A Chicago startup that makes it easier for companies to sell forklifts, bulldozers and other types of construction equipment raised a seed round of funding to grow its team.
Gearflow.com announced Tuesday that it has raised $1.1 million in a seed round. Investors include Seth Lawry, Cindy Lawry and Soren Oberg of Thomas H. Lee Partners, Phoenix-based VC firm Annabelle LLC, and Chicago Early Growth Ventures.
Founded in 2018 by Ben Preston and Luke Powers, Gearflow help equipment rental businesses sell their parts and equipment. Users can search for parts and machinery, giving them a one-stop-shop for their equipment needs.
Gearflow began when its founders, who have experience in the wholesale equipment rental industry, noticed parts and equipment going unused at rental yards. Gearflow allows sellers to earn additional revenue off of equipment that typically wasn't marketed as available to customers.
Gearflow plans to offer equipment rentals on its platform early next year.
The startup currently has 90 businesses that sell products on its platform. It has four employees, and expects to double that in the near future, the company said.
Before starting Gearflow, Powers was the strategic director at US Markets, a company that supplies and repairs equipment for construction rental companies.
"Coming from equipment rental, I saw an opportunity to support all of the great businesses that make up this industry and now we will have the platform and team to do it," Powers said in a statement.
Gearflow isn't the first startup to try and disrupt the construction rental market. In 2017 Caterpillar acquired Yard Club, a San Francisco startup that makes it easier to rent and sell construction equipment. Yard Club raised more than $5 million in venture capital funding from Caterpillar, Andreessen Horowitz and other investors. Similar VC-backed upstarts include EquipmentShare and Getable.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Gearflow currently sells equipment, rather than rents it. It plans to offer rentals starting early next year.
