Diamond Certified

What Diamond Certified does

Diamond Certified Resource, operated by American Ratings Corporation, is a privately held consumer rating service founded by Greg Louie and Jim Stein and headquartered in Petaluma, California. The company certifies local service companies across 150+ industries in more than 45 U.S. metropolitan areas, using a proprietary 12-step certification process anchored on telephone surveys of typically 400 verified past customers per applicant, with companies required to score 90 or higher on a 100-point scale to earn the designation. Core products include an annual printed Diamond Certified Directory (840,000 copies across nine Bay Area geographic editions in 2026), the Diamond Certified Preferred Membership (free with a paid premium upgrade offering a $2,000 performance guarantee and digital tools), Diamond Certified Company Reports, consumer guides, an expert contributors program, and a mediation-based performance guarantee.

Diamond Certified operates a two-sided business model. On the B2B side, local service SMBs pay for certification and receive the Diamond Certified designation, custom marketing materials, and access to quality-conscious consumer leads across 150+ service categories. On the B2C side, the company is free to consumers (175,000+ preferred members), with revenue generated through premium membership upgrades and the value of member engagement rather than per-lead fees. Distribution combines mass annual direct mail of printed directories with a website (diamondcertified.org), email newsletters, social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube, Pinterest), and a content-marketing engine spanning consumer guides and an expert contributors program.

The business is founder-owned, with no disclosed institutional investment, no acquisitions, no M&A activity, and no AI/ML capabilities evident in the source material. The core technology is deliberately human-driven telephone survey methodology rather than automated review aggregation, which differentiates Diamond Certified structurally from crowd-sourced platforms but also constrains scalability and presents a long-term competitive risk relative to AI-enabled ratings competitors.

Name

Diamond Certified

Legal name

American Ratings Corporation

Website

https://diamondcertified.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Diamond Certified Resource certifies local service companies across 150+ industries in 45+ U.S. metros via telephone-survey-based ratings, serving both SMB service providers paying for certification and 175,000+ consumer preferred members accessing its annual directory and performance guarantee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Petaluma

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Preferred Membership Program: Free preferred membership with optional upgrade to premium tier providing double performance guarantee ($2,000 vs $1,000), digital downloads, member hotline access, monthly e-newsletter subscription, and special member tools. Revenue comes from upgraded memberships and the value generated from member engagement.
2. Directory Distribution: Annual printed Diamond Certified Directory distributed to 840,000 households across nine geographic editions, with 182,000 copies to preferred members and selected homeowners each April. Directories feature profiles of top-rated local companies across 150+ service industries.
3. Company Certification Services: Local service companies pay to undergo the Diamond Certified rating and certification process, gaining access to quality customers and marketing benefits. Companies that qualify receive the Diamond Certified award and marketing materials including a custom marketing suite.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Diamond Certified Resource operates a local service company ratings and certification business. Local service companies pay to undergo a rigorous 12-step certification process that includes telephone surveys of approximately 400 verified past customers, requiring a score of 90+ on a 100-point scale to earn the Diamond Certified designation. Consumers access these rated companies through an annual printed directory (distributed to 840,000 households across nine geographic editions), a digital website, detailed company reports, consumer guides, and a free Preferred Membership program backed by a $1,000 standard or $2,000 premium performance guarantee with mediation.

