Craftwork co-founder (left to right) Joey Skavroneck, Chief Growth Officer; Tim Griffin, CEO; Mike Bifulco, … [+] CTO; Suzanne Griffin, COO.

Handicrafts

Silicon Valley VCs are typically more interested in funding pure-play software companies than those working to solve the problems of the physical world. But that is starting to change. Take, for example, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Craftwork, which just announced a $6 million seed round led by San Francisco-based Forerunner Ventures.

Craftwork has officially been in existence for less than a year and works to make it easier to plan and order home services like painting or home repairs while ensuring price transparency and quality.

The idea for Craftwork came about when Tim Griffin discovered the “joys” of home ownership and the challenges of home repair and painting. This entrepreneur's journey is based on my interview with Griffin and Bifulco.

Griffin and Bifulco had known each other for several years, having both been active in Charlotte's emerging startup community, but only had the opportunity to work together when they were between projects. Both of them were successful from their previous startups. Bifulco had successfully sold Smpl and Griffin had a wild ride merging his company Cloosiv with Odeko, another like-minded company in the space, before growing sales from $1 million to $150 million in 18 months .

“He and I went for walks a few times a week and talked about what interested us and what we wanted to work on, and eventually came to the conclusion that whatever we were building, we wanted to work together on it. We were both homeowners. We live maybe 500 meters apart. This was my first property, so I realized pretty immediately how terrible it was to own a house and find someone to help you work on it,” says Griffin.

They wondered why no one had been able to successfully modernize the huge but highly fragmented home services market, as it was clearly a problem for many. Although statistics are difficult to verify because the industry is constantly changing, it is estimated that there are approximately 2.5 million home service companies in the United States, generating over $500 billion in annual revenue and employing approximately 6 million people.

“I can order almost anything on my phone. But I can’t effectively hire a tradesman to come to my home and help with quality repairs and renovations,” says Bifulco. They then set about studying the industry and researching the market. The challenge was that software alone could not solve the problem. It was a people business and required both new software and new ways of thinking about the business.

“We realized there was an opportunity for a compromise between the two. And my background at Odeko led me to the concept of vertical integration: if we not only develop software, but also develop a model that then employs people and provides a sense of quality and brand associated with quality, we could really do something big scaled and finally decided to move forward in January of this year,” says Griffin.

To ensure a dedicated and well-trained workforce, the company hires its domestic workers, pays them a good wage for 40 hours of work per week regardless of whether they are assigned to a work project or not, and provides them with healthcare and equity – unprecedented Advantages in a company that has historically been a sole proprietorship.

The company was founded in January 2023 and launched to the public three months later. They were able to accelerate development and hire employees through a $4 million pre-seed round funded by Y Combinator and a group of experienced co-founders. Since its inception, the company has quickly taken off, growing 50 to 100% month-on-month and now employs over 30 people.

The positive results so far have enabled Craftwork to attract the next round of funding after just eleven months of existence. The company recently announced its $6 million seed round led by Forerunner Ventures and including Y Combinator, General Catalyst, Jeff Jordon, Managing Partner at 16z (Andreessen Horowitz), and Evan Moore, co-founder of Doordash , participate.

Griffin's wife, Suzanne, has a background in HR and operations at startups. She has experience growing it from 30 to 400 people in 24 months. “That’s their bread and butter. And we really leaned heavily on that model,” says Griffin. The company currently operates in the Charlotte area but has ambitious expansion plans across the country. While their current focus is on painting services, they plan to expand into other home services. “Our broader vision is to build the largest general contracting firm in the country and ultimately build a category-defining brand,” says Griffin.

The company sees an opportunity to build a consumer brand for homeowners that will become synonymous with home services. Bifulco is responsible for building the tech stack that will help them create both a national brand and a great customer experience. “We're approaching this with a product-first, tech-first approach and building a brand that revolves around a website that leverages all the modern things you get with SEO and targeted ad placement, and things like that give us a much bigger funnel to start influx of people. And then using the technology we develop helps us plan projects in such a way that we are confident that the prices we offer our customers will satisfy both us and the customers “The customer is satisfied”, says Bifulco. Completing the pricing and planning process online helps save operational costs by eliminating the need to send a person to provide estimates.

Bifulco grew up in Connecticut and graduated from the University of Connecticut with an engineering degree. He used his skills to work for blue-chip tech companies like Microsoft, Google and Stripe, but his builder mentality led him to start several software companies on the side. Much of the software he developed focused on creating a community. Smpl, for example, is a software platform for managing shared working space companies.

