Raphael and Stephane Gabsi of Adopt-a-Contractor.com Tells Us How the Startup is Making it in America Since 2014 

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Stephane Gabsi: COVID-19 has undoubtedly been a challenge, professionally and personally. Since we work together and we’re brothers, we decided to have our families quarantine together. We suppose the biggest challenge has been remote learning for our children. Like so many other families, our children are missing their friends and classroom learning. However, we are very lucky… our children, who are cousins, are fortunate to have each other to socialize with, which provides us all with a sense of normalcy. Although it hasn’t been easy, especially being so far away from our extended family in France, we are grateful everyone is healthy and safe. 

Our office was vacant for quite some time; however, we gave our team the option to work remotely even when we were given the green light to return. We know we can run our business remotely if needed. The most important thing is that our team feels comfortable and safe. Health is number one across the board. 

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Adopt-a-Contractor.com

Raphael Gabsi: Our names are Raphael Gabsi, CEO, and Stephane Gabsi, COO. We are brothers and co-founders of Let’s Make A Lead LLC, DBA Adopt-A-Contractor, a lead generation business. We moved to Florida from Paris, France in 2014. That same year, we and 2 other co-founders, Mikael Boukhobza (CTO) and Michael Chouraqui (CPO), launched Adopt-A-Contractor, a tech-based company in Miami, Florida that connects homeowners and qualified contractors nationwide. Like many successful entrepreneurs, we found a solution to a problem. We know from experience that finding a top-rated, trustworthy contractor can be difficult. We extensively research credentials and work histories to find vetted, licensed, and insured contractors and match them with homeowners. We have recently launched additional verticals, such as insurance, legal, and auto. 

How does Adopt-a-Contractor.com innovate? 

Stephane Gabsi: We are driven by problem resolution. When faced with an obstacle, we are determined to identify the problem, understand the concern or issue, and ultimately discover a solution. For example, we saw a glitch in the lead generation industry, whereby there were plenty of leads but a lack of quality leads. Our exceptional tech team, based in Israel, helped design our own AI, which sources quality leads. This technology has also assisted in preventing fraud and scamming within the industry. Our partners have come to rely on this technology to provide quality leads they can sell. Once we realized how much we impacted the Home Improvement vertical, we took a chance and launched our insurance vertical to help customers find the right insurance plan and to help providers source the best leads. We are proud to announce that In 2018 we were actually given the Innovation Award by the French American Entrepreneurship. 

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

Raphael Gabsi: In all honesty, we were concerned at the beginning. As mentioned earlier, we had to close down our office for some time. However, we were still able to work remotely, and before we knew it, it was business as usual. In fact, with the country on lockdown, many Americans decided it was the perfect time to renovate or finish that home improvement project they had once put on hold. We feel very blessed. 

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Stephane Gabsi: In the beginning, we just had to take a breath. The virus dominated the world at an overwhelming rate. Naturally, we were uncertain of what was to come, how we would run our business, keep our team members employed, etc. Upon learning, we would all be working from home, we provided each team member with the tools and technology needed to do their jobs efficiently. We learned that working remotely was absolutely possible and necessary to keep our business running smoothly and moving forward. Once we returned to the office, we immediately installed glass walls within our office to keep our team safe and socially distanced. We have provided hand sanitizer for all team members throughout the office, and anyone who comes into our office is required to wear a mask. 

How do you deal with stress and anxiety, how do you project yourself and Adopt-a-Contractor.com in the future?

Raphael Gabsi: Lots of coffee and chocolate! Yes, we have an espresso machine steps away from our desks and boxes of chocolate chip cookies, but we also have supportive families and a reliable team to bounce ideas off. Due to Let’s Make A Lead’s remarkable growth over the last few years, we were recently ranked by Inc.5000 as one of the Fastest Growing Companies in America. We are proud to be a leader in this industry, and frankly, we think our future looks pretty bright!

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Stephane Gabsi: We have many competitors in this industry, but we plan to stay in the game by continuing to do what we do best: Maintain strong working relationships, constantly improve our leading technology, and keep our drive for success alive and well. 

Your final thoughts

Raphael Gabsi:Starting a business in America has been a rollercoaster, yet it’s a rollercoaster we never want to get off. We are beyond grateful to be living and working in this country. We are literally the definition of the American Dream. 

Your website?

http://www.adoptacontractor.com

http://www.letsmakealead.com