Highwire Network

GCs and property owners had no efficient way to discover and vet subcontractors on safety performance before bringing them onto a project. Highwire already helped customers evaluate safety policies and procedures, but there was no way to use that data to actively connect GCs with qualified subs. Finding a vetted contractor meant relying on personal networks or manual outreach with no visibility into safety track record, trade specialties, or geographic coverage.

Identified the need through existing customer signals. GCs on the Highwire platform were already evaluating subcontractor safety but had no way to discover new subs through the product. The CEO had heard this need directly from customers prior to Tim joining. Validated demand by analyzing which MSAs had both active GC search behavior and deep enough contractor databases to support a quality search experience.

Subcontractor Vetting Blind Spot: GCs and property owners evaluating subcontractors for a project have no centralized view of safety performance history, forcing reliance on self-reported credentials and informal referrals.

Geographic Contractor Discovery: GCs staffing projects in a given metro area have no way to search for qualified, safety-vetted subcontractors within a specific MSA, making it difficult to build out a local subcontractor roster.

Contractor Credibility Gap: Subcontractors with strong safety performance have no way to surface or differentiate their record to prospective GCs, leaving safety-conscious subs indistinguishable from the rest of the market.

Turn Highwire's existing compliance and safety data into a marketplace advantage. Connect GCs with vetted subcontractors and make safety performance the basis for contractor discovery in the construction industry.

Built the initial MVP of Highwire Network, a marketplace connecting GCs and property owners with safety-vetted subcontractors. The MVP included three core components:

• Safety Performance Surfacing: Exposed key safety metrics for contractors on the platform, including performance indicators and contract size ranges, giving GCs a transparent view before reaching out
• Performance Awards: Recognized contractors with strong safety records through visible award badges on their profiles, giving high-performing subs a credibility signal in search results
• Geolocation Search: Enabled GCs to search by MSA with filters for trade, contract size, industry experience, business classifications, client types, labor, and project types

GTM strategy was to launch in cities that had both high GC search demand and rich enough contractor databases to deliver a quality experience. This phased approach allowed validation of the product in each market before expanding, ensuring contractors and GCs had a meaningful pool to engage with from day one.

The product shipped with three core pages:

• Home Page: Hero search with location and trade inputs, a filter bar (Contract Size, Industry Experience, Business Classifications, Client Types, Labor, Project Types), and a Top 20 Metro Areas grid with city cards for browsing
• Search Results Page: MSA-level results displaying company name, location, trades, % union, contract size range, and performance award badges. Included a CTA banner encouraging subcontractors to add their company to the network
• Contractor Detail Page: Tabbed profile with Summary (company overview, trades and specialties, headquarters address, and an interactive service area map), Experience, Labor, and Risk Assessment sections

• Learned how to translate CEO vision into a structured product roadmap
• Learned how to build a GTM strategy with phased city-by-city releases to ensure data quality at launch
• Gained firsthand experience with the dynamics of building a network product, balancing supply and demand across markets