From TechCrunch

By Rebecca Szkutak

December 18, 2024

Hauler Hero wants to bring waste-management software into the 21st century

news image

After nearly four years of working in sales at tradesperson software company ServiceTitan, Mark Hoadley (pictured above) was looking for a change and to potentially start something of his own in a similar industry.


Hoadley’s brother-in-law and now co-founder, Ben Sikma, was working on M&A in the waste-management space at the time. Sikma discovered how outdated many of the companies changing hands were. When he and Hoadley started looking deeper, they realized waste management might be exactly what Hoadley was looking for.


“All of the existing software in the space, they were clunky, old,” Hoadley told TechCrunch. “Sometimes we’d talk about how this one reminds us of the Oregon Trail, this reminds us of the cell phone Michael Douglas used in ‘Wall Street.’ They’re very clunky and antiquated.”


Hoadley, now CEO, and Sikma, now president, launched Hauler Hero in 2020. The cloud-based software platform works with waste-management companies on everything from route planning and management to billing to a customer portal where companies’ underlying customers can request pickups. Hauler Hero’s software also taps AI to help automate some of these tasks like invoicing and route management to find inefficiencies and help companies save money.


Hoadley said the company specifically decided to build multiple product lines right out of the gate as opposed to just building route management or billing software with plans to expand later. He said that he watched ServiceTitan struggle to expand into recurring services (pest control) while he was there. The company ended up having to buy an existing player to get it to work. He didn’t want his company to face the same fate.


“We wanted to make sure that we built this the right way from the beginning,” Hoadley said. “Many people will advise you to build an MVP, which is just a wedge into the market, and on balance, that didn’t seem like the right way to do this. It’s more difficult to raise all the capital and start that way, but now we’ve got a really efficient machine that our customers love.”


The company launched its platform in beta in 2022 and rolled out publicly in Q1 2024. Since then it has amassed more than 120 residential and commercial waste-management customers across 40 states. It’s grown its revenue 200% in the past year.


Hauler Hero is announcing that it raised $10 million in seed funding led by I2BF Ventures with participation from K5 Global and Somersault Ventures in addition to executives from companies like Gusto and ServiceTitan and some of Hauler Hero’s customers.


Hoadley said the company plans to use the funds to hire more engineers and salespeople and to continue working on product development.


One area the company is working on, Hoadley said, is building up their products for larger enterprise customers that want better integrations with their other related businesses like transfer stations, or places to sort and store waste. He added that they are also looking to build up its integrated communications offerings like two-way text messaging, which would allow the company to get enough data to eventually build a customer service agent.


Hauler Hero’s tech operates in a relatively crowded industry filled with legacy software companies, including Capterra, WasteWorks, and cieTrade, among others.


There are also other startups looking to solve these problems. Copenhagen-based WasteHero is one early-stage startup looking to build software for this industry that’s raised $6.7 million in venture funding. New York-based CurbWaste is another that raised $21.2 million in funding.


The waste-management market is massive, though: It generated more than $140 billion in revenue in the U.S. alone in 2023. While the industry does include huge enterprises like Waste Management and G Mello, it also includes thousands of smaller privately run waste-collection companies. Hauler Hero wants to grab a meaningful market share.


“It’s extremely rewarding. These are people who really are doing backbreaking work and God’s work,” Hoadley said. “It’s really rewarding to give them an opportunity to get their workflows done more quickly, to be able to generate reports more easily, and ultimately to grow faster and have more cash in their pockets to do the things that matter to them.”


View original article on techcrunch.com

Share:

Top Posts

news image

January almost had its first pentacorn, and other startup news

Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. The second week of the year is usually a busy one for startup news, and 2025 is no exception. From CES product launches to M&As and funding rounds, here’s what you need to know. Most interesting startup stories from the week Image Credits:May Mobility Several startups launched new products at CES 2025: Full Nature Farms and its farm irrigation

Jan 10, 2025

news image

Overhaul raises another $55M to help companies like Dyson and Microsoft fight supply chain theft

Businesses dependent on the physical supply chain — the network of facilities and transportation systems used to move materials from one location to another — face a number of challenges, from staff shortages to increasing customer expectations. The pressures aren’t easing up. According to a survey from Prologis, a real estate investment trust, two-thirds of executives say that they’re losing sleep over supply chain-related problems. Barry Conlon and David Broe ran into some of these stressors

Jan 10, 2025

news image

$5B livestream shopping apps, Nvidia reveals, and the weirdest tech at CES

“We put AI in this thing. Does it work? We’ll see.” That seemed to be the theme for some companies attending CES 2025, but looking beyond the experimental hype, there were also some significant (we think) developments and cool new products. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Margaux MacColl, Anthony Ha, and Max Zeff are back on the mic to discuss the week’s top news and the tech that caught their eye. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen to the full ep

Jan 10, 2025

Don't miss our latest news and updates. Subscribe to the newsletter

aVenture is in Alpha: aVenture recently launched early public access to our research product. It's intended to illustrate capabilities and gather feedback from users. While in Alpha, you should expect the research data to be limited and may not yet meet our exacting standards. We've made the decision to temporarily present this information to showcase the product's potential, but you should not yet rely upon it for your investment decisions.

aVenture is in Alpha: aVenture recently launched early public access to our research product. It's intended to illustrate capabilities and gather feedback from users. While in Alpha, you should expect the research data to be limited and may not yet meet our exacting standards. We've made the decision to temporarily present this information to showcase the product's potential, but you should not yet rely upon it for your investment decisions.

Member

Backed by

© aVenture Investment Company, 2025. All rights reserved.

44 Tehama St, San Francisco, CA 94105

Privacy Policy

aVenture Investment Company ("aVenture") is an independent venture capital research platform providing detailed analysis and data on startups, venture capital investments, and key industry individuals.

While we strive to provide valuable insights with objectivity and professional diligence, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided on our platform. Before making any investment decisions, you should verify the accuracy of all pertinent details for your decision.

aVenture does not offer investment advisory services and is not registered as an investment adviser. The data provided by aVenture does not constitute recommendations or advice, whether by methodology or a statement written by a staff member of aVenture.

Links to external websites do not imply endorsement or affiliation with aVenture. References or links to providers offering the ability to invest in a primary or secondary transaction in a company are for convenience purposes only. They are not solicitations or offers to buy or sell an investment. Remember that past performance does not guarantee future results, and venture capital and private assets should be a contributory part of a diversified portfolio.