PlanHub® is a pioneer in the construction segment delivering premium pre-construction bidding software designed specifically for general contractors and subcontractors to grow their businesses.

In the digital world we live in, emerging technologies have always helped the construction segment to move forward. Technology has proven to make workers more efficient and construction sites safer. It has also allowed us to improve collaboration, tackle complex projects, and increase productivity. Construction solutions add immense value to your business, especially when you are struggling to transition through each stage of a project.

From finding new bids to blueprint apps, exchanging payments, and workforce management, many construction solutions make everyone’s job easier.

Globally, there are various firms delivering excellent solutions for the construction segment, but PlanHub^® stands out from the rest. PlanHub is a pre-construction bidding software company designed for general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers to post and bid on all kinds of projects.

PlanHub is free for general contractors, who can post their projects in just a few easy steps. Once a project is posted in PlanHub, an Invitation To Bid (ITB) is sent out to subcontractors in the PlanHub network and to the general contractor’s list of preferred subcontractors. All details of the project are stored and shared from one location so it’s simple to find updated details and be notified if job specifications change. Subcontractors register for an annual subscription to get access to projects in their areas and to use the exclusive Bid Navigator™ premier suite of tools that help them plan, find, and bid on the perfect projects. We sat down with Kevin Priddy, the CEO and founder of PlanHub, to learn more.

Q. What motivated you to reinvent the industry you are in? And what are the challenges addressed by your products/services?

I was a contractor myself. PlanHub began as a way to address the issues surrounding the bidding process that construction professionals face. It has become a digital toolkit and an expanding network for contractors everywhere. We’ve innovated new ways to help the construction industry connect, organize, and manage all of their projects.

Q. Developing high-quality products/services needs the support of high-level talent and dedication. How did you manage to form your dream team?

Our focus has always been to build a talented group of individuals with unique and proven skills while ensuring that we’re also cultivating an environment of encouragement, honesty, and happiness. We always want PlanHub to feel like a family. Last year, we did a deal with Mainsail partners, and we had the added benefit of utilizing their recruiting team. We were able to go out and build a top leadership team by utilizing their resources. We found top executives who had led other companies and helped to scale those companies to well above a hundred million dollars in revenue. So we found a chief growth officer and a top-notch chief technology officer. We assembled a really proven, successful dream team of executives. And then those executives, with their extended networks, have been able to add additional team members to our team. So we have an unbelievable team of talent right now. That’s going to help us continue to scale.

Q. Tell us in brief about your data management system and security efforts.

Our team is diligent about keeping our network secure, simple, and organized. Users can rely on our systems and trust our platform. Our CTO’s main focus coming in was securing our data, making it more flexible, and allowing us to scale even faster. One of the first things our CTO did was create an enterprise data team that specializes in engineering real-time data factories. It has, in turn, allowed us to create a state-of-the-art search index. Now we have higher precision that’s faster to match projects and users together at very quick speeds, and it lowers the dependency on our database. Our CTO is also an expert in security as she’s IAPP certified. We made security a hot top priority this year, and we are locking down our data, making it more secure, creating coding standards, user rights, and more employee training. This team has created standards and policies, which will bring us to a whole new level and allow us to scale even faster and ultimately deliver a better product for our customers.

Q. How do you verify the credibility of the projects before it is posted on your platform?

While we aim to make it simple and straightforward to post projects, our process is also designed to meet our standard for quality, including uploading plans, specifying timelines, identifying trades, and much more before anything can go live. Ensuring that our users have a reliable and quality network is essential.

Q. How does PlanHub help the pre-construction process?

PlanHub is the central marketplace where all commercial construction begins. It’s a free software for general contractors, and it helps them get the best coverage on all the projects to get subcontractor and supplier bids. They can also track the activity. They can see exactly who looks for the project, who downloads it, and can reach out to them directly.

Q. How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your organization? And what steps and measures did you take as a leader to overcome the crisis?

We’re a software business and completely cloud-based. We have the flexibility as a company to work from anywhere. Our employees worked remotely for several months before many started trickling back into the office over time. We are about 95 percent back in office, and from the customer’s point of view, it was actually a good benefit. The way our software is designed is to help contractors when they need to find work. And when there’s uncertainty in the economy, contractors start looking for ways to generate more business. So from that perspective, it was beneficial for our company because we have more customers registering and signing up for project information. We didn’t skip a beat from the company’s perspective, and we accelerated our growth during 2020. In the last year, we have also invested well in our data management and data security efforts.

Q. Do you have any new services ready to be launched?

Our suite of tools, Bid Navigator, features unique services like blueprint scanning and competitive analytics to help subcontractors find and manage all of their projects with ease and consistency.

Q. What does the future hold for your company and its customers? Are exciting things on the way?

PlanHub is entering an exciting phase of growth and expansion. We’ve opened a new corporate office in Lehi, Utah and have effectively doubled our team. With our sales, support, and marketing teams growing, we’re able to do so much more and reach higher than ever.

The Leader Upfront

The founder of PlanHub, Kevin Priddy, has over two decades of experience in the construction industry. Priddy was a concrete general contractor and subcontractor who sought to find a solution to the tedious bidding process that construction professionals face. In 2015, PlanHub was created by Kevin Priddy and Kyle Conlan. This bid management software was created to help general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers everywhere.

“PlanHub is the central marketplace where all commercial construction begins. It’s a free software for general contractors, and it helps them get the best coverage on all projects to get subcontractor and supplier bids.”