Thumbtack CEO Marco Zappacosta on why trades are AI-proof, the trillion-dollar home services market, and why software stopped being a capital asset

Summation with Auren Hoffman

Summation with Auren Hoffman
Thumbtack CEO Marco Zappacosta on why trades are AI-proof, the trillion-dollar home services market, and why software stopped being a capital asset
Apr 21, 2026
Auren Hoffman

Marco Zappacosta is the co-founder and CEO of Thumbtack, the home services marketplace he started in 2008. Thumbtack connects homeowners to 300,000+ local service professionals, with nearly 100M projects started on the platform. 

In this episode of Summation, Marco and Auren discuss:

  • Why home services is bigger than groceries but barely any is booked online
  • How AI collapsed Thumbtack's product pod sizes
  • Why Silicon Valley underrates leadership and overrates management 
  • The single trait to screen every executive hire for

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Marco Zappacosta on X at @mlz
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