GreenLancer.com, cloud-based solar energy engineering company in Detroit, expects to secure $500,000 from investors early this year to expand the company’s technology as well as increase its sales and marketing efforts.
The company engineered and designed solar systems in 32 states and in six countries in 2013, and is in talks with other unnamed companies, says CEO Michael Sharber. GreenLancer is working on the final details of a contract that involves providing a national homebuilder with designs and blueprints for solar systems on the tops of homes.
“We’re just under $250,000 (from investors),” Sharber says. “We’re excited about how far we’ve come and more excited about where we’re going. More important, we’re confident in our ability to deliver on our promises and achieve the ambitious goals we’ve set for ourselves.”
Located on the 27th floor of the David Stott building in downtown Detroit, GreenLancer helps traditional contractors develop renewable energy projects by providing them project documents and plans. The company uses about 100 “greenlancers,” or green energy-engineering freelancers, who are assigned projects that apply to their skill sets. Sharber says he hopes to increase the greenlancer base to 500 by the end of the year.
In addition to adding two new staff members — one in charge of business development and the other a production manager — by the end of the second quarter, the company plans to hire additional sales staff to support the new business that’s coming in, Sharber says.
In terms of technology expansion, the company plans to launch an application programming interface, or API, in February. This will allow for third-party integration, which will allow clients to resell GreenLancer’s engineering services from their existing websites.
Sharber says the company — born at Bizdom and is part of Quicken Loans — expects to do work in all 50 states by the end of the second quarter.
