Company Overview
About Setter
Setter was a Toronto, Ontario-based digital home management and concierge platform — backed with $20 million in total funding including a $10 million Series A in 2018 co-led by Sequoia Capital and NFX with DAG Ventures and Hustle Fund — that provided homeowners with a dedicated concierge service accessible via mobile app that handled all aspects of home maintenance: sourcing vendors, scheduling repairs, communicating job requirements, and ensuring completion quality for the full range of homeowner maintenance needs. Acquired by Thumbtack in December 2020, with co-founder David Steckel joining Thumbtack as President of Setter, integrating Setter's concierge capabilities into Thumbtack's marketplace of 250,000+ service professionals. Founded in 2016 by David Steckel and Guillaume Laliberte in Toronto.
Business Model & Competitive Advantage
Setter's concierge home management model addressed the time cost of homeowner service coordination: the average homeowner spends 20-30 hours annually managing home maintenance — finding contractors through Google and Yelp, getting multiple quotes, coordinating scheduling around contractor availability, supervising work quality, and handling disputes when work is unsatisfactory. Traditional home service marketplaces (Angi, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor) reduced the contractor discovery friction but left coordination, quality assurance, and scheduling management to the homeowner. Setter's full-service concierge model (a dedicated person handling every step from photo-based job description through vendor selection, scheduling, and completion verification) targeted the time-scarce urban professional and dual-income household segment willing to pay premium for truly hands-off home maintenance management.
Competitive Landscape 2025–2026
In 2025, Setter's home concierge capabilities operate within Thumbtack's broader home management platform, which has evolved from a marketplace into an AI-powered home management service following the Setter integration and subsequent product investments. Thumbtack (backed with $500M+ total, $1.7B valuation) combined Setter's concierge approach with its marketplace scale to create the Thumbtack Home Management Platform — providing homeowners with proactive maintenance reminders, cost estimates, and direct contractor booking with verified reviews. The home services management market that Setter pioneered is now addressed at scale by Thumbtack, Angi (NASDAQ: ANGI, Angi Homeservices), and Amazon Home Services, validating the market Setter identified while demonstrating the platform scale required to build sustainable home management economics.
The Setter Story
Founders
Recent Activity
View all →Company Timeline
Major milestones in Setter's journey
Leadership Team
Meet the leaders behind Setter
David Steckel
David Steckel co-founded Setter in 2016 and led the company through its acquisition by Thumbtack in 2020. He now serves as President of Setter within Thumbtack's organization, continuing to advance home management innovation.
Guillaume Laliberte
Guillaume Laliberte co-founded Setter alongside David Steckel in Toronto, helping build the platform from concept to a Sequoia-backed company with millions in funding.
Key Differentiators
Emerging Innovator
Setter is an emerging player bringing innovative solutions to the Home Services market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Estimated Visibility Trend (Beta)
Simulated 8-week rolling score
Based on estimated brand signals. Historical tracking coming soon.
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