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§ Private Profile · 413 Hazel Avenue, San Bruno, California, United States
All-in-one SaaS ERP software for janitorial businesses & building service contractors, automating operations, payroll, and accounting.
Based in San Bruno, California, BrightGo develops a specialized enterprise resource planning software platform designed to modernize operations for the commercial janitorial and building service industry. The company provides a subscription-based software-as-a-service application that automates manual workflows, including employee scheduling, attendance tracking, site inspections, and payroll processing, through a centralized dashboard and mobile interface. Operating with fewer than 25 employees and generating under $5 million in annual revenue, the startup serves commercial cleaning providers managing facilities for national supermarket chains and retail stores across the United States and Canada. BrightGo has secured $3 million in seed funding through a financing round co-led by venture capital firms Index Ventures and Costanoa Ventures to support further product development. Following their respective tenures at technology companies Meta, Dropbox, and Asana, the business was founded in 2023 by Gerald Fong and Saagar Deshpande.
BrightGo has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round.
BrightGo has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
BrightGo has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
BrightGo's investors include Costanoa Ventures, Index Ventures, TJ Nahigian, Homebrew, Norwest Venture Partners, Workday Ventures, Jamie Sutton.
BrightGo has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Seed in November 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2023 | $3M Seed | Costanoa Ventures, Index Ventures | TJ Nahigian, Homebrew, Norwest Venture Partners, Workday Ventures, Jamie Sutton | Announced |
BrightGo is a San Bruno, California-based technology company founded in 2022 that builds an all-in-one janitorial management software platform.[1][2][3] It serves janitorial and cleaning service businesses—particularly Building Service Contractors (BSCs)—by solving core operational pain points like overtime, time theft, scheduling inefficiencies, and lack of real-time visibility into building performance and employee accountability.[1][3] The platform unifies operations (scheduling, attendance, inspections, issue tracking, communication), payroll (timekeeping, timesheet review, missed punch management, overtime alerts), accounting (job costing, ERP integrations), and business intelligence dashboards for health scores and profit protection, enabling owners to automate manual work, retain clients, and boost margins in a low-margin industry.[2][3]
BrightGo raised $3 million in funding as of November 2023, backed by investors like Index Ventures and Costanoa Ventures, reflecting early growth momentum in a sector ripe for modernization.[1][3][5] With a team blending Silicon Valley engineering talent and BSC veterans, the company targets an overlooked market where outdated tools fail to meet modern demands, positioning it for scalable adoption among U.S. janitorial firms handling essential commercial cleaning services.[2][3][5]
BrightGo was founded in 2022 by Gerald Fong and Saagar Deshpande, who drew from their tech pedigrees—Fong as a former engineering leader at Meta (Instagram) and Dropbox, and Deshpande from Asana and EDO (a data analytics firm)—to address gaps in janitorial software.[1][2][3] The idea emerged after the founders interviewed over 500 BSC owners and attended industry events like ISSA in Chicago, where they observed a stark disconnect: clunky, outdated tools from vendors dating back to the 1980s couldn't handle real-world complexities like mobile workforces, despite janitorial roles being the fifth most common job in the U.S.[2][3][5]
This hands-on discovery process revealed persistent issues like poor usability, lack of real-time data, and inadequate mobile features, prompting the duo to build purpose-built software with Silicon Valley rigor.[2][3] Early traction included a $3 million seed round in late 2023 from Costanoa Ventures and Index Ventures, validating their vision and fueling product rollouts like attendance tracking and dashboards.[1][3][5] Pivotal moments, such as recognizing janitorial's low single-digit margins and high worker turnover, humanized the mission to empower owners, improve worker conditions, and drive sustainable growth.[5]
BrightGo stands out in the janitorial software space through modern, intuitive design and deep operational focus, contrasting with legacy competitors like those founded in the 1980s or 1999.[1][3][5]
BrightGo rides the wave of vertical SaaS disruption in fragmented, traditional industries like janitorial services—an essential U.S. sector with millions of workers but stuck with 1980s-era software lacking modern mobile and AI-driven capabilities.[3][5] Timing is ideal amid post-pandemic commercial cleaning demand, labor shortages, and rising wage pressures, where low margins (single digits) amplify the need for efficiency tools that boost worker flexibility and owner profitability.[5]
Market forces favoring BrightGo include the shift to remote/mobile workforces, real-time analytics mandates, and VC interest in "gritty" verticals, as seen in Costanoa's thesis on transforming high-turnover services.[5] By influencing the ecosystem, BrightGo elevates standards—potentially consolidating a market with outdated players—and paves the way for similar innovations in facilities management, echoing successes in call centers or security.[1][5]
BrightGo is poised to dominate janitorial software by scaling its platform with AI-enhanced predictions for overtime and health scores, while expanding integrations and features promised for 2024 onward.[1][3] Trends like workforce digitization, ESG-driven cleaning standards, and BSC consolidation will accelerate adoption, especially as economic pressures demand margin protection in a $100B+ U.S. market.[5]
Its influence could evolve from niche innovator to category leader, empowering immigrant-heavy workforces and setting benchmarks for vertical SaaS, much like how tech uplifted other essential services—ultimately proving that even overlooked industries deserve Silicon Valley-grade tools.[2][5]