Our story
Built in Porto to fix a broken market.
Booking a plumber in Porto should not require three phone calls and a prayer that someone shows up. OSCAR is the structure that was missing: vetted professionals, fixed prices, and a scheduler that guarantees the slot.
Founded
2024, Porto
Network
Growing network of vetted professionals
Coverage
Porto and Greater Porto
Why OSCAR exists
The problem we set out to solve
In early 2024, João Marques spent three weeks trying to get his apartment's bathroom replumbed. Four plumbers came and quoted — each differently, each vaguely. One never showed on the day. Another started asking for cash adjustments on-site. The work eventually got done at a price that bore no resemblance to what was agreed.
That experience was not unique. Talk to any Porto homeowner and you'll hear versions of it: tradespeople who don't answer, prices that shift, jobs that don't get done right the first time. The informal referral network that used to hold this market together has frayed. New arrivals and younger residents have no trusted network to draw on.
OSCAR is the answer to that problem. Not through better marketing. Through structure: every professional is vetted before their first job, every price is fixed before you confirm, every job is quality-reviewed after. We built the coordination layer the Porto home services market was missing.
The team
The people building OSCAR
João Marques
CEO & Co-founder
A decade in marketplace operations and logistics, most recently scaling a Porto-based delivery platform. Founded OSCAR in 2024 after three weeks of failed plumber bookings. Has lived in Porto his whole life.
Marta Fonseca
Head of Operations
Background in logistics operations. Runs OSCAR's day-to-day: professional onboarding, dispute resolution, and scheduling quality. Joined from a Porto-based last-mile logistics team.
Rui Barbosa
Tech Lead
Background in scheduling and dispatch systems. Built the job complexity model and the real-time assignment engine. Has been writing constraint-based scheduling code since before it was marketable.
How we work
What we believe
Prices should be honest
Nobody should have to negotiate a tap fix. Every OSCAR price is fixed, disclosed upfront, and does not change after you confirm. No hourly ambiguity. No on-site surprises.
Professionals deserve respect
Tradespeople are skilled. The problem is not them — it is the lack of systems around them. OSCAR gives professionals tools, fair pay, and predictable bookings. 85% of every job goes to the professional.
Vetting is not optional
The reference call can't be skipped. The licence check can't be waived. Background screening is not a nice-to-have. These are the minimum to put a professional in someone's home.
Where we operate
Porto. Deeply local, by design.
OSCAR is a Porto-first product. We are not in Lisbon. We are not in Braga yet. Every professional in our network operates in Porto or the immediate Greater Porto municipalities. Our pricing reflects what Porto tradespeople earn, not a national average. Our team works from Rua de Santa Catarina, 10 minutes walk from the professionals we coordinate.
This is deliberate. A marketplace that tries to cover the whole country before it works in one city tends to work nowhere well.