Startup Spotlight #64: Gearflow

Gearflow is the first online marketplace for all things construction equipment.

Dec 08, 2020

I got the chance to speak with Ben Preston, co-founder and CMO of Gearflow, about what he’s working on at his startup, and any advice he has for emerging entrepreneurs.

Preston is the Co-Founder and CMO of Gearflow.com, an online marketplace for construction equipment and parts. He is a current MBA candidate at Kellogg, Northwestern University’s School of Business, and spent his career in advertising tech prior to launching Gearflow with his partner Luke Powers at the end of 2018.

Startup Spotlight: Gearflow

Gearflow cofounder and CMO Ben Preston.

Problem: Construction contractors rely on equipment to get their jobs done so when that equipment breaks down, it leads to downtime which is a contractor’s single largest cost. However, the process of procuring the parts and equipment needed to fix or replace that down equipment is extremely painful - often requiring dozens of phone calls and long lead times.

Market: We are currently focused on the construction equipment parts market, an approximately $90B TAM with a $1B SOM, in order to serve as the SMB contractor’s outsourced parts manager. The US construction equipment market is a $140B industry and the US rental market is a $60B industry.

Solution: Gearflow is the one-stop-shop for equipment owners to quickly buy the parts and equipment they need from suppliers they can trust to keep their jobs running.

Team: Gearflow was founded by Luke Powers who, having spent most of his career at his family’s equipment rental business, felt the pains first hand that comes with parts and equipment procurement. Ben and Luke are joined by Director of Business Development Sarah Wilcox, a lifelong equipment junkie, as well as Software Engineers Erik Cameron and Michael Gingras, both passionate marketplace developers.

Recent Success:

Preston: We have been really successful at doing things that don’t scale in an effort to stay close to our number one most important customer. Being a platform business, there is a temptation to overbuild and over automate. It is also easy to try and be everything for everyone.

Instead, we embrace the fact that we are a tech company operating in an industry run on relationships. Therefore, we strive to be an eCommerce-enabled business and ultimately form close relationships with our 30% most important customers. To do this, we do things that won’t scale such as personal visits, interviews, handwritten cards, free t-shirts, and order fulfillment via text. This has led to a very high return rate among this customer group.

Recent Struggle:

Preston: Patience. There is a never-ending feeling when starting a company (at least for first-time founders like ourselves) that you are moving too slow. In the past, this has led to a loss in focus and nearly led to poor hiring decisions out of a panic-inducing need to go faster. In an industry full of opportunity, it can be very difficult to remain focused on our core value proposition and stay patient with our plan. It takes a continuous effort in planning, cash management, and patience to stay headed in the right direction.

Founder Advice:

Preston: Work with subject matter experts on a part-time basis. You will be surprised by how many people are willing to advise or formally get involved with your start-up part-time. I can’t even begin to quantify the amount of value we are getting from some of the most talented specialists in their respective fields on a part-time basis. These are folks we have met through our network that are the best at what they do. They are looking for a challenge beyond what they are able to get from their full-time role and are all super excited to be working on something new. This is also a perfect opportunity to “date” before potentially working towards a full-time role. It is the most overlooked low risk, high reward tactic a founder can pursue in my opinion.

Two Cool Founders You Should Know About:

Preston: Here are two founders you should check out next!

Peter Maglathlin, Co-Founder of TradeHounds: Trade Hounds is a construction only job board for contractors in America.
Taylor Katzman, Founder of Provi: Provi simplifies the beverage industry in the increasingly saturated business of booze.

Who should I profile next? Leave your suggestion in the comments:

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