About us

Founding team

Our team has been working with small, service-oriented businesses — and building products to support their growth — for years.

From peak-season frenzies, to scheduling conflicts, to operational overhead, to no-show customers, they’ve seen how hard it is to run a successful operation. And as customers, they know how tricky it is to find someone trustworthy to do a great job — whether that’s a lawyer, mechanic, dentist, or math tutor.

Aaron and Justin started this company to solve these problems. Recommended connects only the highest-rated businesses and professionals with customers looking for their help. Top-rated small businesses get rewarded with a multitude of features (like our flagship premium service, Smith.ai), while customers see the businesses their friends recommend (no more wading through 3-star reviews from an anonymous online crowd).

This is the superior experience that keeps us up at night. This is why we’re here.


Aaron Lee

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Former CTO of The Home Depot and co-founder of Redbeacon (acquired by The Home Depot in 2012), Aaron was one of the founding engineers on Google Video and led the monetization of YouTube.

Most recent recommendation
Scott Nyman

Nyman IP

Registered Patent Attorney

...knowledgeable and super responsive. He explained how the process works and gave us good feedback on various things related to ...
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Justin Maxwell

Co-Founder & Chief Design Officer

Most recently a manager in Google’s Ads & Commerce and Android design teams, Justin has designed products and built teams for Google, Apple, Mint (Intuit), Sony, and plenty of startups along the way.

Most recent recommendation
John Burkholder

 

Dentist

Dr. Burkholder is the first dentist I've had in decades of the "going to the dentist" routine who approaches dentistry as an ongoing coaching ...
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Fabio Rosati

Fabio Rosati

Board Member

With many great colleagues, I helped build the world's largest platform for freelance talent ($1B in annual billings, Upwork); Today I spend most of my time helping other entrepreneurs and CEOs build their businesses.

Most recent recommendation
Sherry Bucolo

Alain Pinel Realtors

Real Estate Agent

Sherry is the ultimate real estate professional, with unparalleled experience in Palo Alto and all the right connections to guide and support ...
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The whole gang

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Recommended is driven by local and remote team members consisting of engineers, designers, marketers, operations managers, customer service representatives, and everyone in between. The people behind Recommended live across the U.S. We support and promote a healthy virtual working environment.

  • Aaron
  • Alex
  • Alianza
  • Angela
  • Bryan
  • Christa
  • Crystal
  • Daisy
  • Dale Rae
  • Emilio
  • Garrett
  • Hector
  • Ivan
  • Jenny
  • Joelle
  • Justin
  • Karla
  • Lorenzo
  • Maddy
  • Manuel
  • Maria
  • Narve
  • Ryan
  • Sean
  • Serena