July 2025 Pro Highlight — Meet Michael.

DustiO

Meet Michael, a 5 year Top Pro roofing contractor with over 150 5-star reviews — and Pro Advisor on our Thumbtack Pro Advisory Board. Michael is the owner of Wolfpack Roofing in Austin, Texas. We asked him about his Thumbtack experience and to share some advice for other pros. Check out what he had to say and comment below with your story or any advice you'd like to share with other Thumbtack pros.

Can you tell us a bit about your business and what inspired you to start it? Wolfpack Roofing & Exteriors is a residential restoration company.  Basically we fix and maintain existing homes… but only on the outside!  I spent 17 years in roofing distribution before I sold that company and started this one. Working with homeowners and helping people with their homes feels amazing and I love that my oldest son has joined me in the business.

What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced as a business owner, and how did you overcome them? The hardest part about starting my business was deciding how I would go to market. Did I want to be a sales organization with dozens of sales people, a big office, a warehouse, and tons of marketing?  Or should I go all Jerry Maguire and just rock it myself and go for more personal attention for my customers?  Or maybe somewhere in the middle?  The culture and identity of your company is not easy to change midstream, and it can be costly to make those changes.  Ultimately I chose the Jerry Maguire route and have enjoyed helping people myself for the last five years.  It is so much more fulfilling than building a huge empire!

How has Thumbtack contributed to your business's success? In my efforts to keep my costs down, I had to find a path to advertising that allowed me to maximize my exposure while not breaking the bank.  I tried paying for leads through lead gen services, Angie’s List, Yelp, HomeAdvisor, FaceBook advertising, Google Ads, crazy people guaranteeing front page on Google searches, marketing firms… you name it, I tried it!  I knew thousands of roofers over my career in distribution and I have seen all of those work for different folks.  I am sure at some level all or some those folks are real and not total scams, but none of them worked for me.  They under delivered and overpriced.  Thumbtack was the one platform I tried that actually delivered what they promised.  I quickly saw that, if I responded quickly and took premium care of customers, that I would be rewarded with more opportunities.  I could see when I was competing and with whom, I could ensure the leads were qualified, and I had a great team at Thumbtack that actually cared about supporting me.  The last four years have been a great partnership and I am looking forward to the next 20 years working together!

What advice would you give to new business owners starting out on Thumbtack? Thumbtack is the perfect egalitarian platform.  There is no way to cheat the system, throw money at it, or fake your way to dominating leads and pushing smaller companies around.  My father in law has a $72M roofing company that has locations in five markets… and my little $1.5M business in Austin gets more Thumbtack leads and closes than their entire company combined!  That being said, there is no secret formula.  Success is completely in your hands if you decide to jump on Thumbtack… Number one, answer customers who select you as fast as possible.  The speed at which Thumbtack gets the leads to you, the platform on their app, gives contractors a huge advantage over lead gen services that distribute leads days later.  Number two, take care of the customer!  Be on time, be professional, be informative, be accurate, and take care of the issue.  And finally, get those reviews!  As James Rollins said, “If you don’t talk about it, it didn’t happen.”  No one wants your great service to be the best kept secret in the industry.  Break through that humility shield of yours and ask EVERY, SINGLE CUSTOMER for a review.  If you are worried they won’t give you a 5 star review, then you need to go back to item 2 - take care of the customer!  I literally never wonder what review I will get from a customer.  I know I always leave them thinking they made the best decision of their lives!