The Story Behind Lights Local
I started making money with my hands before I knew what a business was.
Cutting grass in the neighborhood, shoveling driveways after snowstorms, seal coating, landscaping, concrete work, waterproofing basements — all through high school and college. I wasn't building character. I was trying to eat. But working jobs like those teaches you something that's hard to learn any other way: what it actually costs to show up, do good work, and still try to grow a business when you're physically exhausted.
That stayed with me.
On the other side, I grew up on a Commodore 64. Technology was never separate from the hustle for me — it was always just another tool to get more done. Eventually that combination led me to co-found 33 Mile Radius, which became the largest water damage restoration lead generation company in the world. We expanded into plumbing, fire damage, mold remediation, and other home services. I spent years in the trenches learning what homeowners need and what contractors actually deal with — the good leads, the bad leads, the tire kickers, the guys who close 80% and the ones who can't figure out why they're not growing.
Home services is what I know. The leads side, the sales side, the operator side.
A few years ago I started Strandr — design software built specifically for Christmas light and permanent lighting installers. The problem was simple: a homeowner looks at a quote and says "let me think about it," not because the price is wrong, but because they can't picture what their house is going to look like. Strandr lets a contractor upload a photo of the house, drop in roofline lights, pick bulb colors, set the spacing, and send a clean realistic mockup back to the customer in under two minutes. That "let me think about it" turns into a signed job.
Strandr now has over 1,600 contractors using it.
Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with this industry. Lighting contractors work incredibly hard in a short season. They run crews, manage inventory, handle customer expectations, and do it all under weather pressure that doesn't care about their schedule. They deserve tools that actually help them — not platforms that treat them like an afterthought.
Lights Local is the other half of what I've been building. Strandr handles the supply side — helping contractors close the jobs they're already pitching. Lights Local handles the demand side — connecting homeowners who want great lighting with the pros who actually do great work. The two fit together in a way I couldn't ignore.
That's why this exists.
For Homeowners
Finding a good lighting contractor used to mean asking a neighbor or rolling the dice on a review site packed with outdated listings and fake five-star ratings.
Lights Local is different, and I'll tell you exactly why you can trust it.
Every pro on this platform is a real, active business — not a random entry scraped from a directory. When you see the Strandr Verified badge, it means that contractor uses professional design software and can show you exactly what your home will look like before work begins. That's not a small thing. It means they're invested in their craft and running their business like a real operation.
My background is in home services lead generation. I've seen what separates contractors who take care of customers from the ones who don't. The pros listed here are vetted, not just listed.
Getting quotes is free. There's no obligation. You'll hear back from real businesses who want to earn your work — not a call center reading from a script.
For Contractors
I built Lights Local because I was watching 1,600 lighting contractors use Strandr to close more jobs — and I kept thinking about where those jobs were supposed to come from in the first place.
Lead generation in home services is broken. Angi sells the same lead to five companies and calls it a marketplace. Thumbtack charges you just to have a conversation. The platforms that are supposed to help you grow end up costing you money with nothing to show for it.
You deserve better than that.
I grew up doing the same kind of work you do. I know what it feels like to be underbid by someone who won't do the job right, to deal with a homeowner who isn't sure what they want, to try to grow something real while everyone else is just chasing the next lead. That's not abstract for me.
I built 33 Mile Radius into the largest water damage lead gen company in the world. I know how leads work, what makes one valuable, and what makes one a waste of your afternoon. I've spent years on the contractor side of this equation.
Lights Local is built to send you homeowners who are ready to buy — not browsers. The platform is free to list on. If you want exclusive leads in your area, that's what Pro is for.
Your 1,600 peers already trust Strandr. Lights Local is built on the same foundation: software by someone who actually gives a damn about whether your business grows.
When I'm not building software, I'm with my wife and three kids, probably being followed around by two dogs and a cat who all think they run the house. They're not wrong.
— Matt Staton, Founder