Investment leads can come from a wide variety of sources. In the case of Dysruptek’s investment in the web-based and collaborative construction technology platform ProPlanner, the impetus came from under its own roof.
The team at Dysruptek, Haskell’s innovation and venture capital arm, found ProPlanner on its radar because Haskell’s own project teams were using the platform, which allows contractors to schedule activities and collaborate with trades in a centralized location in real time.
“We use it, and that's how we originally came across them was in market,” said Cutler Knupp, Director of Strategy and Technology Investments. “We validated that there is value in the solution from our project teams who are actually engaging with it.”
Initially operating primarily in Latin America, ProPlanner CEO Franco Giaquinto established a new beachhead in Silicon Valley to expand in the U.S. market. Subsequently, the platform now services some of the largest architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms in north America as clients and a fresh funding round of $2.7 million led by Insight Partners, a premier Venture Capital fund. It intends to use the funds to expand its go-to-market team and develop new features in response to client input.
The platform gives contractors a web-based platform to empower teams in the field to plan and keep their projects on time. It connects their project schedules with weekly lookaheads and work plans, and integrates with other platforms, such as Procore, to enable relevant documents such as RFIs and soon Submittals to stay in sync with the schedule. Additionally, ProPlanner offers transparency throughout the project value chain, especially for owners who can track the schedule in real-time.
“We love seeing the success that they’re having,” Knupp said. “We’re excited to see promising companies that bring innovative technologies continuing to secure funding and get market traction.”
Dysruptek was formed with the mission of scouting, piloting and investing in emerging construction industry technologies. It seeks to overcome the problems of safety, efficiency and overall lack of digitization of construction projects that hinder the industry.
ProPlanner’s success is an example of a broader trend of in construction technology development that the industry had long lacked until recent years.
“Seeing top institutional VCs committing to investing in construction technology is very encouraging,” Knupp said. “They’re now paying attention and see the challenges construction is facing but also the huge opportunity by backing innovators solving for those challenges.”
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