Product overview

Diamond Certified Resource operates a multi-platform local service company ratings service. The core offering consists of the Diamond Certified Directory (annual printed and digital directories), Diamond Certified Preferred Membership (free tier with performance guarantees and member benefits), and Diamond Certified Company Reports (detailed customer survey-based ratings profiles). The service uses a 12-step certification process centered on telephone surveys of verified real customers, requiring companies to score 90+ on a 100 scale. Additional products include the Find a Quality Company Wizard (interactive search tool), Consumer Guides (Home, Auto, Health, Personal, Seasonal categories), Blog, Expert Advice program, and Problem Resolution & Mediation services. All certified companies are backed by a Performance Guarantee, with Preferred Members receiving double coverage ($2,000). The platform covers 150+ local service industries across 45+ metropolitan areas nationwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Diamond Certified Directory Annual printed directory featuring profiles of top-rated local companies across 150+ service industries, distributed to households and Diamond Certified Preferred Members in geographic editions.
• Diamond Certified Preferred Membership Free membership program offering a Double Diamond Certified Performance Guarantee ($2,000), digital directory downloads, Preferred Member Hotline (24/7), monthly e-newsletter, and VIP access to member tools; serves individual consumers seeking verified local service providers.
• Diamond Certified Company Reports Deeply researched company profiles displaying customer survey responses, ratings, credentials, and detailed performance information for certified companies.
• Company Certification Services Rigorous 12-step certification process including random customer surveys (typically 400+ customers), credential verification, license checks, and ongoing monitoring. Companies must score 90+ on a 100 scale to earn Diamond Certified status; serves local service businesses across 150+ industries.
• Problem Resolution & Mediation Services Alternative dispute resolution service using shuttle diplomacy to help consumers and Diamond Certified companies resolve contract performance disputes through mediation; serves both consumers and certified companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Companies must score 90+ on 100-point scale to earn Diamond Certified, cutting out mediocre performers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GuildQuality: GuildQuality conducts third-party customer satisfaction surveys for home builders, remodelers, and home services contractors. It shares Diamond Certified's core methodology of surveying verified customers to certify quality, though GuildQuality focuses specifically on the building and remodeling trades.
• Thumbtack: Thumbtack is a marketplace that matches consumers with local service professionals across categories like home improvement, events, and lessons. It directly competes for the same local-service SMB customer base that Diamond Certified certifies and the same consumer demand for trusted providers.
• Angi: Angi (formerly Angie's List) is the leading consumer ratings and lead-generation platform for local home service professionals. It directly competes with Diamond Certified in connecting homeowners with vetted local service companies through reviews, certifications, and paid lead programs.
• Better Business Bureau: The BBB is a longstanding nonprofit organization that rates and accredits local businesses based on trust and performance criteria, paralleling Diamond Certified's certification of local service companies. Both organizations provide third-party quality signals and dispute-resolution resources for consumers.

Emerging players

• Porch: Porch is a home services platform connecting homeowners with local professionals for projects like remodeling, maintenance, and moving. It overlaps with Diamond Certified in the home-services vertical but uses a project-based marketplace model rather than Diamond Certified's certification-first approach.
• Trustpilot: Trustpilot operates an open consumer-review platform with verification mechanisms and a star-rating system. While primarily focused on e-commerce and online retailers, its verified-review approach is conceptually similar to Diamond Certified's survey-based methodology.
• ConsumerAffairs: ConsumerAffairs collects verified consumer reviews and brand ratings across home, health, and personal services. It overlaps with Diamond Certified in delivering trust signals to consumers shopping for local service providers, but operates nationally online rather than via local print directories.

Broad incumbents

• Yelp: Yelp is the largest crowd-sourced local business review platform in the U.S., covering restaurants, home services, and professionals. It is the primary competitor for consumer attention on local service quality, though its open-review model lacks the verified-survey methodology and contractual guarantee Diamond Certified offers.
• Google Business Profile: Google Business Profile embeds local business listings, ratings, and reviews directly into Google Search and Maps, where the majority of local service discovery now begins. It is the default competitor for consumer attention on local service quality and structurally advantages crowd-review scale over Diamond Certified's verified methodology.

Others

• Birdeye: Birdeye is a customer-experience and review-management platform that helps local businesses aggregate, monitor, and respond to reviews across Google, Facebook, and other sites. It is an ecosystem enabler for SMBs that Diamond Certified certifies, rather than a direct consumer-facing rating competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/diamondcert
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBNmI_ssIO-wBIMfrMMWJ_g
• Facebookfacebook.com/diamondcertified
• Instagraminstagram.com/diamondcertified
• Pinterestpinterest.com/diamondcert
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-ratings-corporation-diamond-certified

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Diamond Certified