Knoq Press Release March 2020

Embargoed until March 10, 2020
Media Contact: Kendall H. Tucker, kendall@knoq.com

Polis, the Boston tech company recently announced as one of CNBC’s top 100 startups, announced today that they are changing their company name to Knoq and are introducing a new, no contact marketing channel for customers due to coronavirus.

“We have been building neighborhood outreach teams for over a year and these changes better reflects the work we are doing,” says CEO and Founder, Kendall Tucker. “Our vision is to build a team of neighborhood representatives all over the country who serve their neighbors by educating them about products and services that can make their lives better.”

Historically Knoq has recruited, trained and guided neighborhood representatives (Knoqers) through their app to go out into their own neighborhoods and talk to people about direct-to-home products. Unlike door-to-door sales, which Polis had previously built software for, the Knoq app helps homeowners compare products and services (i.e. home security, green energy, telecoms, etc.) and get the real scoop on which products are right for them. By having genuine conversations and discussing multiple products and services, Knoqers aimed to develop long term relationships based on trust and transparency.
More recently as people are taking important and necessary precautions due to coronavirus, and as more people work from home, Knoq has decided to open a new “no-contact” marketing channel, to allow brands to reach and help people working from home at this time. Knoqers will be able to drop literature and samples, talk to people only when appropriate, and deliver necessary services.
“It was critical to us that we support our communities during this outbreak,” says Tucker. “We talk all the time about being global citizens and treating everyone with kindness and respect. During a scare like this, more people than ever are going to be in their homes. Our goal is making sure they don’t feel isolated and helping them find solutions that will meet their needs.”
Since building their tech for neighborhood outreach, Knoq has grown 500% year-over year and is now doing over $2 million in revenue annually. When asked what accounts for this rapid growth, Tucker says, “Neighborhood outreach is ideal for homeowners and renters who have been meaning to get work done around their homes. Most people want to get clean energy or have been meaning to buy a home security system, but because it’s not top of mind, they are not getting the work done. When we connect with them and make buying easy, working with Knoq is a no brainer.”

As homeowner John D. in Boston says, “I had been meaning to sign up for a MassSave evaluation for months but I never had the time and kept putting it off. Jessica [a Knoqer] got me scheduled in minutes.“

Similarly, Knoq is a compelling employment opportunity for people looking for an exciting new approach in their careers . Most Knoqers have experience in retail, restaurants and/or customer service. Unlike these roles, Knoqers make large commissions on top of an hourly base. Knoq is also recruiting students who are looking for flexible and disruptive employment. “I joined Knoq because I love talking to people and making money at the same time. It’s flexible work and it’s a really unique job. I feel like I’m part of a big world vision here,” says Jakob Rodriguez, a Knoqer in Boston.

When asked about their growth plans for this year Tucker says “we are 100% focused on growing our team of Knoqers and building our footprint across the United States. We are currently in Kansas City and Boston and we will be rolling out teams in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Texas this year.” Currently there are 37 Knoqers and they are hiring 200 more this year.

Knoq is a technology company that encourages people to talk to their neighbors. Their technology recruits, trains and guides neighborhood representatives (Knoqers) to go out into their own neighborhoods and talk to people about products and services that can make their lives better. Their platform has been used by Google Fiber, NRG, Inspire Energy, Fluent Home Security and many other direct-to-home brands. They are growing 500% YoY and are hiring 200+ people this year. They are backed by Haystack VC, Initialized, Liquid2, Fathom Capital and Background Capital. To learn more visit: www.knoq.com.

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