WorkGivingStump
GivingStump: contractors pay 5%, and only when they win the job
A contractor-first bidding marketplace for tree work in the Washington DC metro. 6DOTS built it and runs it.
Visit givingstump.comWhat it is
GivingStump is a bidding marketplace for tree services in the DC metro. Homeowners post a job with photos, and licensed crews bid on it.
The homeowner pays nothing. The contractor pays 5%, and only when they win. Payment is held in escrow and released the minute the homeowner confirms the work is done.
The problem
Most home-services platforms charge contractors for leads: money out the door before anyone has won anything, often for a phone number other contractors bought too. Others take 20 to 30 percent of the job.
Either way, the crew doing the work carries the cost of the platform. We wanted a marketplace that only gets paid when a contractor does.
What we built
Both sides of the marketplace: job posts with photos for homeowners, bidding for licensed crews, and escrow payments that release when the homeowner confirms the work. The stack:
- Next.js
- React
- TypeScript
- Progressive Web App
- Service workers
- Push notifications
- Offline capabilities
- Real-time bidding
Where it stands
- The first job cleared in September 2026: a tree removal in Great Falls, Virginia, won by a local tree service with a $1,200 bid.
- When the homeowner confirmed the work, escrow released. The crew kept $1,140 and 6DOTS took $60.
- Contractors pay 5% only when they win. Homeowners pay nothing.
- The first 50 founding contractors lock the 5% rate for three years.
Ross wrote about the first transaction. Run a tree crew in the DC metro? Founding spots are at givingstump.com.
Building a marketplace of your own?
We take a small number of client builds, and we have taken this one from the first line of code to the first cleared job.