Operations, AI and Software for the Trades

We solve your costliest problem. Then we build it into software, together.

A real engagement: awning company

Illustration of a real client engagement. Revenue is an annualized projection.

Your partner, not a transaction. We fix your costliest problem with your team, and you own the result.

No plan needed. Just get on a call.

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Why software matters

Why should a trades business care about software?

Because software is just your best process, written down once so it runs the same way every time, no matter who is on the job.

  1. 1. Today

    Your business runs on what people remember

    Schedules, quotes and follow-ups live on whiteboards, in spreadsheets and in one or two people’s heads. It works until that person is out, busy on another job, or gone. Then work slips and money leaks.

  2. 2. With software

    Your best way of working, on every job

    Software takes how your best person does the work and makes it how everyone does it. The same steps every time, less double entry, and the numbers are there when you need them.

  3. 3. What it is worth

    Revenue growth and operational savings

    With the admin handled, your team spends its time on what it does best: estimating, selling and running jobs. That is where real revenue growth comes from. And the time they do spend goes further, which shows up as operational savings.

What our clients say

“Thorough, brilliant, and one of the best to work with who cares about supporting you and your company to maximize growth, profitability, along with streamlining your business day to day details.”
SadyeInternet sales · Trades & Home Services

Case studies

Real results from real contractors.

Read the full case studies

Results are annualized run-rate projections. Actual outcomes are actively being measured and may vary.

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Why we exist

The software revolution should not skip the trades.

For decades, custom software belonged to big companies with big budgets. The businesses that build and maintain everything around us were left with spreadsheets, whiteboards and tools their teams never adopted.

AI changed the cost of building. But building the wrong thing quickly is still building the wrong thing. The edge goes to whoever knows the right questions to ask.

You want to be part of what is happening in AI. You want to use it the right way and see the benefit in your own business. That is exactly what we help you do.

Think of us as the general contractor for your software.

You know the job better than anyone. We know how to design it, build it and bring it to market, and we grow when our partners grow.

The technology we build with

The newest AI, put to work in your business.

We stay on the front edge so you do not have to. We are model agnostic: we pick the right model and tool for each job instead of locking you into one vendor, and we lead with Anthropic's Claude.

  • ClaudeOur core AI, by Anthropic
  • Claude CodeBuilding and shipping software fast
  • OpenAI CodexCoding agents from OpenAI
  • The Grok suiteGrok models and agents from xAI
  • Hermes AgentOpen-source agents from Nous Research
  • OpenClawOpen-source personal AI agents

Agent teammates

Some builds are a whole team of AI agents.

Many of our builds include multiple AI agents working together, each with its own job, like agent teammates alongside your people. One drafts the follow-up, another checks the quote, another keeps the report current, and your team reviews and decides.

Connected to the tools you already use

  • n8n
  • Zapier
  • HubSpot
  • Notion
  • Google Workspace
  • Microsoft 365
  • Slack
  • Google Gemini
  • ElevenLabs
  • JotForm

Operational savings calculator

What is slow, manual work costing you?

Three numbers. This shows operational savings only: the time your team gets back.

3
6
$45

Assumptions

  • 48 working weeks a year.
  • A better process and the right software give back 40% of the lost time.
  • Savings are labor time only. Your results will depend on your business.

0 hrs

Hours lost a year

$0

What those hours cost a year

$0

Operational savings a year

This is only the operational savings.

It does not count the revenue growth that comes when your team spends that time on estimating, selling and running jobs. And if you partner with us on the software build, you also share in the upside as we take it to other shops. See how the partner upside works.

Talk Through Your Numbers on a Call (opens in a new tab)

How we partner

From your hardest problem to a fix that works, and sometimes a product the whole industry can use.

When we say partner, we mean you. The owners and teams we build with are our partners. Not customers on a one-off job, and not a transaction we hand off and walk away from.

We lead by serving. We listen first, work alongside your people, stay accountable to your results, and only grow when you do.

  1. Step 1: Solve

    We map how a job moves from first call to getting paid, find where time and money leak, and put a number on it. If other shops share the problem, we size that market too.

  2. Step 2: Build

    The best engineers and product designers build it on your real data, and we train your team to own it. A working version lands in weeks, not quarters.

  3. Step 3: Measure

    A monthly scorecard against your baseline and the forecast we set before the build.

  4. Step 4: Scale

    Only when it makes sense. Many fixes stay inside your business, and that is a complete win. When the problem is shared widely, we take it to market and you share the upside.

See every step and timeline on How We Work.

Start here

Start with a free call. Then the option that fits.