“I think what drives me personally is the desire to achieve more with the little time I have, to build something bigger than myself, and to pass on the truly enormous privileges I have. “So it has always been something for me to build something that can help people build a stable life, a career that leads to the top, that makes homeowners happier and creates opportunities all around,” says Bifulco.

Griffin grew up in Massachusetts and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he met his wife and co-founder Suzanne. After graduating with a degree in English, he wasn't sure where he wanted to go. He enjoyed the arts and had a keen interest in design, but found himself in the unusual role of a management consultancy, working on retail payment solutions for major retailers and Fortune 500 companies.

“While Mike was destined to become an entrepreneur, I came into it by accident. I had just started developing this idea that I thought the consulting firm I was working with at the time could use for a mobile payment solution, and the firm encouraged me to develop it myself. But I didn't know the first thing about starting a business. And it took years after that moment for me to even take that leap,” Griffin says. That leap took him and his wife to Charlotte, where he founded Cloosiv, a payment platform for independent coffee shops, and later co-founded Bifulco and Skavroneck Craftwork with his wife.

As for the future? “We believe this is a rare opportunity to build something big, not only to build a national home services brand, but also to create good-paying, stable jobs, eliminate the stigma associated with the trades and give people an opportunity for to give a rise to mobility,” concludes Griffin.

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NEW YORK (AP) – Erik Karlsson scored 39 seconds in extra time to give the San Jose Sharks a 2-1 win over the Islanders on Thursday evening and to give New York their ninth consecutive loss.

Nick Bonino also scored and Timo Meier had two assists for the Sharks, who won three in a row and five out of six. Adin Hill made 24 parades.

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Mathew Barzal scored early for the Islanders and Ilya Sorokin stopped 33 shots. New York, which lost eight straight games to regulation, is victorious in five games at UBS Arena, their new $ 1.1 billion home next to Belmont Park.

In extra time Karlsson ran up with a 2-on-1 before he passed Meier, who went from left to right over the front net but could not fire a shot. Meier then passed the puck back over the front from the right and Karlsson put it past Sorokin for the fifth time of the season.

Meier had his fourth multipoint game in the last five, earning him five goals and three assists during that time.

Sorokin came forward to block a 7:47 Alexander Barbanov shot in the third period, and Hill carried over a Barzal shot 10 seconds later at a breakaway to keep the score.

The Haie overtook the Islanders 14-7 and had plenty of chances in a goalless and fast-moving second period.

Sorokin had to make a series of saves in the first few minutes of the quarter. While the goalkeeper was on the ice, Rudolfs Balcers attempted to lift the puck over him, but it hit the Islanders defender Noah Dobson to keep the score.

Sorokin stopped a blow from Karlsson and failed mid-half to rookie Jonathan Dahlen. He also treated a high shot from Meier with 4:47 minutes to go.

Barzal brought the Islanders into play on the scoreboard with 1:04 in the first shot for both teams. He brought the puck up the right side, ran into the right circle, and beat Hill up on the blocker side for his fifth. It gave the Islanders their first lead in five games at their new arena.

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Bonino equalized at 9:10 when he stood in front of the net and diverted a pass from Dahlen from the right, with Sorokin in position for the third time.

Anders Lee almost gave New York the lead again, but his last-minute attempt to hit a goal struck a goal post.

BE HEALTHY

The Islanders have brought several players back from their COVID-19-related absences. Josh Bailey returned after missing five games, Lee and defenders Adam Pelech and Andy Greene each missing four. Kieffer Bellows took part in training but missed out, and defender Zdeno Chara ran alone.

HURT

Hai striker Jonah Gadjovich left the game 3-11 in the first period after shooting a shot from Dobson in the leg. Gadjovich was on the ground for several minutes before being helped on and off the ice.

NEXT

Haie: At the New York Rangers on Friday night.

MORE NEWS: San Francisco lights the Christmas tree in GG Park after the darkest year of the pandemic

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Stephen Curry hit an NBA season high of 50 points with nine 3-pointers, 10 assists and seven rebounds, almost single-handedly leading the Golden State Warriors past Atlanta Hawks 127-113 on Monday night.

Only Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry had registered a 50 point, 10 assist game in the history of the Warriors franchise.

