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Co-founders Mike Zivin and Hermant Kashyap
When Mike Zivin and Hermant Kashyap found themselves frustrated while trying to book a simple eye exam, the two wondered why there wasn’t an easier, tech-savvy way to schedule necessary appointments for local services.
Zivin and Kashyap started Whittl (previously MyServista) on the premise that others would want easy access to information – pricing, availability – for everyday services. As a start it was “really bringing menu information like Grubhub did for restaurants but for local services,” said Ashley Colette Groves, director of marketing at Whittl. Now everything, from booking to payment, happens on their platform.
Local Local Local
Whittl has both a website and an app – their newest version of the app releases January 28th with enhanced booking and payment capabilities – that allow users to search for services in a specific neighborhood and by price point. “A lot of our searches come from a search for a specific neighborhood,” said Groves.
For app users, it means searches for neighborhood services is easy and transparent – prices, time slots and more are all known up front.
For participating companies like a nail salon or a dental office, Whittl means they have the ability to reach potential new customers that live in their neighborhood. And unlike other platforms out there, Whittl isn’t focused on one-off, heavily discounted items. Instead, they are trying to build lasting relationships between users and businesses. “We try and provide customers with as many options as are available to them, an amazing customer experience and we hope they turn into long-term customers with our partner merchants,” said Groves.
That attitude – to make potential customers into long-term clients – pays off for all parties involved. “We are strictly a pay for performance model with our merchants,” said Groves, who added that “We are a tool that really does work for them.”
That model means merchants are more likely to trust Whittl – after all, they don’t have to pay for the service if it doesn’t perform.
The Challenges of Building a Marketplace
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For any platform, deciding where to focus attention first (on users or merchants) is a challenge. “We are trying to build demand from customers as well as inventory from merchants... We’ve taken the avenue that we had to build the inventory first. It can be very expensive at the beginning but it really provides the best customer experience,” said Groves.
That approach has paid off, with over 1,000 merchants on the site, month over month growth and strong user retention rates. Whittl is particularly strong in the beauty space and is working to grow other categories. “Long term we hope to be in absolutely everything, from daycare to pet walking to even vehicle maintenance. Anytime you have to pick up the phone and schedule a time to meet somebody, we think Whittl can help make that transaction even easier and more convenient,” said Groves.
Their overarching focus is local services and their approach to giving users all the options isn’t just talk. On their website Whittl lists merchants that don’t have direct booking with the platform yet (meaning Whittl isn’t making any money off them), just to ensure customers have all the very best information. “A lot of people have done a couple of silo really well. We are trying to do a whole lot of local silos very well and still provide the best customer experience,” she added.
Whittl actively listens to its users to understand what other services they want added to the platform.
Another area the company had to walk a fine line was on payment and text notifications. For payment, early feedback showed that users wanted to pay quickly and not deal with annoying coupons, so Whittl responded. The company also gauged user’s reactions to text messages reminding them of upcoming appointments. They think they’ve found the happy spot where push notifications are helpful and not annoying.
The small, nimble team works has an office in River North and plans to hire new positions in the near future. “We are really focused on building the very best experience in Chicago,” said Groves, but added that eventually the company will expand into other cities.
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