NEW YORK, NY — April 4, 2024 — Protiv, the world’s first performance pay platform designed for construction, landscaping, and service companies, announced today that it has closed $2.4 million in pre-seed funding, amidst a crippling construction labor shortage that continues to make national headlines. The round was co-led by Lightbank and Las Olas Venture Capital (LOVC), with participation from Parameter Ventures and Early Light Ventures.
In 2023, its first year in operations, Protiv facilitated almost $1 million in worker bonuses in 34 states, for clients–solving their labor shortages and productivity challenges. Workers on Protiv have seen their wages increase faster than inflation, even as labor costs went down. Customers, from small landscaping companies and mid-size trade contractors to large civil construction companies, have used Protiv to unlock teamwork, quality, production, communication, and safety.
According to The Association for General Contractors of America, “Contractors continue to be concerned about workforce shortages and the impact on construction prices and schedules.” Protiv’s co-founders, Michael Fortinberry and David Franco – both construction industry veterans – created the platform to align desired business outcomes with meaningful employee bonuses, creating a culture shift for contractors.
“Our major focus at Protiv is improving the lives of hourly workers, because they are literally the people driving the construction industry and our economy in general,” says David Franco, co-founder of Protiv. “For far too long there has been a misalignment of incentives between workers and owners–a problem that has hindered wages, company culture, and growth. We plan to solve it.”
The team will use the proceeds of this investment to build additional product features and expand its go-to-market strategy. Protiv’s mission to “Inspire Human Potential” is reflected in improving the quality of life for workers, creating collaboration between management and field teams, and helping contractors attract skilled employees. Overcoming these challenges is critical for construction to realize its full opportunity to support US economic growth.
“Our whole industry is struggling to find enough skilled workers, facing a labor shortfall of about 8%, with flat hourly pay models doing nothing to help,” says Fortinberry. “With Protiv, we are seeing 10% wage growth and a 12-15% production lift from the teams we already have. This functionally solves the US labor shortage problem and overcomes inflationary pressures on our workers.”
Fortinberry and Franco built and tested Protiv on their own successful construction company, creating better alignment between workers and company goals. As more contractors tried Protiv’s model, they proved that when workers were motivated to do quality work productively, they more often beat their deadlines, lowering company costs.
“Protiv is well positioned to play a major role in solving labor and production issues in the US construction industry,“ says Mark Volchek, Partner at Las Olas Venture Capital. “David and Michael invested 6 years into solving the incredibly complex legal, technical, and human challenges faced when disrupting the traditional hourly pay model.”
Deloitte’s 2024 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook stated, “Digitalization and generative artificial intelligence are likely to be foundational for value realization in the construction industry.” Even if this is true, it does little to solve a shortage of skilled labor, which is forecasted to worsen further. So, while some companies rightly focus investments on 3D modeling and robots, the investment in human potential may be the most lucrative.
Looking forward, the team at Protiv has a comprehensive roadmap of innovations that will invest back into the American worker.
About Protiv
Protiv is a patent-pending, integrated, pay-for-performance platform. Legally compliant in all 50 states, it is designed for construction and services industries, directly linking budgets, goals, and timelines to worker incentives. Worker-level visibility and engagement, combined with a performance-based bonus structure, can be configured to a range of contracting scenarios and is integrated directly into customers’ operating platforms. Companies that use Protiv will beat their project deadlines more often, while powerful rewards support attracting industry-leading talent. Visit Protiv.com for more information.