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Curry dominated for long stretches and danced for joy, repeatedly raising his arms in the air to encourage anyone fortunate enough to witness another of his brilliant feats.

He scored Golden State’s first 13 points, then 10 on the track in the third before dropping for Juan Toscano-Anderson’s 3-pointer points, who made it 102-85 after the Warriors’ spectacular 41-point quarter.

Play along with the chants of “MVP! MVP! “Curry startled the fans with 8:48 minutes in the first game when he appeared to have injured his left shoulder. He was examined by medical staff during a Hawks break and could be seen nodding and moving his arms to shake his shoulder before causing cheers if he stayed in the game.

Curry made his 10th 50-point game of his career and already had 24 points in 7v12 shooting at halftime with five 3-pointers.

He landed 14 for 28 off the floor and made all 13 of his free throws as the Warriors won their fifth straight win. They keep their opponents at 95.8 points during the unbeaten route.

Trae Young had 28 points and nine assists in Atlanta’s fourth straight loss and sixth on seven points.

Jordan Poole added 16 points and Andrew Wiggins 13 for Golden State (9-1) in the second game of an encounter.

The Warriors fell back 55:40 in the second game, but came within 65:61 at halftime before their decisive third.

LITTLE G

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Hawks trainer Nate McMillan is delighted with Gary Payton II, son of McMillan’s veteran teammate Gary Payton at the Seattle SuperSonics.

McMillan remembers the younger Payton, who used to hang around Sonics’ headquarters.

“Little G. I just remember running across the court with a ball and following his pops,” said McMillan. “To see him grow, he worked his way into this league and he earned his right to a place on a squad and he contributes to that. He plays great basketball. “

TIP-INS

Hawks: The Hawks had a three-game winning streak against the Warriors, losing for the 10th time in the last 12 on the Golden State home floor. … Atlanta fell to 1-6 on the road and has lost its last five street games. … The Hawks’ 18 turnovers resulted in 23 Warriors points.

Warriors: Warriors assistant Mike Brown wasn’t feeling well and didn’t attend the game. … Golden State is 9-1 for the first time since starting 10-1 in 2018-19. … Veteran Andre Iguodala was back after a break to rest his aching left hip against Houston on Sunday night. He played in his 1,200. Career game and was the only active players at the time, along with LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. … F Otto Porter Jr. was out to protect an injury to his left foot. “He’s obviously been messed up in the last few years so that’s all part of maintenance and making sure we do things the right way,” said coach Steve Kerr. “It should be ready to go Wednesday and it makes sense to release it tonight, but we’ll see. He was fine. He’s really well positioned, but yes, we have to be smart, especially at the beginning of the season. “

NEXT

Hawks: In Utah on Tuesday night.

Warriors: Host the Timberwolves on Wednesday night before heading to Chicago on Friday to complete an eight-game home stand on a franchise record.

MORE NEWS: Widely used Xfinity cable, Internet outages reported across the Bay Area

© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) To Steve Kerr, Dallas looked like a team in the playoffs while Golden State was stuck in an exhibition game.

Luka Doncic scored 39 points and the defeated Mavericks jumped on Golden State from the start to beat the Warriors with 133-103 on Tuesday night.

“The biggest game of the year and it was over before it started,” said Kerr, whose team was 43 behind them.

Stephen Curry scored 27 points with five more 3-pointers, expanding his NBA record for 3-pointers in one month to 90 in April. He had passed James Harden’s 82 on Sunday in November 2019.

“Chasing Steph Curry around has to be the toughest job in all of basketball, professional, college, and international,” said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. “The guy only had one tear in the last month. Trey Burke took up the challenge, he just chased him everywhere and we had a lot of help. “

Tim Hardaway Jr. added 13 points and seven rebounds from the bench as the Mavericks dragged 60 points from their reserves one night after losing 113-106 in Sacramento.

Just as the Warriors were determined to gain some momentum for the all-important stretch run, they delivered a dud and had broken their four-game home winning streak.

“It was the perfect storm of everything that went wrong tonight,” said Curry.

Golden State did not defend the perimeter, where the Mavericks shot 18 of 35 with 3 pointers.

The Warriors had no goals for 9 minutes and 40 seconds in the first and second quarters and were only 5 for 27 in the middle of the second quarter. That drought eventually resulted in a 47-16 hole.

