Modern Construction Procurement: Our Investment in Trestle

written by Jackson Feder

In the fragmented and dispersed world of construction, particularly in heavy civil projects, inefficiencies in vendor procurement and management have long been accepted as an unavoidable cost of doing business.

Industry-wide labor shortages, increasing project complexities, and unprecedented infrastructure spending and corresponding demand have only exacerbated these challenges. The industry's reliance on local knowledge, word-of-mouth networks, and labor-intensive analog processes has created significant hurdles in an already strained environment.

Heavy civil general contractors (GCs), responsible for building much of our critical infrastructure (e.g., roads, bridges, airports, etc.), have to manage dozens of vendor relationships at a time using a handful of disparate solutions, many of which are not specific to the heavy civil industry. They lack access to real-time, company-wide data and rely on time-consuming, manual processes prone to errors. Moreover, the absence of historical data further muddies decision-making. 

While the front-end (estimation) and back-end (project management) of the construction process have been addressed by modern technology, the middle (procurement and vendor selection/management) has not.

Enter Trestle, the construction industry's most advanced vendor risk management platform.

Trestle’s core product, a comprehensive procurement platform designed specifically for the nuances of horizontal construction, combines vendor comparison, selection, contract creation, and project management into one seamless platform. 

With over 50,000 subcontractors and suppliers already in their database, Trestle provides rich, real-time data to inform vendor selection. Their AI-powered CoPilot feature drafts contracts, incorporating historical data and project-specific details to reduce risk and save time. Furthermore, Trestle allows GCs to monitor project costs in real-time, enabling proactive budget management.

At the heart of Trestle's potential is its founding team, whose domain expertise and sharp product instincts have been instrumental to its early success. CEO Victor Zhang brings over 15 years of experience in heavy civil contracting, including time as an Estimating Manager at global civil construction contractor, Dragados. Victor is complemented by CTO Jason Chen's 13 years of software development experience, focusing on SaaS and consumer products. Victor's frustration with existing tools during his time in the industry led directly to Trestle's creation, ensuring the product was built with a true understanding of user needs.

At MetaProp, we've long believed in the potential for vertical SaaS solutions to transform traditional industries. Trestle fits perfectly into this thesis, offering a purpose-built solution for a large, overlooked market that's ripe for innovation. Early traction with design partners suggests the team is already on its way to finding product-market fit.

We are grateful to be participating in Trestle’s pre-seed financing, alongside friends and peers Lerer Hippeau, Laconia Capital, and others, and excited to support Victor, Jason, and the entire Trestle team as they work to become the single source of truth for vendor management and performance analytics in the construction industry. With this funding, Trestle is well-positioned to expand its engineering team and enhance its platform capabilities. 

For general contractors looking to streamline their procurement processes, reduce risk, and make data-driven decisions, we encourage you to reach out to the Trestle team! The future of construction procurement is here, and it's being built by Trestle.

Further reading: “Trestle Secures $2.3M in Pre-Seed Funding” via Trestle.