  1. Step 1 · FreeDiscovery call
  2. Step 2Is it a fit?
  3. Step 3Pick your option

  • Option 1 · The build

    We solve your operational challenge and build the fix

    Scoped to your workflow

    Quoted after the discovery call, once we know the problem

    • Built with your team on your real jobs and numbers
    • Software or a focused automation, whichever fits
    • Your team trained to own it
    • You own it, and the savings start in the first weeks

    Within the build · Optional

    The partner option: when the whole industry could use it

    If other shops share the problem, you can choose to partner. You pay only the cost of the build, or split it with 3 to 5 peers, and earn a share of the product's revenue every year as more shops use it, plus a lifetime discount. That is why it can be lucrative.

    What you pay for the build

    • Built for you alone: Full build price
    • Partner option: Cost of the build only
    • Partner option, shared with 3 to 5 peers: Your share of the cost

    Bars are illustrative.

    Partnering is your choice, and most builds stay inside your company. Worst case, you still keep a tool that grows your revenue and cuts operating expenses.

    How the revenue share works

  • Option 2 · Ongoing

    Fractional operations, strategy and AI partnership

    From $6,000 a month

    Scope set together after the discovery call

    • Access to the full ClearOak team, not one consultant
    • Operations: find where time and money leak, and fix it
    • Strategy, finance and growth from operators who have run it
    • AI and technology put to work where it pays off

    Often it starts with a quick automation that speeds up the process, and we keep going from there. That steady, step-by-step progress is where an operating partner pays off most.

See our services and what each includes

Why it works

A win-win-win, by design.

We select our partners thoughtfully. We build the software together, we handle all of the distribution, and everyone involved shares in the upside.

  • You winYour team gets the efficiencies, your data stays protected, and you share in the upside.
  • The trade winsOther shops get a proven tool, built by people who run the same kind of business.
  • We winWe grow when our partners grow. That is why we choose them carefully.

Questions about the options? Read the FAQ.

Our guarantee

We stand by our work. If we don't deliver, you get your money back.

What we promise is written into your proposal before any work begins.

Book a 30-Minute Call (opens in a new tab)

Data protection

How do we protect your data and your process?

Protecting your data and your proprietary process comes first in everything we do. It is one of the most important parts of being your partner.

  • Your process stays yours

    The way you quote, schedule and run jobs is what makes your business yours. We protect it like it is our own.

  • Your data is never shared

    Customer lists, pricing and processes are never shared with other partners or used outside your business without your permission.

  • The industry gets the solution, not your secrets

    What we take to market is the general fix that helps every shop run more efficiently. Never your numbers, your customers or your methods.

Our portfolio

Products built alongside the contractors who use them.

Each one started as a problem inside a real business. Each one is owned by ClearOak and shaped by its partners.

See the portfolio
Already solved? Start with ReQueue or Valance today.

The people behind the method

Servant leaders and operators first.

We think about you first. Our strategy comes from practical business experience, because we have run these businesses and done this work ourselves. We are not necessarily the builders. We bring in the most strategic people for each project, and we know how it should work because we have done it.

Who We Are
  • John Baker, Founder and Head Strategist

    John Baker

    Founder and Head Strategist

  • Phillip Weinstein, Advisor, Investment and Growth Strategy

    Phillip Weinstein

    Advisor, Investment and Growth Strategy

  • Jeffrey Ferguson, Advisor, Finance and Investment Strategy

    Jeffrey Ferguson

    Advisor, Finance and Investment Strategy

  • Zafir Dharssi, Advisor, Product and Technology

    Zafir Dharssi

    Advisor, Product and Technology

  • David Lovejoy, Advisor, AI and Process Innovation

    David Lovejoy

    Advisor, AI and Process Innovation

Certified to build on Anthropic's Claude. The best engineers and product designers join every project.

Our pillars

Led by service. Built on faith.

Servant leadership is the pillar everything else stands on. It shapes how we treat every owner, partner and team member, and it is why we partner instead of just selling.

Our leading pillar

Servant Leadership

We lead by serving. Before anything else, the product has to work for you, the way it was meant to. We guide your company, bring your team up to speed and stay with you until you win.

  • The product works for you first
  • We bring your team up to speed
  • Your win comes above all else
  • Supporting pillar

    Wisdom

    We think about the whole business, not just the tool: your people, your process and your numbers. Whatever it takes for you to win and feel the impact.

  • Supporting pillar

    Diligence

    We are relentless about getting you the relief you came to us for, and we keep at it until we reach the goal we set together.

  • Supporting pillar

    Partnership

    We move together. We plan with you, build with you and share the outcome with you, side by side from the first call.

How it shows up

  • Serve first

    We show up to help, not to sell.

  • Bring relief

    Take weight off owners and their teams.

  • Grow together

    When you win, we win. It's why we partner.

  • Do it right

    Honest numbers. Terms in writing. Your data stays yours.

That's why we partner. We would rather grow with you than profit from you.

Let's just get on a call.

Thirty minutes to talk through what's going on in your business. You don't need a plan or a project in mind. We just want to listen and help, because this is our passion, and we'll tell you honestly whether we can help.

Book a 30-Minute Call (opens in a new tab)