“I’m not worried about the goal drought, I’m worried about defense, I’m worried about intensity, preparation and competitiveness,” said Kerr. “That was missing. I am the head coach. I obviously didn’t have them ready to play. “

Doncic shot 15 for 23, adding eight assists and six rebounds. Dallas has won seven out of nine against Golden State and four in a row in the Warriors’ home game.

The Mavericks made nine of their initial 15 shots to advance 25-12 and force a Golden State timeout at the 4:58 mark of the first.

“It was the complete opposite of yesterday. It was crazy, ”said Mavericks striker Maxi Kleber. “They couldn’t fire any shots. … I don’t even know how to describe it. We just went with the flow. “

JJ Redick played for the Mavericks for seven minutes after being questionable with pain in his right heel. Boban Marjanovic was thrown off the field with 2:39 minutes after a foul by Flagrant 2. He held his arms up in the air as he disappeared into the tunnel.

TIP-INS

Mavericks: C Kristaps Porzingis (sprained left ankle), G Josh Richardson (right hamstring) and G Tyrell Terry (personal reasons) were eliminated. … Dallas has won six of the last seven with Golden State and shoots 45.3% (139 for 307) out of the 3-point range during this distance.

Warriors: F Eric Paschall did more 3v3 on Tuesday and is scheduled to play 5v5 on Wednesday before flying to Minneapolis. “We hope he can play by the end of the road trip – Houston or New Orleans,” said Kerr. … G Gary Payton II impressed Kerr: “We love Gary. He is an elite defensive player. He’s someone who can come in and make a difference, ”Kerr said. His second 10-day contract expires on Wednesday. … Golden State won four times in a row at home from February 15 to March. 14th

IMPACT FAN

The Warriors received Samba Guisse as their “Impact Warrior” for his daily leadership in the community. Guisse, a public works security guard at the Civic Center / UN Plaza, stopped an attack on a 76-year-old Chinese woman on busy Market Street in San Francisco last month.

At halftime, he was honored for his courage and everything he does on the job for others.

Guisse, 44 and originally from Senegal, insists that it should be taken for granted and that his family taught him these values.

“I just do it in my heart,” he said without expecting any fanfare. “Everyone should help everyone, no matter what race you are, you are white, black, Asian. I didn’t expect it to be like that. I’ve been in the job for a long time. I help people all the time. “

NEXT

Mavericks: Against the Pistons for the second time in nine days on Thursday night in Detroit.

Warriors: In Minnesota Thursday night to start a four game road trip.

–

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“It looks like a transsexual has never before got a job of this level with a major daily newspaper on any subject, let alone sports,” said Kahrl, who lived and worked in Chicago for 25 years since 1985 – and was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2014. “Landing this job is as historic as my hiring at ESPN 10 years ago or my coming out almost 20 years ago.

“It comes to a critical point in our nation’s history and for journalism – the conversation about trans public life has changed, particularly the role of trans people in sport. We have seen large outlets do a remarkably poor job of reporting on issues affecting the lives of trans people, particularly sports and public order. Journalism can and must do better as an industry. One of the best ways to do this is to tap into the pool of transjournalists who would diversify more than just their newsrooms and hire them to take a more rigorous and openly professional approach to reporting stories in a front page section develop political engagement. “

Kahrl, originally from Sacramento, added, “As of the New York Times, we see way too many outlets completely screwing up the topic and delivering second-rate coverage or worse. Both the subjects of these stories and the audience for whom they were written deserve better; You deserve skilled journalism. “

Kahrl lived in Chicago from 1985 to 2000 and then again from 2007 to 2017. She now lives in Long Beach, California for at least a few more weeks before moving to the Bay Area. And then her daily life will all be giants, 49ers and more.

Chronicle’s sports division has a dozen writers, a few editors – and the Giants, 49ers, Golden State Warriors, the San Jose Sharks, Stanford, Cal, and the other four NCAA Division I schools in the area, as well as other colleges and prep and golf when it swings into town, and much more.

Locals also still have an emotional bond with the Raiders who used to be in Oakland and now play in Las Vegas.

“I enter the role with a sense of history and responsibility, for the people I work with, for the people I work for, for the readers, and for the teams and players whose stories we want to tell. (And) for my community too, so when the next trans person comes through that door, it’s both no big deal and a big, wonderful, very great thing of their own from someone, the trans or gender queer or not -binary and most of everyone is just great at doing what they do. As a wallflower, you don’t get to this level, ”said Kahrl.

