196: Supply Chain Financing for Contractors

Chris Doyle, President and CEO of Billd, joins us for episode 196 of Art of Construction.  The construction industry often has a money problem. The longstanding financial issue for contractors in our industry arises from the period of time between when they submit an invoice for a completed project and the eventual payment of that invoice. In the weeks – or even months – of that waiting period, they still must fund expenses such as labor, materials and equipment for other ongoing projects. This inevitably leaves many in our industry shorthanded and stressed when a client doesn't pay on time, which leads to worse performance on projects they've won.   Billd aims to fix this problem with a simple business model: they offer 120-day terms to pay for commercial construction materials upfront. This way, contractors don't have to worry about receiving the payment from their client so that they can then pay the supplier. With materials being paid for upfront, the supplier is taken care of immediately, giving contractors more breathing room to go out, grow their business and get more jobs. Contractors normally don't have access to many credit options. And banks traditionally have not done well at truly understanding what goes into a construction project in order to accurately assess lending options. It is for this reason we're super excited to see what Billd is doing in order to open up the flood gates and give contractors the funding they need to move projects along. Join Devon as he goes on a journey with Chris to learn his story in starting Billd, what their financing process is like, and how they are working to improve trust and relationships in construction by fixing the finance gaps that so often plague the construction supply chain. You can sign up and learn more about Billd at Billd.com