Gearflow.com, aimed at providing a transparent construction equipment parts marketplace, has won the Mid-Continent Startup Challenge at the BuildWorlds 2021 Construction Tech Conference.
The competition awards the top early-stage construction tech startup based in a U.S. metropolitan area other than the East and West coasts. Three finalists presented during the event.
Luke Powers, Gearflow founder and CEO, presented Gearflow's marketplace platform during the challenge, which is designed to reduce equipment downtime by allowing fleet owners to quickly buy the parts they need from known suppliers.
“There is a distinct opportunity for digital technology to expedite the work in the field — particularly when it comes to equipment and tools — in order to positively influence contractor profit margins, and the solutions that Gearflow is building to elevate the supply chain and its service relationships will do just that," says Powers.
Judges for the startup challenge included Weston Tanner, director of construction technology and innovation at Graycor; Chris Wright, director of operations support at Nabholz; and Tomislav Zigo, CTO at Clayco. Finalist pitches were scored on value proposition, market opportunity and strategy, leadership, technology, and competition.
“Gearflow addresses an underserved market with untapped potential,” says Wright, on why he selected Gearflow as the winner. “All that is left is to execute their strategy.”
Last month, Gearflow gained $3 million in seed funding from Watchfire Ventures and CNH Industrial announced it will use Gearflow's platform in its existing dealer ecosystem.
