Iron Sheepdog, which runs an app to manage short-haul trucking needs of construction and material companies, has raised $1.5 million from Shock Ventures. Both firms are based in Williamsburg, Va.
In 2020, NRV, a Richmond, Va.-based venture capital firm, invested an undisclosed amount in Iron Sheepdog.
“We strongly believe that the Iron Sheepdog platform makes sophisticated technology accessible to the entire spectrum of users,” said co-founder and CEO Jake Liebler, after its initial funding round. “Our goal is to help businesses of every size – from large construction and materials firms to independent haulers – create more opportunity for growth.”
‘Unique Solution’
NRV’s managing director, Laura Markley, called Iron Sheepdog’s a “unique solution” for construction companies and short-haul truckers, “created by a founder team with decades of experience as owners and operators in the industry.”
Iron Sheepdog was founded in 2018 by Liebler, Bill Strack and chief technology officer Will Lawrence. Strack briefly served as the startup’s chief operating officer. All three have worked in the construction and land development space, at times together in the same company.
The trio came together in the belief that time was ripe for the industry to introduce automation and enhance efficiencies in various areas, including deployment, scheduling, tracking, billing and payment. Iron Sheepdog operates a web-based system and a mobile app that help contractors and brokers manage trucking logistics. It is used by brokers, civil contractors, asphalt paving contractors, aggregate suppliers and construction companies.
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Iron Sheepdog serves all of Virginia, and some parts of Florida. It “is well-positioned to address the increasing demand from construction companies and truck operators to streamline and automate systems that have been paper and pencil-based until now,” said Liebler.
Shock Ventures was founded by Aaron Swinton and Tim Saumier. Swinton has previously been with Techstars and other venture firms. Saumier is the founder of TYGES International, a global recruiting firm based in Williamsburg, Va. Shock Ventures’ investment in Iron Sheepdog was overseen by partner Laura Markley, who has significant investment banking experience. Markley has previously worked at Deutsche Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Shock Ventures has so far made six investments. Its recent portfolio investments include Parnity, Inertial Sense, VADE, Tympanogen and Treepz.
NRV, also known as New Richmond Ventures, was co-founded in 2017 by Bob Mooney, who has held part-time engineering jobs at NASA. Mooney has computing and engineering degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Virginia Commonwealth University. NRV has so far raised $36.5 million from three funds. The venture firm’s biggest fund, NRV Early Stage Growth Fund, in 2017 raised $33 million. It has made 21 portfolio investments and exited four. Its recent investments include Murphy’s Naturals, SVT Robotics, Farmer Focus (Shenandoah Valley Organic) and Ario.
