Jan 29, 2019

SiliconHills January 29, 2019 by lalorek While working at another fintech startup, Chris Doyle saw amajor problem with commercial subcontractors not being able to pay suppliers intime for their projects. He left that startup to found Billd , which acts as a bill me later service for commercial subcontractors to buy materials and pay for them over time. Austin-based Billd launched nationwide last year and Tuesday, in yet another big funding announcement in January for Austin startups, Billd LL Funds, a Philadelphia, Penn.-based firm, led the Series Around. Billd plans to use the funds to hire key employees, furtherdevelop its product and on sales and marketing, said Billd CEO Doyle. Doyle previously worked at Dividend Finance, a consumer lenderfocused on the home improvement marketplace. “The construction industry has a major supply chain financeproblem,” Doyle said. “ I started connecting the dots of the finance world andthe construction world and saw all the inefficiencies.” Billd launched in 2018 to provide timely loans at anaffordable price to subcontractors in the commercial construction industry.Billd takes a transaction fee when the payment is sent out and charges a rateevery month when the balance is outstanding. “What we found is that if all the dollars come in about theright time – the financing doesn’t cause you that much,” Doyle said. Billd handles credit and risk management for suppliers, Doylesaid. It is working with suppliers to offer the product to subcontractors inthe commercial construction industry nationwide. Existing investors funded Billd bought Atlass44 , a small business out of Scottsdale, Arizona that provided credit lines to the construction industry. Billd is based at 2700 West Anderson Road in Austin and has 20 employees. It expects to double its staff this year with about 50 employees by the end of the year, Doyle said. “The reception so far from suppliers has been great,” Doylesaid. “We’re super excited. Our culture is built around understanding theconstruction industry: contractors, suppliers. We are looking at thisuntraditionally. Our hypothesis is these contractors are great borrowers. We’regoing to make this the go-to option for them.” Billd currently works with thousands of contractors acrossthe US to ensure reliable cash flow and timely payments. Generally, construction suppliers provide 30-day terms tocontractors to purchase materials while it takes contractors 60 to 90 days toreceive payment for their work. WithBilld, contractors receive 120-day terms and avoid this gap in cash flow withsimple, flexible and transparent finance products. “The construction industry is known for inefficient supplychain financing across all major sectors, and subcontractors and suppliers arethe last in line,”  Doyle said. “Billd provides subcontractors solutions so they can take that extraproject, grow their business, and simplify their process while also givingsuppliers more payment options to share with their customers.” As part of the transaction, Shivraj (Raj) Mundy, Operating Partner with LL Funds, will join Billd