BrightNest Inc.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: COMPANY

INITIAL LIGHT BULB In summer 2011, Justin Anthony realized home maintenance was no easy task. "A guy came by my house and asked if I needed my ducts cleaned," he says. "I didn't even know I had ducts."

Two days later, Anthony got a call from longtime Chicago-area homebuilder Allen Shulman, who sent over his business plan for a home-maintenance website. Anthony woke up that night, edited the plan, and emailed it back. The very next day, Shulman hopped on a plane to Denver and met Anthony for lunch, and they formally went into business as BrightNest.

From November through February, the duo participated in the intensive 500 Startups incubator in California. "We were doing 14-to 16-hour days for four months without a break," says Anthony. They launched the site in February.

Anthony says the decision to base the company in Denver was a no-brainer. "We made a conscious decision to base ourselves in Denver because I am in love with the River North startup community, and we can do it here for 30 percent cheaper than Chicago." Shulman commutes from Chicago to serve as president; Anthony is the seven-employee company's CEO.

IN A NUTSHELL BrightNest is "a free online resource that provides tools, tips and motivation to keep your house in great shape," says Anthony. "It's a hybrid of editorial content and utility."

The utilitarian side of BrightNest is highlighted by Homefolio, which allows homeowners to create an online repository of everything from PDFs of appliance manuals to paint colors. There are also relevant reminders, to-do modules that walk homeowners through various tasks, and a home history Anthony dubs "Carfax for homes."

"I'm literally the poster child for this site," Anthony says. "I am terrible at home maintenance, and now my wife actually thinks I know what I'm doing."

Then there's the editorial content, in the form of blog posts about maintenance tips and...