Building the missing quick link in construction's supply chain

C ANADIAN Neeral Shah was living the expat dream working in supply chain financing in Hong Kong. "It was a great life, I was on a plane every other week to China or to see buyers in Africa, and the US, enjoying a jet-set lifestyle with great job security, helping building firms source and pay for their raw materials and equipment."

- Lucy Tobin

Then along came an entrepreneurial itch. "I wanted to do my own thing. And I started to notice the deep challenges and inefficiencies in the construction supply chain, and how technology was transforming other industries." 

Shah moved to London, where he was born and lived until he was four when his family moved to Canada. "The technology space was exploding in London, I wanted to be here." He met the founder of an online pet pharmacy via a friend, joined the business and "learned, really quickly, how digital marketplaces were enabling faster transactions between buyers and suppliers".

Shah, who is now 39, decided to connect his experience working in construction with what he had learnt at the start-up. "I'd experienced just how long it took construction firms to find the right materials and equipment, as well as how manual the process was. A digital marketplace seemed to be the solution."