PayShepherd – a contractor management solution for industrial sites – announced it had closed C$7 million in an oversubscribed round of Seed+ funding to expand its target markets across North America and enhance its platform with new capabilities.
New investor Inovia Capital led the all-equity round, with participation from existing investors Nashville Capital Network, Thin Air Labs, Accelerate Fund III managed by Yaletown Partners with support from A100, and undisclosed strategic angel investors. And Inovia partner Shawn Abbott is joining PayShepherd’s board as part of the raise.
This funding round will drive PayShepherd’s product development strategy of building a comprehensive, frictionless system of record between the contractor and the client. Utilizing its access to millions of data points in heavy industries, PayShepherd plans to deepen its technology further, including using Artificial Intelligence, to add exponential value beyond cost management.
Launched by Wesley Sessenwein, Jennifer Hunter, and Johan Lee, PayShepherd’s software is purpose-built for heavy industrial sites to advance from its traditionally paper-heavy and complex administrative contractor management processes.
Heavy industrial operators rely on thousands of contractors yearly for daily operations, maintenance, and capital projects. However, existing systems are not capable of monitoring the contractors’ performance and costs, creating blindspots for accounting, procurement, maintenance, and project management. In many cases, this information gap leads to overspending, safety risks, legal issues, and destroyed relationships.
With the ability to report costs in real time and automate contract compliance, PayShepherd’s platform offers full visibility and confidence in contractor operations. Since launching in 2018, PayShepherd has managed billions in contractor cost submissions, surfacing process efficiencies and unlocking business value within the external workforce.
PayShepherd grew significantly since closing its $3 million USD ($4.3 million CAD) seed funding in 2022, entering markets in the energy and mining sectors. And with this funding round, PayShepherd has raised $12.1 million CAD in equity financing to date.
PayShepherd plans to further expand into Canada and the United States.
KEY QUOTES:
“For too long, heavy industry has relied on outdated processes for vendor management, squandering billions of dollars and crucial relationships in the process. This investment supports our commitment to helping industrial operators establish lasting relationships with contractors that are founded on accountability and transparency.”
- Wesley Sessenwein, CEO and co-founder at PayShepherd
“Wes and team have done a beautiful job of delivering transparency, accountability and lightning speed to the frustrating and stubbornly manual workflows in coordinating large contracted workforces at the heavy industry sites that are the backbone of our economy. A pattern we’ve seen in successful portfolio companies. PayShepherd is a great example of fresh thinking and modern digital SaaS and AI enabling deeply committed founders with personal industry experience to massively improve work experience.”
- Shawn Abbott, Inovia Capital Partner
