New Angie’s List CEO Seeks to ‘Fix The Fundamentals’

Durchslag succeeds Mark Howell

The new chief executive officer at Indianapolis-based Angie’s List Inc. (Nasdaq: ANGI) says the company is entering a period of "unprecedented opportunity." Scott Durchslag, whose previous experience includes executive positions at Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY), Expedia Worldwide and Skype Global, tells Inside INdiana Business Angie’s List has the data, brand and relationships to build on its foundation.

He says the first orders of business include fixing the fundamentals and seeking the right growth opportunities.

Durchslag says the focus is on five "building blocks" to create the future of Angie’s List. They are:

1. Knowledge of 720 service categories within 250 geographic markets throughout the U.S. He says the company "has forgotten more than all the other competitors combined know."
2. Twenty years worth of brand equity and what he says is the lone national brand in an "enormous" market.
3. A depth of relationships with service providers that is mutually important to Angie’s List and local companies.
4. A "goldmine" of data from a consumer and service provider standpoint, an area in which Durchslag says "a lot more can be done.
5. The "value proposition" of companies, consumers and Angie’s List facilitating $10-$15 billion worth of transactions.

The company is coming off a second quarter net loss of $8.3 million, which compares to a $18.4 million net loss during the same period the previous year. Its revenue total was a bright spot for the quarter, rising 11 percent over the same quarter the previous year to $87.3 million.

Prior to founder and former CEO Bill Oesterle’s resignation in March, Angie’s List announced it was scrapping plans to invest $40 million into a headquarters expansion that would have also added 1,000 jobs by 2019. The company intended to move 800 jobs from other locations to an expanded campus that would’ve repurposed a nearby former Ford components plant. Durchslag says these plans continue to be on-hold are "are not a priority right now," adding that there is "more work to do" before an expansion of that magnitude could push forward. He says, when it comes to growing its real estate footprint, "as you see those needs arising, you have the ability to kind of put those pieces in place. So, I think it’s something we can plan for quite well."