“You do the in-person part, we do everything else.” That’s the promise of Chapter One, a New York startup that raised $4 million in its pre-seed to bring AI into the plumbing, HVAC, painting, and remodeling trades. The company builds the operating backbone for local home service businesses, taking on marketing, payments, scheduling, and customer communication so owners can focus on their craft.
“Our vision is to transform fragmented local services into a connected, technology-enabled ecosystem,” said Alex Frost, CEO of Chapter One. “You do the in-person part, we do everything else. We’re unlocking a new operating model where service providers can scale like national companies without losing their independence.” The platform positions itself as a way for local operators to access enterprise-level tools without the complexity or cost of building them independently.
More than 100 plumbing, HVAC, painting, and remodeling businesses in major cities nationwide already use the platform’s AI-driven workflows and business support spanning bookkeeping, cold calling, cold emailing, ad management, and web presence.
Charlie Logan understands the problem firsthand. After running his own pest control company, he became a customer at Chapter One before joining the team. “I know how hard it is to keep up with everything,” Logan said. “That’s why I joined the team. Now I meet with operators every day and see how much time and stress they save by letting Chapter One handle the business and lead side and essentially derisk entrepreneurship at scale.”
From an operational perspective, Trisha Jha sees the broader transformation. “We are creating the infrastructure layer for small businesses,” she said. “By embedding AI into every workflow, we give local entrepreneurs the ability to grow like franchise or enterprise companies from day one while keeping full control of their business.”
The fresh funding will fuel the expansion of Chapter One’s AI and lead capabilities, strengthen integrations with tools like QuickBooks and Stripe, and build out a national support network for customers. Frost put the company’s ambition simply: “When someone hires a roofer, painter, or electrician, that owner should be free to focus on providing excellent service. Chapter One ensures the business behind it scales flawlessly.”
Based on content from Chapter One’s website.
