# RateRight — Business Plan Summary
## MVP Ventures Round 3 Application

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## The Problem

Construction hiring in Australia is broken. Builders rely on word-of-mouth, overpriced labour-hire agencies (15-25% margins), and fragmented job boards that weren't built for construction. Workers lose up to a quarter of their pay to middlemen. Small builders can't compete with large firms for talent because they can't afford agency fees.

**The numbers:**
- 1.3 million construction workers in Australia
- $15 billion labour-hire market
- 116,700 additional workers needed to meet housing targets (NHFIC)
- 67,000 homes behind schedule nationally
- 67% of builders report difficulty recruiting (Master Builders Australia)

The industry hasn't digitised hiring. Most construction hiring still happens through phone calls, text messages, and personal networks — the same way it worked 30 years ago.

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## The Solution

**RateRight** is an AI-powered construction hiring marketplace that connects builders with qualified tradespeople for a flat fee of $50 per hire, unlimited duration.

### How It Works
1. **Builder posts a job** — via web, app, or voice call to our AI phone system
2. **AI matches qualified workers** — based on trade, location, experience, availability, and credentials
3. **Builder hires** — pays $50 flat fee. Worker keeps 100% of their pay. No ongoing fees.

### What Makes RateRight Different

| Feature | RateRight | Labour Hire Agencies | Job Boards |
|---------|-----------|---------------------|------------|
| **Cost to builder** | $50 flat fee | 15-25% of wages (ongoing) | $200-500/listing |
| **Cost to worker** | $0 | Lose 15-25% of pay | $0-50 |
| **Hire duration** | Unlimited | Ongoing fees | N/A |
| **AI matching** | ✅ | ❌ Manual | ❌ Search only |
| **Voice interface** | ✅ Phone AI | ❌ | ❌ |
| **Document packs** | ✅ Auto-generated | Sometimes | ❌ |
| **Savings vs agency** | **85-95%** | Baseline | Variable |

**Example:** A builder hiring a carpenter at $50/hr through a labour-hire agency pays ~$62.50/hr (25% margin). Over a 3-month engagement (500 hours), that's $6,250 in fees. Through RateRight: $50. Total.

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## Market Opportunity

### Total Addressable Market
- **Australian construction labour hire:** $15 billion/year
- **NSW construction labour hire:** ~$4.5 billion/year (30% of national)

### Serviceable Market
- **Target segment:** Small-to-medium builders in NSW (10,000+ businesses)
- **Average hires per builder per year:** 8-15
- **Revenue potential at scale:** $50 × 12 hires × 5,000 builders = $3.6M/year (NSW alone)

### Market Validation
- SEEK's acquisition of Sidekicker (Dec 2025) validates the construction staffing tech space
- Master Builders Australia reports 67% of builders struggle to recruit
- Government housing targets (1.2M homes by 2029) will intensify demand for construction workers

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## Business Model

| Revenue Stream | Price | Unit Economics |
|---------------|-------|----------------|
| Hire fee (builder pays) | $50/hire | $48.85 net after Stripe fees (97.7% margin) |
| Worker fee | $0 | Free forever — workers should keep their pay |

**Break-even:** 15 hires/month at base costs ($727/month burn)

**Path to profitability:**
- Month 3: 10-15 hires/month (approaching break-even)
- Month 6: 25-30 hires/month (profitable)
- Month 12: 50+ hires/month ($2,400+/month net revenue)

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## Technology & Innovation

### AI-Powered Platform
- **Matching algorithm:** ML-based matching considering trade skills, location, availability, credentials, and past performance
- **Voice AI:** Workers can call to register and check jobs. Builders can post jobs via phone call. Built for a workforce that works with their hands, not at desks.
- **Automated compliance:** Document packs, credential verification, work rights checks
- **8-agent AI operations fleet:** Sales, marketing, finance, DevOps, intel, comms, and ops agents running autonomously — the AI team IS the R&D innovation

### Technology Readiness
- **Current TRL:** 7 — System prototype demonstrated in operational environment
- **Target TRL:** 9 — Actual system proven through successful operations
- Platform deployed and functional at rivet.rateright.com.au
- Stripe payments integrated and operational
- Voice AI system live via Twilio + ElevenLabs

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## Competitive Landscape

| Competitor | Model | Our Advantage |
|-----------|-------|---------------|
| Traditional labour hire (Hays, Chandler Macleod) | 15-25% margin on wages | 85-95% cheaper. Workers keep full pay. |
| HiPages | Lead-gen for trades, $15-50/lead | We complete the hire, not just the lead. Flat fee, not per-lead. |
| Sidekicker (SEEK) | App-based staffing, % margin | Flat fee vs percentage. Construction-specific vs general. |
| Airtasker | Task marketplace, 15-20% fee | Construction-focused. Flat fee. Proper hiring (not gig tasks). |
| Workmate | Shift staffing, % margin | Flat fee. Unlimited duration. Not shift-by-shift. |

**Sustainable moat:** Flat-fee pricing is structurally unbeatable by percentage-based competitors. They can't match $50/hire without destroying their business model.

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## Team

**Michael McLoughlin — Founder & CEO**
- 30 years in Australian construction (steelfixer, formworker, supervisor)
- Lived the hiring problem from both sides — as a worker and as a supervisor
- Based in Sydney, active in the NSW construction industry
- Building RateRight full-time

**AI Operations Fleet (8 agents)**
- Purpose-built AI team handling operations at a fraction of human team cost
- Demonstrates the AI-powered business model that is core to RateRight's innovation
- Enables a sole founder to operate at the level of a 10-person startup

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## Financial Overview

| Metric | Current | 12-Month Target |
|--------|---------|----------------|
| Monthly burn | $727 | $1,200-1,500 (with marketing) |
| Cash reserves | ~$24,400 | $20,000+ (conservative) |
| Runway (no grant) | 33 months | 18+ months |
| Runway (with $50K grant) | 70+ months | 50+ months |
| Revenue | $0 (pre-launch) | $25,000+ |
| Hires facilitated | 0 | 500+ |

**Capital efficient:** $727/month burn rate is exceptionally low for a tech startup. Every dollar of grant funding goes directly to customer acquisition and platform scaling, not salaries or office space.

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## The Ask

**$50,000** from MVP Ventures Round 3 (Stream 1) to:
1. Launch commercially and acquire first 500 customers
2. Scale AI-powered matching and voice systems
3. Expand from Greater Sydney to regional NSW
4. Achieve break-even and prove sustainable economics

**Co-contribution:** $50,000 in cash spend + founder time over 12 months

**Impact:** Transform construction hiring in NSW. Save builders thousands per hire. Ensure workers keep 100% of their pay. Digitise a $4.5B industry segment.

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## Why Now

1. **Housing crisis:** Australia needs 1.2M homes by 2029. The industry needs efficient hiring NOW.
2. **AI maturity:** Voice AI and ML matching are production-ready for the first time.
3. **Market validation:** SEEK's Sidekicker acquisition signals investor confidence in construction staffing tech.
4. **Regulatory tailwind:** Closing Loopholes Act puts pressure on labour-hire agencies — alternatives are needed.
5. **Founder readiness:** 30 years of construction experience + a working AI-powered platform = execution-ready.

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*RateRight Pty Ltd | ABN 62 841 523 907 | Surry Hills, NSW*
*February 2026*