VisionTech Angels Invests $575,000 in Road Utility App OnStation, Leading Oversubscribed Seed Round of $1.4 Million

Jul 07

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (July 8, 2021) – – In the largest initial investment in the group’s 12-year history, VisionTech Angels have invested $575,000 in road construction productivity app OnStation, in a seed round that closed at $1.4 million. Cleveland, Ohio-based OnStation also has the distinction of being VisionTech Angels’ 50th portfolio company.

VisionTech Angels led the round, with 53 of its investors participating. Joining VisionTech Angels in backing OnStation were HG Ventures, Indianapolis; Jumpstart, Cleveland; and Golden Angel Investors, Brookfield, Wisconsin. The round, which will be used to scale the company nationally, was oversubscribed by $400,000.

VisionTech Executive Director Ben Pidgeon said the investment was significant on many levels. “Unlike a venture fund which writes one check, angel groups like VisionTech are composed of individual investors who decide whether or not to participate in a deal. Leading the investment round in OnStation with participation from this volume of members is a real achievement when the average check per VisionTech investor was just over $10,000. It came down to our investors having a lot of trust and confidence in OnStation’s Founder and Chief Technology Officer Jake Bailosky and CEO Patrick Russo.”

Pidgeon adds, “We’re impressed with the current abilities of the product, the problems it solves for the road construction industry, customer feedback, market size, and growth potential.”

The OnStation app, which enables better communications, productivity, and efficiency for road construction projects could not be better timed. On Thursday, July 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $715 billion highway and water infrastructure bill that would direct $343 billion to highway and bridges infrastructure projects. The U.S. Senate is currently debating a $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal.

While there’s no deal yet in Washington D.C., OnStation’s Russo says the company will primarily use the funding to scale the company, which is currently in use in 23 states. “We recently hired a growth marketer and civil technology engineer and have immediate plans to add sales professionals and additional developers so we can rapidly add more functionality to the app and automate the project onboarding process. Once a federal infrastructure bill is passed, we anticipate more states initiating roadway construction projects. Tools like OnStation will support better project management and greater productivity and efficiency to road construction teams. The volume of construction projects will make OnStation’s app essential to keep projects on track.” 

OnStation is the brainchild of founder and CTO Bailosky who worked as a project engineer at the Ohio Department of Transportation (DOT) and who experienced first-hand the daily challenges of managing road construction projects. Bailosky also served on the Ohio DOT’s technology review board for four years and saw all of the tech solutions the agency was considering. He taught himself how to code and built the first generation of OnStation, the first jobsite productivity app that serves as a complementary plugin to larger road construction tech solutions.

Today, OnStation is an industry leading application that brings better communication and efficiency to jobsites. Bailosky and Russo also credit JumpStart Cleveland, which mentored and supported the startup for four years, for much of their success to date. Over the last seven months, OnStation’s customer base is up seven-fold.

Russo says it’s just a start. “We want to be on every jobsite and every road in the United States. And beyond!”

About VisionTech
Founded in 2009, VisionTech is a privately held company that links investors to high-potential, early-growth companies. Based in Indianapolis, VisionTech’s angel investing network includes more than 120 active members and chapters in Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Indiana; and Dayton, Ohio. As of December 2020, 180 VisionTech members deployed more than $21.5 million in capital, investing in 50 portfolio companies from across the United States. Membership is open to accredited investors. Those interested in joining are encouraged to contact VisionTech.

About OnStation
OnStation is a highly collaborative mobile application created by PROJiTECH that empowers road construction workforces by supporting location-based documentation and communication across the entire project. This includes automatic location, access to project design files and contract documents, streamlined issue tracking, and group communication features. Through higher engagement and connectivity, OnStation enables more efficient jobsite workflow, keeping cones off the road, traffic flowing and work progressing. Learn more.