launched MVP in June 2019
Completed first project July 2019
Surpassed $5,000 monthly net revenue September 2019
Steady Install is an online marketplace that enables qualified installers and laborers to easily find and apply for projects with commercial furniture installation companies and dealers in their area who are posting available opportunities.
With over 13 years of entrepreneur and management expertise, Ben is taking his skills in business management skills to Steady Install to help commercial furniture installation companies and dealers find reliable, skilled workers.
Finding extra labor for installation projects is a cumbersome, manual process requiring phone calls, emails, and text messages. In many cases, installation companies and dealers would contact a temp agency, but temp agencies aren’t specialized, so the unfortunate result was inflated labor markups for inexperienced installers, unreliable scheduling, and unmotivated/underpaid workers.
Installation companies cannot always offer their crews sufficient hours of work during slower weeks. Furniture companies and designers could use temp agencies for overflow work, but there was no platform for installers to find outside work. To make matters worse, many experienced installers found that the average hourly rate of pay for temp agency work was out of alignment with their skill and experience.
To provide furniture installation companies with an easy-to-use platform for sourcing and deploying labor at an affordable rate, while providing a marketplace for qualified installers to find well-paying projects, on their own schedules.
Steady Install partnered with the Coplex team of venture builders to bring their idea to life. Together, our team consisted of:
Benjamin Bottner, Co-Founder
Ben met with Coplex for a 2-day lean canvas workshop. Together we workshopped the original idea of Steady Install: To provide furniture designers and installation companies with a marketplace of qualified installation labor; while providing installers with a platform for finding well-paid projects on their individual schedules and get paid quickly. The team joined the 9-month Coplex program in May 2019.
Coplex ran a series of pre-MVP experiments to gauge interest from the target demographic. Coplex ran ads on Craigslist and Indeed to drive potential installers to the Steady Install website and register with the marketplace. Between the two experiments, Coplex was able to generate more than 80 leads with a 25 percent conversion rate, and Steady Install completed its first project shortly thereafter.
Coplex created Steady Install’s logo, website, and platform. In addition, we helped to position their Brand Voice and content, create marketing handouts, and assist with fundraising materials such as Investor Decks and introductions.
Our engagement with Coplex was far more of a partnership than we could have imagined. They not only worked with us to mold our vision into a functional platform, but they also took the mandatory steps of leaving no assumptions untested and creating vehicles to validate any and all concepts. They educated us on every component of the build so that we could participate in the process and ensure the final product was in fact in line with our business plan. The Coplex team was receptive, creative, and strategic in their approach. They are by no means a “Dev shop” for hire. Their vast arsenal of tools and resources has positioned them to be relevant to anyone starting a tech company right now. I consider our partnership with Coplex to be a key component of our market advantage.
