Frenchman Guillaume Thomas, a father of five young children, had a problem. He was finding it incredibly difficult looking for babysitters to care for his kids while living in France and wasted much time doing so.
In fact, he was so frustrated he did something any problem-solver would have done – come up with the solution himself. Thomas started Aladom.com in 2007, a French website that started by providing a babysitter matchmaking service – they were given free listings – and later morphed into a site covering service providers in almost every imaginable category.
In 2011 the service even expanded to the United States offering essentially the same service, connecting people who need help in their homes – plumbing, repairs, gardening, amongst many others – with those who can provide required services in their area. Using the site is easy – just join for free, and input the kind of service required, along with a zip code.
Best yet? Local small businesses win too.
