New York, NY - October 23, 2024 - On the heels of raising $4.5 million in early stage venture funding, Wissam Akra, Founder and CEO of Tough Leaf, will appear on New to the Street to share the story behind the company’s founding and how it is transforming diverse firm bid procurement and compliance. Tough Leaf has established itself as the leading platform to connect general contractors with top-tier, certified diverse, local, and small businesses. This latest funding round, supported by Reformation, AlleyCorp, and Stellifi, is a testament to the platform’s growing impact in the construction sector.
Akra, a former project manager with firsthand experience in overseeing major infrastructure projects like the Second Avenue Subway and Hudson Yards, shared how his experience trying to solicit bids from diverse firms led him to establish Tough Leaf in 2021. “I saw a massive need for a solution that could simplify the process of finding qualified diverse subcontractors,” Akra says. “Traditional methods weren’t effective. It was a lot of manual searching, networking, and hoping you’d find someone who met the project’s requirements and who had the proper certification.”
In his interview, Akra retold the personal story of how he left a successful career as a construction manager to pursue an MBA at Columbia University and started Tough Leaf. He saw an opportunity to solve a critical industry pain point: helping contractors get more bids from qualified diverse firms including MBE, WBE, DBE, SBE, UBE, VBE. With Tough Leaf, he aimed to not only create a platform that simplifies identification and solicitation of diverse firms but also provides ongoing support to small businesses looking to access more construction projects.
Topics Akra discussed include:
- The genesis of Tough Leaf – As a resident engineer on billion-dollar projects, Akra witnessed the ongoing struggle to find qualified small and diverse businesses that met specific project needs and regulatory requirements. This experience sparked his idea to create a comprehensive solution that would make it easier for contractors to fulfill these requirements and award more trade packages to diverse firms.
- Bridging gaps with technology – Tough Leaf aggregates data from numerous certification databases to streamline the process of identifying and receiving bids from certified firms. Akra detailed how Tough Leaf provides a LinkedIn-style profile for each business, showcasing critical information on capabilities, revenue, and insurance status.
- Empowering small businesses for long-term success – Beyond connecting contractors with subcontractors, Tough Leaf is committed to supporting small businesses by helping them build capacity. Akra outlined plans to expand Tough Leaf’s offerings, such as providing resources for insurance, bonding, and financial support, enabling small businesses to take on more significant projects.
- Future plans for Tough Leaf – Akra discussed how the platform is evolving to support general contractors throughout the entire project lifecycle. By ensuring that compliance continues from bid to completion, Tough Leaf helps contractors maintain project eligibility and pursue future opportunities.
By tuning in to New to the Street, viewers will learn how Tough Leaf is reshaping the construction industry by leveraging technology to solve the critical challenge of identifying, soliciting bids from, and awarding small and diverse businesses with construction contracts.
About Tough Leaf
Tough Leaf is an innovative platform dedicated to modernizing construction procurement by connecting companies with certified, diverse small businesses. Through its comprehensive data-driven approach, Tough Leaf not only ensures compliance but also fosters growth for both contractors and small firms within the construction sector.
About New to the Street
New to the Street is a nationally syndicated television show that features leading companies, providing them with a platform to discuss their services, strategies, and growth prospects.
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