Her diverse short-term goals are simple: “Learning to work with my new teammates. Getting to grips with the pressure side of the roll, because this is new to me and I still have a lot to learn. Leverage the value of the writing team and editors’ experience and figure out where I can help them. “

Kahrl worked at ESPN for 10 years, both in print and in TV. And that also made history. “The decade I’ve spent there has not only shown that I can do the job, it has also shown that transjournalists can work at the highest level of journalism,” she said. “I’ve earned a few promotions, wrote and published the news, learned a lot about multimedia reporting, planned large projects, and worked with some incredibly talented people.”

Kahrl’s ESPN run in 2013 included working on her first on-site World Series. She also interviewed legendary longtime baseball player Minnie Minoso about the integration of baseball as Jackie Robinson from Latin America and the Hall of Fame, which she described as a “privilege” but a tragic one because it turned out to be his last interview – Minnie died soon after and has to be due from Cooperstown, ”said Kahrl. “As the first trans sports journalist about Chris Mosier, the first out-trans member of Team USA in the international championship competition (that was also a highlight). That was (was) probably my only favorite job, not (just) because Chris is both a great athlete and an athlete who must be admired by all Americans. “

The ESPN appearance included working with talented storytellers such as David Schoenfield, Jeff Passan and Buster Olney.

“Nothing is more fun than getting caught in the moment, thinking about how to cover a no-hitter as it unfolds, or meeting the trading deadline,” she said.

Kahrl picked three who she’d learned the most from, including Claire Smith, the first woman to become a full-time MLB beatwriter. “(She) taught me a lot about our responsibility to others and about the history of the game,” said Kahrl.

“Learning from working with Marly Rivera because she invested in telling the stories of players, but also from her willingness to tackle the toughest stories and put absolutely everything into one story. And finally, from the editor who hired me, David Kull, who taught me a lot about leadership without the fear of getting your hands dirty. Taking the example as a starting point, he tried to expand the variety of perspectives and breadth of ESPN’s baseball coverage. “

Kahrl was encouraged by several writers (both ESPN and Chronicle) to apply for the position in San Francisco. The final blessing came from her wife, Charley.

“Working for Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, the new editor-in-chief of Chronik, is a privilege and a unique opportunity for me to learn and work with this writing crew at one of the best sports markets in the country. in one of the largest cities in the world, ”said Kahrl. “Chicago spoiled me; I always thought that only the Bay Area was at this level. “

And yes, she misses Chicago very much. Well, except in winter.

Starting with the people who call Chicago at home.

She used to live in Rogers Park, which she called “a real neighborhood with a lot of everything mixed up, where kids at the local school learned my dog’s name and greeted us, where you got the names of everyone in their favorite spots learned to grab a street taco or a slice. “This sense of community that transcended LGBTQ people, but also fully involved them… in a way, that’s my vision of what this country can be, where we can get along and maybe talk about a ball game or two to pass the time.

“In a way, Chicago is at home because it’s still the place where I feel inside my bones, where I grew up, where I took some of my greatest personal and professional steps, and where I was Charley got married. “

Kahrl is not sure whether she will also write for the chronicle. Your editorial and editorial responsibility will have priority.

“(This is) one of the best jobs in sports journalism for anyone, anywhere, because of the teams, the people who cover them, and the fans who care about them. It’s a challenge and an adventure, ”said Kahrl. “(This is) an opportunity for me to use what I’ve learned from 25 years in digital media and help a talented sports team deliver unparalleled sports coverage.”

Sound sporty … With Christina Kahrl

Long-term goals: “Glory for the Sporting Green, success for the Chronicle, and hundreds of thousands of readers new and old who can’t wait to read our next story.”

Sport, circa 2021: “(It is) in a place where we can’t just keep doing sport, and that’s a good thing. If anything, sport gives us the strength to face many of the most difficult problems facing our society today as sport reflects, amplifies and addresses those problems while enjoying competition, excellence and effort. The excellence of the present that we see on the diamond, the rust, the yard, the ice … it is no accident; This reflects everything we learn about performance and opens up new perspectives for storytelling for us as journalists. “

The past year: “I think it helped us to redefine what is important, not only in sport, but also in life. Sport is essentially about how we enjoy our own time, and it’s still tied into the life of the country – through the pandemic, through the exciting conversations we have to have about race and equality in this country. It’s not just about 2020, it’s about now and it’s about tomorrow. “

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