By Sanjay Zimmermann, General Partner, and Matthew He, Associate
Across the United States and Canada, there are about 1.7 million contractors with fewer than 100 employees. They are the backbone of the construction industry, but still rely heavily on outdated analog systems.
Nearly half manage projects in Excel spreadsheets, a quarter use QuickBooks as their only digital tool, and only a small portion use dedicated construction software. Legacy solutions have moved upmarket, becoming too expensive for the SME layer of construction.
However, a new generation of tech-literate owners is taking over family and independent contracting businesses. They expect modern, consumer-grade digital experiences, and want platforms that are intuitive, mobile-friendly, and capable of connecting every workflow from client proposal to project delivery, rather than generic tools adapted from other industries.
Enter, Billdr.
Billdr is building an integrated operating system that unites project management, financial tools, procurement capabilities, and workforce solutions to transform how small and medium-sized general contractors run their businesses.
The platform enables contractors, office managers, and project teams to move from quote to completed project within a single, fully connected environment.
Billdr operates in an underserved market, and we are very excited to be leading Billdr’s USD$3.2m Seed, with support from One Way, Desjardins Capital, and Formentera, as the company looks to scale the platform and reach more customers across Canada and the US.
Built for a new generation of general contractors
Billdr combines quoting, scheduling, invoicing, project tracking, and CRM with embedded financial and procurement tools. Contractors can generate professional quotes with real-time material pricing, manage schedules with Gantt charts and mobile time tracking, and keep all client and subcontractor communication in one place.
The integrated financial layer provides live profitability insights and connects to QuickBooks to simplify accounting. Procurement features link to suppliers such as Home Depot to give accurate costs and will soon expand to multi-vendor purchasing.
In addition, Billdr’s approach creates a single source of truth for contractor operations.
By removing the friction between estimating, scheduling, procurement, payroll, and client management, Billdr enables faster project execution and tighter coordination between teams in the office and on-site.
The company already serves more than two hundred active customers and is adding new features such as permissions, materials selection, and AI-powered CRM. This round will support the rollout of these capabilities and the integration of additional supplier networks.
Priced to suit small contractors to larger firms
Billdr operates on a subscription model with tiers for small, growing, and larger contractors, complemented by additional revenue streams from embedded financial and procurement services.
The go-to-market strategy blends targeted outbound sales with inbound interest from strong SEO performance and an online quoting engine.
Many contractors first encounter Billdr when looking for easier ways to produce professional quotes and manage schedules. They then expand usage to include project management, client dashboards, and financial tools. This natural progression increases customer lifetime value and positions Billdr to become the default platform for their operations.
Why Billdr, why now?
We believe construction is at the early stages of a major digital shift and that small and medium-sized contractors will increasingly seek out platforms that replace the patchwork of tools they use today.
This change will allow them to work more efficiently, win more business, and reduce costly errors. Billdr is one of the first platforms built to serve this market with a complete and connected solution.
CEO Bertrand Nembot, COO Yahya Diallo, CTO Hugo Piso, and CPO François Jullien bring a combination of construction industry expertise, technology leadership, and startup execution.
They have already demonstrated the ability to pivot strategically, streamline operations, and deliver product improvements quickly based on customer feedback. Their background in managing complex projects and building scalable software gives them a clear understanding of contractor workflows and how to digitise them effectively.
Billdr’s early customer validation, product roadmap, and architectural choices position it to lead in an important and underserved category. The company’s emphasis on an intuitive user experience, combined with the integration of financial and procurement functions, sets it apart from older tools that fail to deliver a seamless workflow. As more features come online and supplier and payment integrations deepen, Billdr’s value will only grow.
At White Star Capital, we invest in companies that are reshaping industries with technology. Billdr is doing exactly that by redefining how contractors plan, execute, and manage projects. It delivers real-time, connected construction management and empowers the next generation of builders to operate with the speed, accuracy, and professionalism demanded by today’s clients. We are proud to have led the company’s Seed round and can’t wait to see where the team grow from here.