Most AI startups targeting plumbers and electricians want to automate the office. ShareWillow is betting the bigger opportunity is helping the technicians doing the work earn more.
The New York-based company has raised $8.5 million in seed funding to expand its performance-pay software for home service businesses, with backing from Lerer Hippeau, Circadian Ventures, Twelve Below, Charge Ventures and Notation Capital.
The financing brings its total funding to $12.3 million, according to founder and CEO Ryan Shank. Other investors in the latest round include Scott Belsky, Austin Rief and Expa.
ShareWillow helps HVAC, plumbing, electrical and other service businesses link employee bonuses to the work technicians complete.
A technician finishing an air conditioning repair, for example, can open the ShareWillow app and see what that particular job contributed to their earnings. Owners can set incentive rules based on profitability, productivity and other performance measures.
Behind the scenes, the platform connects to software contractors already use, including ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro and Jobber. Its agents pull job records, calculate compensation and identify missing information before payroll.
That replaces processes many businesses still manage through spreadsheets, manual calculations and complicated bonus schemes.
Shank says ShareWillow processed more than $10 million in technician payouts over the past year, including $2 million in September alone.
Technicians using the platform earn an average of $1,334 more per month, according to company data. The business has also grown revenue eightfold over the past 18 months.
Those figures are not independently audited, and the increase in individual earnings should not be interpreted as proof that the software alone caused higher pay.
The opportunity stems from a longstanding problem in the skilled trades: retaining experienced technicians is expensive, while many compensation systems give employees little visibility into how their work affects their income.
ShareWillow argues that making bonuses transparent can help businesses reward productive employees without sacrificing margins.
Shank has spent much of his career selling software to service businesses. He previously founded PhoneWagon, which was acquired by CallRail in 2021, and served as chief operating officer of mHelpDesk before its acquisition by HomeAdvisor.
His first version of ShareWillow focused on helping small businesses share profits with employees. Over time, the company narrowed its attention to trades businesses, where individual job performance can be linked more directly to revenue.
The startup is now developing a broader AI product called Willow.
Planned features include briefings before service appointments, coaching during the workweek and tools that allow business owners to simulate compensation changes using historical job data.
Initial access is expected in early 2027.
The company currently has a small team, but its integrations with established field service software platforms give it access to an industry where specialized tools can spread through existing customer networks.
There are risks in tying compensation too closely to measurable output. Incentive plans can encourage the wrong behavior if they reward speed or sales without adequately accounting for service quality, customer satisfaction and safety.
ShareWillow's longer-term success will depend on whether its software helps contractors retain employees and improve profitability while keeping compensation fair and understandable.
Its latest financing gives the company the resources to test that proposition across a much larger market.
Sources: AlleyWatch interview with Ryan Shank · Dealroom · ShareWillow