Belgian construction-tech scale-up, Spotable, has raised €4 million in seed capital to expand internationally.
“Eighteen months ago, three students told me they were going to build a global tech company. With software for roofers,” recalls Tanguy Serraes, partner at The Harbour.
While other people laughed at their idea, calling it “too niche” and saying that “construction workers won’t buy software” – especially not for roofing – founders Sebastien Vandendriessche (CEO), Julie Dumoulin (CRO), and Pieter-Jan Philips (CTO) didn’t let themselves get swayed and founded Spotable in September 2024.
“Software for roofers didn’t immediately seem like the most obvious foundation for an international technology company a year and a half ago, but it's precisely where we saw an opportunity,” shares Sebastian. At the time, roofers were spending up to eight hours per project driving to sites, manually measuring buildings and painstakingly building quotes in Excel – often without any guarantee of winning the job.
Three months later, Spotable launched, introducing software that digitally measures buildings in 3D using geographical data and AI. Belgium was the ideal test market, with thousands of small and medium-sized construction companies, as well as large distributors and internationally active building materials manufacturers.
A year later, it went live commercially. Since then, the software has evolved to calculate material quantities, link live pricing and facilitate ordering, bridging the gap between contractors, distributors and manufacturers.
The team has also grown from three to 30 employees, with 350 customers and growing.
Today, Spotable’s vision is backed by a €4 million seed round – led by investment broker The Harbour and joined by Jonas Dhaenens of team.blue, Christophe Morbee of NewSchool.vc, former Signpost CEO Arne Vandendriessche, and the family office of Hilde Cloostermans-Huwaert and Philip Corens, alongside Olivier Saverys and Guy Serraes.
Putting the right people at the table
Because the round was quickly oversubscribed, Tanguy and the three founders had to allocate the final cap table over a video call. “Me in Lapland at Trends Winter University and Pieter-Jan on holiday, while Sebastien and Julie held down the fort back at headquarters,” he recalls.
“That’s the part of our work at The Harbour nobody sees,” Tanguy continues:
“Raising capital is one thing, but putting the right people around a founding team is what really changes the trajectory.”
This set the tone for the rest of the deal’s engagements: “Serious decisions, made with a big smile,” Tanguy says. “Hard calls go a lot easier with the right people on the line.”
With both the combined capital and experience of the final cap table, Spotable plans to accelerate its international expansion.
Already aiming for America
Beyond Belgium and the Netherlands, Spotable is explicitly looking at larger construction markets such as France, Germany and the US. “The American roofing market is many times larger than the Belgian one and already has strong specialised software players,” elaborates Julie, adding that Spotable has already tested its technology at trade fairs there and built its first commercial presence.
“We don't want to spend ten years building in Belgium first and then cautiously take a look at America. If this can become a global company, we want to find out today.”
For Christophe Morbee – whose NewSchool.vc recently hit the €10 million target for its first fund, also with help from The Harbour's network – that drive is exactly what secured their investment. “Belgian tech. Global ambition. Exactly the kind of journey we love to support,” he discloses.
For Tanguy, who shaped the deal alongside colleague Aelbrecht Van Damme, the foundation is now firmly set. Looking at the young founding team, he concludes: “Proud doesn't quite cover it. Now go build that world company you keep talking about.”
