# Angie's List: Angie Hicks

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2016-11-28
- Length: 29m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-11-28-angies-list-angie-hicks

## Summary

Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie's List, explains how she built the company from a 100-square-foot office in Columbus, Ohio, into a publicly traded enterprise with $350 million in annual revenue. Starting with just $50,000 in funding, she manually managed subscriber calls and door-to-door sales before the business pivoted to an online model. Hicks details the strategic decision to expand into the Midwest before the coasts and the operational challenges of scaling the platform while maintaining trust through non-anonymous reviews.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-11-28-angies-list-angie-hicks#t=0) Introduction: Angie Hicks and Angie's List
- [1:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-11-28-angies-list-angie-hicks#t=65) Founding in Columbus and Early Hustle
- [4:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-11-28-angies-list-angie-hicks#t=255) Manual Operations and First Marketing
- [10:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-11-28-angies-list-angie-hicks#t=647) Scaling to Indianapolis and Hiring
- [15:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-11-28-angies-list-angie-hicks#t=938) Burnout and Harvard Business School
- [19:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-11-28-angies-list-angie-hicks#t=1182) Return to Company and Digital Pivot
- [23:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-11-28-angies-list-angie-hicks#t=1380) Building Trust and Review Strategy

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Angie's List (company)
- Unified Neighbors (company)
- Columbus Neighbors (company)
- U.S. Bank (company)
- Kellogg (other)
- Harvard (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Angel Investing 101 with Marcia Dawood (2022)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2023-05-31-angel-investing-101-with-marcia-dawood-2022) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#70 Angel Investing 101 with Marcia Dawood (+ Uproot Teas)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2022-11-22-70-angel-investing-101-with-marcia-dawood-uproot-teas) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [049: Getting Angel Investment, with Juliana Garaizar of the Houston Angel Network](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2017-04-18-049-getting-angel-investment-with-juliana-garaizar-of-the-houston-angel-network) (Product Startup)
- [#208 - Fundraising Reflections with David Fudge (Aplós) and Amanda Amos (Collaborative Fund)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-08-05-208-fundraising-reflections-with-david-fudge-aplos-and-amanda-amos-collaborative) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Steph Nightingale of Stimmie](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-08-15-founder-feature-steph-nightingale-of-stimmie) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-11-28-angies-list-angie-hicks. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.