Company overview · November 2026

Emergencies are the way into home services

Flare is an on-demand marketplace for urgent home repair, starting in Washington, DC. A homeowner taps once, the nearest licensed pro accepts at a price both agreed, and Flare runs the job from booking to payment.

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Why emergencies

Most home-services apps sell introductions and lose the job once the two sides meet. Emergencies run the other way: the customer needs someone now, can't compare quotes, and pays for speed. That is the job least likely to leave the app, and the one that builds the habit of opening it first.

81%of US homeowners had a home repair emergency in the past yearHomeServe survey, 2025

31%Only 31% say finding a qualified pro is very easyHomeServe survey, 2025

22.6%of home insurance claims are water damage or freezingTriple-I, 2023

DC adds older housing, dense blocks a pro can cross in minutes, and no funded on-demand repair app that we could find.

Unit economics

One after-hours leak repair in Dupont Circle, as an example.

Pro keeps $250

$41

Customer pays, $275 job + booking fee$291

Booking fee from customer, about 6%$16

Fee from pro, 9% of $275$25

Flare revenue, about 15% of the job$41

Card processing, about 3% of $291−$9

Flare net, before payout costs$32

Emergency tickets carry an after-hours premium, so each job earns more than a scheduled odd job at the same rate.

Why jobs stay on Flare

The risk in every service marketplace is the two sides trading numbers and leaving. Flare is built against it from the first job.

Lead sitesPay per leadThe pro pays for a contact whether or not they win the job, often shared with several others.

Task appsAbout 15%TaskRabbit charges clients about 15% on top of each task.

FlareAbout 15%, splitLower on repeat jobs, payment held in the app, and support and dispute help only cover jobs paid through Flare.

What we learned from others

On-demand home services has a graveyard. We studied it.

Homejoy, 2015Closed for several reasons: worker-classification lawsuits, discounted customers who didn't come back, and pros who left after the first job. Flare works with licensed, independent businesses, not gig workers, and starts with urgent jobs that don't need a discount to win.

Lead sitesPros pay for leads they often lose, and resent it. Flare charges only on finished, paid jobs.

Fixed-price bookingIncumbents have tried it for scheduled tasks. Flare puts it where a fixed price matters most: at 11 PM, with water on the floor.

The DC plan

Pros first.Sign 40 to 60 licensed plumbers and electricians before opening to homeowners. The DC metro has about 26,000 (BLS, May 2025), and Master electricians licensed in Maryland or Virginia can get a DC license without a new exam.
One city, three trades.Plumbing, electrical and handyman. Every early job matched by hand.
Neighborhood by neighborhood.Start where the housing is oldest and emergencies are most common, reached through neighborhood lists and associations.
Then New York and New Jersey.Same playbook, once DC works.

What we'll prove

Match rateShare of emergency requests a pro accepts.

Time to acceptMinutes from tap to a pro on the way.

Take rate heldAbout 15%, without jobs leaving the app.

Repeat customersHomeowners who book again within six months.

Team

Luca SheleskyFounder, product and buildBuilds websites and booking systems for small businesses around New York, and is building the Flare app himself.

Sergio MonteroPartner, finance and accountingFull bio coming soon.

Talk with us

Want to hear more about Flare? Leave your name and email and Luca will get in touch personally.

Survey figures as reported by HomeServe USA and the Insurance Information Institute. Worker count: BLS Occupational Employment, May 2025, Washington metro. Electrician licensing: DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. The example job is illustrative. This page is for information only and is not an offer to sell securities.