Online Resource for Expert Advice Lines up More Than $50 Million in Financing Founder Andy Kurtzig calls Pearl.com "the Amazon.com of professional services," and he has plans to expand into the app market.
By Gwen Moran Edited by Frances Dodds
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What It Is
Got questions too complex for Google? Pearl.com might have the answer. Log on, post your question and a prompt will ask you what you're willing to pay for a detailed response from a professional in categories such as medicine, auto mechanics and law. An outside firm vets San Francisco-based Pearl's network of more than 10,000 professionals to ensure they've got the credentials to respond to queries on the site. So if your respondent says he's a gastroenterologist with 20 years of experience, you can feel confident in his advice.
How It Started
Founder Andy Kurtzig launched Pearl's predecessor, JustAnswer.com, in 2003 when his wife was pregnant with their first child and they had numerous questions. Loath to call their obstetrician in the middle of the night, Kurtzig realized there was a need for a website where users could access experts in various fields. A programmer with experience launching tech businesses--he had recently sold his company eBenefits.com--Kurtzig gave himself a month to build the site and another month to promote it. It showed enough promise in those early weeks that he stuck with it.
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