1848 Ventures Leads $3M Seed Round for Propel People, Appoints Construction Tech Veteran Dexter Bachelder as CEO

Investment fuels growth of AI-powered hiring platform purpose-built for the skilled trades

WESTFIELD CENTER, Ohio, July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 1848 Ventures, an AI-first venture studio building SaaS solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the US, today announced it has led a $3 million seed funding round for Propel People, a mobile-first hiring platform built to help contractors hire skilled tradespeople faster. Propel People has also appointed industry veteran Dexter Bachelder as CEO, bringing deep expertise in construction tech and go-to-market execution to the growing company.

Built inside the 1848V venture studio, Propel People is tackling one of the construction industry's most urgent challenges: hiring. With 94% of contractors struggling to find skilled workers and over $20B lost annually due to labor shortages, Propel People's AI-powered platform is designed to simplify and speed up trade hiring through smart candidate ranking, instant screening, and high-engagement SMS tools.

"Labor shortages are the number one threat to growth, profitability, and safety in the construction industry," said Kal Amin, Managing Partner at 1848 Ventures. "Propel People was built from the ground up to address this exact problem. By combining AI-native infrastructure with a field-first user experience, Propel is redefining what hiring can look like for the trades. With Dexter at the helm, we're confident the company will lead the next wave of innovation in skilled labor recruitment."

Propel People's proprietary ProScore engine instantly ranks job applicants, while built-in two-way texting boosts response rates and facilitates prescreening. The platform is bilingual by default—supporting Spanish-speaking candidates and crews—and optimized for contractors who hire from the field, not the office.

Dexter Bachelder brings over 25 years of experience scaling SaaS, AI, and construction tech ventures, including leadership roles at Aconex (IPO, acquired by Oracle), Command Alkon (acquired by Thoma Bravo), Togal.AI, and Slate.AI. 

"After 25 years in construction tech, I've learned that solving the skilled labor shortage is not just the industry's biggest challenge, it's also its greatest opportunity," said Dexter Bachelder, CEO of Propel People. "Contractors need to hire great people to deliver quality projects, yet the industry is short more than 500,000 skilled workers just to meet current demand. Most hiring tools weren't built for how construction actually works—on the move, in the field, and under pressure. Propel People is different. We're using AI and a mobile-first platform to help contractors build crews faster, smarter, and more efficiently—from job post to jobsite. I'm proud to partner with 1848 Ventures to support the people who build our world and help solve one of their most urgent problems."

The funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand the engineering and go-to-market teams, and support Propel's entry into key contractor markets across the U.S.

The investment further reinforces 1848 Ventures' commitment to scaling AI-native software companies that serve real-world SMB pain points. Propel is the latest example of how the studio is building and backing vertical SaaS ventures designed to transform overlooked sectors of the economy.

To learn more about Propel People, visit https://propelpeople.ai/.

To learn more about 1848 Ventures and its portfolio, visit www.1848ventures.com.

About 1848 Ventures:

1848 Ventures is building the operating system for SMB transformation—venture by venture, acquisition by acquisition. Backed by Westfield, 1848V builds, funds, and scales AI-native SaaS companies designed to help SMBs thrive in a rapidly evolving economy. To learn more about 1848 Ventures and its portfolio, visit www.1848ventures.com.

Media Contact:

Matt Jaffe
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SOURCE 1848 Ventures