Soil Connect has raised additional strategic funding led by Heartland Ventures. The round also included participation from existing investors, CEMEX Ventures, TIA Ventures and AB Investment Group, as well as new investors Romulus Capital/EquipmentShare and ARKA Ventures. Soil Connect will use the funds to continue to build out its technology, product infrastructure and team to advance its mission to be a one-stop shop for all things dirt-related.
"We have created and are scaling a digital marketplace that is entirely unique and meets a clear need for the construction industry," said Cliff Fetner, Founder and CEO of Soil Connect. "Our ability to drive critical efficiencies that save time and money has led to rapid adoption and enabled Soil Connect to serve as an essential jobsite tool for our users. This proof of concept is reflected in the fact that Heartland, CEMEX and TIA have all increased their stakes alongside new investments from Romulus Capital/EquipmentShare and AKRA Ventures. These investors recognize the significant value we bring to the table, as well as the tremendous market opportunity that exists for us to continue introducing products that provide innovative solutions to an antiquated industry."
Since announcing its seed round, Soil Connect has continued to make progress expanding its offering with the introduction of its patent-pending eRegulatorySM module, which eliminates paper tickets and automatically captures and saves essential truck, load and route data, allowing users to easily share with regulatory bodies and other stakeholders. Furthermore, Soil Connect's eTickets product digitizes contractors' entire administrative workflow.
Mark Accomando, Partner at Heartland, who was named to Soil Connect's board of directors in conjunction with the funding, added, "Our decision to increase the fund's investment in Soil Connect was largely based on feedback from those who play in the dirt - many of whom are our LPs, comprising large general contractors, earthworks contractors and firms focused on aggregate and asphalt production, transit and sales. The Soil Connect marketplace resonated with all of them, up and down the value chain. It's become clear that Soil Connect's in-the-dirt experience allows them to build trust with folks working with their hands. Cliff and his team are not Silicon Valley programmers - they're construction leaders that know the customer. This is a huge advantage in an industry often wary of technology."
In addition to appointing Accomando to its board of directors, Soil Connect named four construction professionals to its advisory board, including:
- William Sandbrook: Former Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of U.S. Concrete. In total, Sandbrook spent 29 years in the heavy construction materials industry, and currently serves on the board of directors of Comfort Systems USA (NYSE: FIX) and NITROcrete.
- Steve Dell'Orto: Former SVP of Clark Construction, where he spent 26 years, and Founder and CEO of ConCntric, a construction-tech predictive analytics platform.
- Aaron Toppston: Managing Director of Infrastructure Investments & Strategic Planning at Walsh Investment Group.
- Zach Scheel: Co-Founder and CEO of construction management software startup Rhumbix.
Soil Connect has also made significant progress building out its team, bringing on eight new hires over the last six months. These professionals have diverse and complementary skillsets that are key to advancing Soil Connect's strategic priorities.
