Overland Park-based LaborChart has sold for an undisclosed amount to Procore Technologies Inc., a major industry player that was valued near $5 billion last year.
“It’s obviously a very big milestone,” LaborChart founder and CEO Ben Schultz told the Kansas City Business Journal. “I’m proud and happy that we’ve been able to do things our way. … Our mission of winning workforce management in construction does not stop here. It actually just gets accelerated.”
Schultz said that 100% of LaborChart’s previous venture capital came from the Kansas City area through Five Elms Capital and Perceptive Equity and that people with Kansas City ties have been instrumental in helping LaborChart thrive.
California-based Procore will retain LaborChart’s 43 employees and local office. Schultz will continue as LaborChart CEO this year but probably will take on a different title next year as the combined company maps out a long-term vision and fully integrates LaborChart.
Both companies have been focused on improving the lives of those in the construction industry, he said. Although Procore’s software centers on project management, LaborChart’s software addresses workforce management, helping contractors with aspects such as scheduling, communication, and forecasting the workload and head count required. Its data analytics helps companies optimize their workforce during every project's life cycle and helps them drive efficiencies and make better decisions, including whether they should take on more work.
Nearly 300 contractors use LaborChart’s software. Combining both companies’ software will create the “most comprehensive” software platform for operations teams in the industry, Schultz said.
“Construction is facing a global labor shortage, with contractors struggling to find skilled workers. This makes it critical to efficiently manage existing workforces,” Procore founder and CEO Tooey Courtemanche said in a release. “With the addition of LaborChart, Procore will be able to provide a complete workforce management solution that helps contractors optimize their workforces, maximize productivity and take on more projects. The days of relying on spreadsheets and whiteboards are over.”
Beyond software capabilities, Schultz said Procore’s culture also stood out. He recalled LaborChart’s second trade show in 2015 when the startup was placed next to a Procore booth.
“You could just tell that their culture and their people were fantastic,” he said. “Every interaction along the way has been so positive. … It’s always been the gold star in what I thought would be a company where our team could continue to thrive.”
In 2020, LaborChart became a software integration partner with ProCore, and acquisition talks naturally evolved from there.
ProCore has more than 10,000 customers and about 3,000 employees spread throughout U.S. and international offices, Schultz said.
LaborChart’s revenue growth has been doubling every year, and Schultz expects the acquisition will more than double that growth this year.
“This is not a transaction where anyone is walking away,” he said. “This is a steppingstone to have a bigger platform to continue the mission on a grander scale.”
