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How SubBase Reached 100 Paying Customers in Construction Procurement

Eric Helitzer explains how he turned his construction experience into SubBase, from a free first customer to a $4M seed round.

Eric Helitzer · SubBase

Published November 12, 2024
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What you’ll learn

Eric Helitzer, founder and CEO of SubBase, explains how he turned his construction procurement experience into software for subcontractors. He describes giving the product away free at first, charging about a couple hundred dollars a month for the first paying plumber, and reaching almost 100 paying customers. He also covers the $4M seed round and why most of it goes to go to market.

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Key moments

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Sweet spot contract size

“the average customer size that we do very well with is paying anywhere between 20 and 30,000 a year.”
Watch at 06:10

Why the first customer was free

“The first customer was free. Probably should have charged something.”
Watch at 06:51

A year of free software

“We spent a year giving the software away for free, testing and really iterating until we started actually charged.”
Watch at 09:09

Implementation as a pain point

“So we have a heavy focus on implementation and customer success because that is really a true pain point for people.”
Watch at 13:26

Where the seed money goes

“Go to market. So mostly go to market. That was where, you know, honing in on the ICP that we know is hitting well and really helping support the founder led motion.”
Watch at 16:25

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About the speaker

Eric Helitzer

Founder & CEO · SubBase

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