TechCrunch » angie’s list http://www.techcrunch.com Startup and Technology News Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:03:23 +0000 en hourly 1 What’s In A Name? Trusty’s Sued By Angie’s List Over Data Theft http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/14/whats-in-a-name-trustys-sued-by-angies-list-over-data-theft/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/14/whats-in-a-name-trustys-sued-by-angies-list-over-data-theft/#comments Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:35:33 +0000 Robin Wauters http://www.techcrunch.com/?p=37620 Local business ratings and review service Angie's List is suing Trusty's, which we recently reviewed and likened to a sort of Yelp for blue-collar workers, over claims that the latter startup's founder Christopher Kody illegally obtained thousands of files from Angie's List in an effort to jumpstart Trusty's. According to Indystar, the suit alleges that Cody joined Angie's List as a regular member and subsequently used an automated software program in multiple sessions to harvest nearly 10,000 reports, ratings and other information which he then pumped into Trusty's.]]> Local business ratings and review service Angie’s List is suing Trusty’s, which we recently reviewed and likened to a sort of Yelp for blue-collar workers, over claims that the latter startup’s founder Christopher Kody illegally obtained thousands of files from Angie’s List in an effort to jumpstart Trusty’s.

According to Indystar, the suit alleges that Cody joined Angie’s List as a regular member and subsequently used an automated software program in multiple sessions to harvest nearly 10,000 reports, ratings and other information which he then pumped into Trusty’s.

Angie’s List says Cody practiced ‘industrial espionage’ using the bot, as spokeswoman Cheryl Reed put it. Trusty’s founder declined to comment on the matter, but had his attorney dispute all allegations with the promise to “defend against them vigorously”.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for next month.

(Thanks to Brandon Powell for the tip)

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]]> http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/14/whats-in-a-name-trustys-sued-by-angies-list-over-data-theft/feed/ 31 Angie’s List Gets $35 Million in New Investment From Battery Ventures http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/10/angies-list-gets-35-million-in-new-investment-from-battery/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/10/angies-list-gets-35-million-in-new-investment-from-battery/#comments Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:30:26 +0000 Jason Kincaid http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/10/angies-list-gets-35-million-in-new-investment-from-battery/ Everybody’s got an opinion, and if you can collect them together that can be worth quite a bit of money. Angie’s List, one of the largest sites for local service provider ratings, has received $35 million from Battery Ventures, bringing its total funding to $48M. Battery will now hold a minority stake in the company.

Angie’s List was founded in 1995, and provides users with customer reviews on a variety of services, including plumbers, roofers, and handymen. The site has over 600,000 members in the United States, and it soon plans to expand abroad. Users must pay a fee starting at $35 a year to access content, but free trials are granted for a year in cities that have been added to the site recently. According to comScore, its traffic has been flat, with only 214,000 unique visitors in February.

Angie’s List had previously received $13 million in funding, largely from Aquent and BV Capital. Battery Ventures manages almost $3 billion in capital. Competitors to Angie’s List include Yelp and Kudzu.

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