Local Radar: Waste Management, Accounting & HR

In this edition of Localogy’s Local Radar, we examine newly funded companies Hauler Hero, Aiwyn & OnPay

1. Hauler Hero

Though it’s well penetrated, SMB SaaS continues to find unmet opportunities in local commerce verticals. Those opportunities mostly stem from outdated practices throughout the SMB universe – particularly in verticals where tech-savvy isn’t central to the culture. One such vertical is waste management, as Hauler Hero has discovered. Founded by former ServiceTitan exec Mark Hoadley, the company wants to bring more operational efficiencies to the field. It launched after it saw how outdated much of the sector’s software is. To fill that gap, Hauler Hero offers a cloud-based software platform that optimizes and streamlines everything from route planning to billing to customer-facing dashboards for self-service. And of course, this is all infused with a dash of AI to automate and do predictive modeling wherever it can. And the approach seems to be working given 130 residential and commercial waste-management customers across 40 states, and 200 percent year-over-year revenue growth. All of this recently attracted venture funding, to the tune of a $10 million seed round. It will use the funds to staff up in both engineering and sales functions and to continue developing the software.

2. Aiwyn

Sticking with the theme of verticals that are tech-adoptive, white-collar fields tend to be higher on that scale. But there’s still ample room for improvement. Take accounting: a survey from Rightsworks found that 88 percent of firms believe that software has a meaningful impact on operational efficiency, yet 60 percent say that they suffer from disconnected or outdated systems. The delta between those two data points represents a classic opportunity gap. That’s where Aiwyn comes in. The Charlotte, NC-based company was founded in 2020 to streamline CPAs and their revenue cycles. This includes software that helps automate and reconcile payments and invoices. More broadly speaking, it builds what it calls a comprehensive accounting practice management platform. This was enough to attract a recent funding round of $113 million, led by KKR and Bessemer Venture partners. That brings the company’s total funding to $127 million.  It will use the funds to grow beyond its 80-person headcount and 130 customers among the top 500 accounting firms. That leaves plenty of headroom.

3. OnPay

Though it’s well served by the likes of Intuit, ADP, and Gusto, payroll software still sees room to grow. The latest entrant is OnPay, a payroll software provider that – like many in this field – reaches into adjacent and synergistic functions like HR and benefits. That broader HR management play now includes apps that help companies with payroll deductions, taxes, selecting health insurance, workers comp, and 401(k) plans. These varied HR functions continue to be consolidated into one-stop-shop SaaS offerings that promise to streamline things and reduce headaches. And though the competition is heating up, the primary competition is outdated legacy systems such as paperwork-related methods. To quantify that, Business.com reports that 50 percent of SMBs use cloud software to manage HR functions. That leaves the other 50 percent that’s the addressable market for players like OnPay. And the demand is there… the same Business.com survey reports that 69 percent of adopters have reduced payroll processing time. Add it all up and it’s a large market with a clear value proposition. These factors contributed to investor interest, which materialized recently in a $100 million funding round (inclusive of a recent $63 million Series B). The company will use the new cash to scale its capabilities, invest in product development, and firm up its go-to-market plan.

Header image credit: zibik on Unsplash

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