What a trader does at the beginning of a project is gather all quotes and quotations, as well as their own costs and contractors. The formal trader takes that data and creates a baseline for the project.
This allows trade professionals to see when and how invoices and expenses were paid, to whom and how much was paid over time, and to update the status of their budgets in real time. There are also AI agents to help you with the tasks you need.
What made you decide to start a business?
I have been running a small to medium-sized construction company on Waiheke Island for the past 10 years. This idea came from personal experience, whether in the field or interacting with clients.
When I talk to friends in my industry and ask them how they update and manage their clients, many use spreadsheets to prepare clients manually.
There are other software out there that cover everything, but they are very technical to use, especially for people without much administration experience.
Depending on the amount of work you take on, it can be very stressful. I hear stories from people in the industry who are so stressed out that they can’t sleep and go home and do administrative work all night. They’re just burning out.
Recognizing those problems, I was always curious and thought there had to be a better way. So the idea was born from there.
This isn’t your first business, right?
A few years ago, I developed a smart wheelbarrow called Buster. This was also inspired by my experience at a construction site. On a job I was working on, we were driving down a steep hill to pour concrete for a fireplace, and a number of people lost control of their wheelbarrows. I came up with the idea of putting brakes on the wheelbarrow to give it more control.
After spending time in China and doing a lot of research and development, a prototype was developed and shipped. I pitched it to Bunnings and after making a few tweaks to the design they ended up picking it up and distributing it nationwide, so I sold the business.
How has the platform grown and what are your goals?
We launched about five weeks ago, so it’s still early days, but we already have a significant number of paying users. I still have to keep my day job at the moment, but I hope I can get there. I’ve been testing the platform over the past six months with a few friends who run construction companies, and they’ve provided great feedback and fixed bugs.
We hope to grow to 500 paying users over the next two years. That is our current goal. I think the way to get this out there is just to educate people that this is not just another invoicing app, estimating app, finance app. Specifically, a budget tracking app and a customer reporting platform. That in itself is a niche area that hasn’t been touched yet.
Do you feel like you have grown since you first entered the business?
I’m 34 years old now, so it’s been over 10 years since I’ve been involved with Buster. Of course, a lot has changed, but I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. My father was a real estate developer and my brother ran a beverage business, so we’re all entrepreneurs at heart.
I think that early learning curve of doing it all on my own without any outside help, like my family, financially, definitely shaped me. I took out a loan from a bank to fund my work at Buster. I raised all the other funds myself, so it was worth it.
It’s been a great journey so far, but I feel like we’re only just beginning. We’re actually working on another product, and I think we’ll be able to tell you more about it in the near future.
What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs looking to start a business?
Ask questions and build a good network with the people around you. Having someone you trust and can guide you is key. But also understand that you don’t have to do everything. You don’t have to be a genius to start a business. Just be personable, honest, and put yourself forward. Good things will happen.
Tom Raynell is a multimedia business journalist. heraldcovering small business, retail and tourism.
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