We’re pleased to share our follow-on investment in Extracker, which this week becomes Clearstory to more fully reflect its purpose.
This marks the company’s next chapter and our continued support for the team’s mission to increase trust and financial transparency where called for between companies partnering to deliver collaboratively quality outcomes in construction.
When we first met Founder and CEO Cameron Page early last year, our team was impressed with his commitment to and enthusiasm for solving the industry’s change order communication problem. The time involved to document and process change orders and time & materials (T&M) tags is often underappreciated by all sides. Each documentation instance demands a slice of time from both project teams in the field as well as back offices. These slices add up in time, and often unnecessarily add friction when misplaced or not accurately documented. Of course, this isn’t the only cost: The sum of change order direct costs often represents over 10% of total project spend. Incomplete documentation and delays in reviews and approvals causes angst for all parties especially in the later innings of project as pressure can build. The impact of improving this process is substantial.
Since our initial investment last spring, the company has been executing its plan to improve change order communication and gaining traction in the market. Contractors of all sizes and types—from drywall to concrete to elevators—who deploy the tool on a project invite other collaborators to use the tool, and all parties quickly realize the benefits. The company now serves more than 10 of the ENR Top 25 General Contractors, and measures the flow of change orders processed through the Software in billions of dollars.
Quantitative numbers cannot tell the full story. The ease of use and contribution to a good spirit of transparent collaboration between subcontractors and general contractors is appreciated on both sides. This mutual appreciation isn’t simply a reflection of the value Clearstory offers; it’s also a key lever for the platform’s growth. After seeing positive results, contractors graduate from one project to many. At the same time, contractors who are invited to the platform to collaborate on a single project see the benefits and often become users, as well. The net promoter effect boosts organic growth within a contractor and across its counterparts.
CEO Cameron Page presents with Ryan Crist of PCI, a Clearstory customer at our Building Ventures Innovator’s Network Summit in October 2022 in Boston.
In order to support its customers and grow, Clearstory is embarking on a marketing drive and expanding the functionality of the platform. Integrations are launching and expanding with project management systems, like Procore and CMiC. To further support these initiatives and prepare for ongoing growth of the team, Clearstory made recent additions to its leadership team. Tom Maiaroto was promoted to Chief Technology Officer and Jim Lesko joined the team as head of engineering. The team also welcomed Brad Dunshee to run marketing.
The expanded leadership team, growing market traction, and product development adds to Clearstory’s momentum and gives us confidence to support Cameron and the team. To that end, we’re glad to announce our subsequent investment in this $5.5 million round led by GS Futures. Aaron Toppston and Sang Yoon Choi from GS Futures extend the breadth of strategic support available to Cameron and his leadership team, along with the returning investors from Jackson Square Ventures and Cloud Apps. We’re excited to see what Cameron and the team accomplish next. To learn more about Clearstory, go to www.clearstory.build.
