As homes are listed and sold on the real estate market, there are typically three parties involved in the process: homeowners, real estate agents, and service providers such as handymen. With knowledge of the real estate industry and experience working with startups, Andrew Katz and Joseph Yelle knew there was a way to easily connect these parties throughout a home-buying process.
Together, they founded Home Dock with a vision of using artificial intelligence to streamline the process of home maintenance within that buying process.
When homeowners use Home Dock, they can take a short video of an area in their home that might need repairs or services and upload that video to the platform. The Home Dock AI will then interpret the video within the context of the property’s history and provide a realistic price range for service costs.
“The worst part of a home repair isn’t the fix. It’s not knowing what it’s going to cost or who to trust,” Katz said.
After learning of the price range for service costs, homeowners can browse Home Dock’s curated, trusted marketplace of service providers to proceed with getting the necessary work done. This benefits the service providers as well in that the platform provides them with an easier way of securing leads.
Katz, who serves as Home Dock’s CEO, said the startup has a dream team behind it, including Yelle as the startup’s president and head of innovation and data, Lisa Krause as the chief growth officer and Robin Crorie as the chief technology officer.
Homeowner-first, effective for everyone
Given the multiple parties that interact within the homeownership and maintenance processes, many platforms try to simplify the experience for one specific type of user—whether by solely focusing on the real estate element or simply serving as a place for service providers to list their offerings.
“We discovered a marketplace that could align all three groups with better information and outcomes,” Katz said.
Home Dock is designed to be homeowner-first, but the co-founders are differentiating the startup by optimizing the platform to be effective and enticing for all three parties involved with homeownership.
Beyond allowing homeowners to determine price ranges and connect with service providers, Home Dock enables potential buyers and homeowners to view a given home’s data and history—such as inspection reports and expected maintenance timelines—in a centralized place on the platform.
“We map the entire homeownership journey before you even own a home,” Katz said.
When real estate agents refer potential buyers and homeowners to Home Dock, meanwhile, it gives those agents the opportunity to stay visible to homeowners well after their purchase.
Real estate agents are able to showcase their trust in Home Dock’s roster of service providers by referring homeowners, which in turn minimizes their responsibility after successful sales while keeping them present in the minds of homeowners.
Finally, Home Dock gives service providers the opportunity to secure clients without paying fees for leads that may or may not result in customers. The startup charges service providers success fees based on completed services, a decision that Katz said is meant to make the platform and customers more accessible for small, local service providers.
“We want to be boots on the ground, and we want to be the hometown heroes, where service providers look at us and go, ‘This is a slam dunk,’” Katz said.
Launching an effective marketplace
Homeowners can use Home Dock through a subscription, which the co-founders intend for many real estate agents to sponsor as a lifetime subscription when people close on a home.
Beyond subscriptions, Home Dock also generates revenue through the success fees charged to service providers upon completion of a service. Katz said this model of fees based on when jobs are actually completed has been exciting and well-received by local service providers.
QUICK BITS
Startup: Home Dock
Co-Founders: Andrew Katz (CEO), Joseph Yelle (President)
Founded: 2025
Team size: 12
Location: Raleigh
Website: homedockusa.com
Funding: Closing pre-seed
Home Dock is launching its beta this month with a goal of helping homeowners across the Triangle easily complete home maintenance. The startup has already built a strong network of maintenance companies, with about 70% of service providers they’ve spoken with having been onboarded onto the platform.
Once the startup launches its beta, the team’s goal is to build a successful, efficient marketplace and then look at opportunities to scale.
“Success for us looks like homeowners coming back multiple times and trusting they’re going to have a great experience with the marketplace,” Katz said.
