 million in 2006 and $2.7 million in 2007.
