It all started with Mike Evans 99 MEng 00's rain barrel. He was still unable to find anyone after fourteen calls. After researching the home maintenance industry, he discovered that many US trade schools had closed in recent years, creating a shortage. Fixer was born.Evans, who founded Fixer back in 2017, says that there isn't enough people available to do the job. Full-time employees are hired by the company, which includes some who don't have any repair or maintenance experience but possess mechanical aptitude. They learn skills that will allow them to be professional handypeople, and then teach others. Customers can text Fixer or email Fixer to arrange a visit, or even a video consultation (a popular option during a pandemic).Evans sees the company as serving two purposes: it provides a service that consumers require and it can offer training that can help them launch a career. He says that we are trying to recreate the legacy of trade schools and learn from them. He adds that many of the original employees are still employed at Fixer today, while others have moved to more specialized trades.Evans isn't the first to venture into entrepreneurship. After he graduated with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering from MIT, a desire to order pizza online led to him cofounding GrubHub, a food delivery company that he managed from 2002 to 2014. GrubHub was a success and the gig economy that it created helped Evans realize that gig-based jobs, even when full-time, are not the best option for people looking to grow their careers. He describes the gig economy as a bit like Frankenstein's monster. Fixer, Evans' memoir, is his attempt to explain how he got to where he is today.Fixer is based out of Chicago and employs 50 people. They have performed around 20,000 jobs, from hanging photos to fixing toilets. The company has recently opened a Dallas office and plans to expand into two more cities in the coming year before launching nationwide.Evans hopes that Fixer will be able to train thousands of handypeople each year and that other companies will follow the Fixer model eventually leading to a wider shift in employment thinking. He says he likes the idea of business being a fulcrum for social change.
