Why we invested in Clearstory.build
GS Futures recently led an investment in Clearstory.build (previously known as Extracker). We have tremendous confidence in Clearstory because it creates clear value for stakeholders across the construction industry. Here’s how:
Trade Contractors: in the U.S., specialty trade contractors are typically privately held companies with limited balance sheets and minimal corporate debt. These companies depend on project cash flow to purchase materials, make payroll, and complete work. However, trade workers in the field face a challenging job — not only must they complete the physical work, but they must also capture any field-directed extra work, often directed by their general contractor customers, through time and material tickets. Even in 2023, the primary tool available to track T&M tickets is triplicate carbon copy paper. These tickets can be lost, forgotten or simply not completed. And the process from ticketing in the field to approval to invoicing to payment can take months. Clearstory streamlines the ticketing process, automates critical fields to reduce redundant work, and ensures transparency between trade contractors and their GC customers. This means the ROI for specality trades is simple — get paid appropriately for work completed faster and more accurately.
General Contractors: general contractors are critical to the success of construction projects. GCs direct work and optimize for schedule, cost, quality and safety. The general contractor is also the field marshal for managing risk and change in the form of design directives (i.e. a design change creating change orders) and field directives (i.e. a change in work completed to satisfy original design requirements, quality, etc.). General contractors benefit from using Clearstory in streamlining both design and field directives, capturing all information in a transparent manner, and managing the workflow over time to expedite decision making. This helps general contractors successfully manage change orders and reduce fee erosion risk.
Project Owners: a project owner typically sets the budget early in a project’s lifecycle. No owner wants surprises at the last minute that cause budget overruns. However, change orders can often be put off until the end of a project — the primary concern is getting the project done on time, safely. Clearstory offers a simple and consistent platform for owners to understand change orders. It helps contextualize changes over time and provides the avenue for consistent, predictable cost and scope reviews.
Clearstory’s solution helps stakeholders manage change orders — it is not just a specialty trade or general contractor tool, but a path to improving the construction process for everyone. To get a sense for the magnitude of this potential, we estimate that 10% to 15% of all construction cost occurs through a change order. This means 10% to 15% of the $1.7 trillion U.S. construction market happens outside the base scope of a construction contract. For an independent take, McKinsey estimates that 98% of all infrastructure, mining, and oil & gas projects are over budget. Change happens in construction and the magnitude is tremendous.
Most of all, Cameron Page, CEO of Clearstory, has built a culture and approach that embodies this value for everyone. Cam has sought out and engaged some of the strongest talent across the startup ecosystem. He has built a partnership of product, engineering, and construction know-how that uniquely positions his team to build Clearstory. We are thrilled to lead this $5.5 million investment with returning investors from Building Ventures, Jackson Square Ventures and Cloud Apps. We’re excited to see what Clearstory will accomplish next.
