WhiteFence
WhiteFence is an American company based in Houston, Texas. Despite its establishment near the end of The Dot-com bubble, the company survived to become one of the largest nationwide comparison shopping marketplaces available online. With a home-services shopping engine designed to assist people looking to turn on utilities in their homes, WhiteFence's free service allows customers who are moving or looking to switch services to find available companies in their area.
History
Established in 2000 as QCorps Residential., WhiteFence began by partnering with residential community companies to make their comparison engine available to renters. By 2002, the company was celebrating the signing of its one millionth [multi-family residential] community. In March of that same year, WhiteFence began offering its services to single-family homes and expanded a year later by launching its first direct-to-consumer Web sites. By June 2004, the company had established nationwide coverage for the major home services, including cable television, satellite television, high-speed Internet, electricity and change of address. The company then launched its branded Web site in conjunction with the renaming of the company in November of 2004..
In August of 2006, the company named Eric Danziger as Chief Executive Officer. A well-known retail and real estate entrepreneur, Danziger joined WhiteFence after serving as the Chief Executive Officer of ZipRealty Inc. and brought with him extensive experience with some of the largest hotel chains in the country.
Noteworthy Events
Funding
The company has Undergone two rounds of funding. The first was in November 2004 ., when Internet Capital Group (ICG) joined as a venture capital partner. In March 2007, the company completed its second round of funding with Adams Street Partners and ICG.
Acquisitions
In June 2007, WhiteFence acquired competitor ConnectUtilities based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The ConnectUtilities brand has remained, but it is now powered by the WhiteFence engine.
The company announced in November of the same year that it purchased the technology software, intellectual property rights and domain name of GetConnected, Inc. (www.GetConnected.com). GetConnected, Inc., a Boston-based company, developed and managed an e-commerce and integration platform service for merchants such as Best Buy, AOL, Circuit City and Radio Shack.