You hit the nail on the head. Using category labels to match vendors with potential clients doesn't work. In almost any business there are too many variables in what a vendor provides and a client needs to determine if a real match exists. Paying just to start a conversation makes Thumbtack unaffordable. Paying just to make contact means Thumbtack vendors could end up paying for: - competitors conducting clandestine surveys of other vendor's services and pricing - "clients" who are collecting estimates to compare against vendors not featured on Thumbtack - "clients" who are simply curious and have no intention of hiring anyone - "clients" not understanding what a vendor does, therefore the contact is a dead end from the beginning Better to pay for actual "hired" projects than to get stuck paying for fake or dead end inquiries.     ... View more