GreenLancer is a Detroit, MI-based solar design and permitting company that offers an e-commerce platform delivering high-quality solar system designs needed to build and install solar electric systems. The platform allows contractors to manage projects, get quotes, and order and receive design services from one centralized place. GreenLancer completed a $5M Series B financing and intends to use the funds to accelerate growth. The investment came from a syndicate of new and existing investors. Led by CEO Zac MacVoy, the company is actively recruiting experienced software developers to expand its team and support product development. GreenLancer.com is a web-based solar energy engineering company that combines cloud computing with a national network of freelance 'greenlancers' to develop engineering plans for renewable energy projects. Its services include online technical documents, engineering services, and financial modeling to help contractors propose, develop, and design alternative energy systems. The company recently launched a 'Virtual Engineering Center' and added staff to meet sharply growing demand. GreenLancer reports operating in 32 states and six countries across four continents and serves notable clients as a subcontractor, including General Motors, DTE Energy, Occidental Oil and the U.S. Department of Defense (including work for U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan). Founded in 2011 and based in Detroit, the business targets reducing the soft costs of solar development by offering faster, more affordable engineering than traditional brick-and-mortar competitors. Financially, GreenLancer completed a $500,000 'A' round of private funding, which it says will support its ambitious growth plan and further business development. Greenlancer provides an online platform that breaks engineering projects into modular tasks and assigns them to a virtual network of engineers who bid on work, enabling remote collaboration for green-energy construction projects. The company calls its workflow an "assembly swarm," with software that identifies components, lays out plans, and coordinates CAD modeling, calculations, technical writing, site assessments, and certification. Typical engagements include new solar plants of about 200 kilowatts with project budgets of roughly $750,000–$1,000,000; Greenlancer says it completes work at about one-third the cost and in one-fifth the time of traditional engineering firms. The service still uses onsite visits when needed to collect site data, but much of the design and reporting is produced remotely. Greenlancer has completed 290 projects across 25 states. The founders say they are starting in green tech and plan to expand into larger markets if successful. The company graduated from Detroit’s Bizdom accelerator and is pursuing institutional funding in the near term.

Total raised

$5M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Apr 2015