The home services industry generates over $500B annually, yet most operators struggle with inefficient manual processes that prevent them from scaling effectively. With homeowner spending on maintenance and home improvement projects projected to reach $526B by Q1 2026, according to Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, the need for automated growth solutions has never been greater. Volca addresses this challenge by building an AI-powered SMS-based referral system that automatically communicates with homeowners, integrates with existing CRM systems like ServiceTitan, and creates end-to-end referral programs with secure payments. The platform uses artificial intelligence to personalize messaging, recommend next-best actions, and power workflows across scheduling and support, getting smarter over time through CRM data analysis. Since launching, the company has already generated over $3M in referral pipeline for customers, with some businesses like Shafer Heating and Cooling earning $160K in net new sales in just four months through Volca’s automated referral marketing system.
AlleyWatch sat down with Volca CEO and Cofounder Brendan Kazanjian to learn more about the business, its future plans, and recent funding round.Who were your investors and how much did you raise? We’re thrilled to announce our $5.5M Seed round led by Pathlight Ventures, with participation from MetaProp, GTMFund, Recall Capital, and founders/execs from Ramp, Gusto, Scale AI, Plaid, Branch.io, Figma, and Stripe.
Tell us about the product or service that Volca offers.
Volca is an AI startup automating growth for home services companies. Our core product is an SMS-based referral system that uses AI to automatically communicate via texts with homeowners, match them to the right business systems within a CRM (like our partner ServiceTitan), aid in automated referral marketing, and close the loop with secure payments for end-to-end referral programs. The cool thing is our AI platform is designed to get smarter over time; it uses CRM data to personalize messaging, recommend next-best actions, and power workflows across scheduling and support.
Home services operators are drowning in manual work that prevents them from scaling their businesses efficiently. We want to provide tools that make running their shops easier, sharper, and way more profitable. Our hope is that by bringing SaaS to an underserved yet important market, home services teams can spend less time and money on figuring out how to survive and grow, and more time on what matters most — their loved ones.
We’re already seeing such great customer success. For example, one of our customers Shafer Heating and Cooling made over $160K in net new sales via our referral marketing automations…in just four months.
What inspired the start of Volca?
The motivation to start Volca came from my cofounder Don’s expertise in referral marketing combined with my personal family background in construction and contracting. Growing up, I witnessed first-hand the challenges of operating and scaling a small business in this sector that is constantly growing in competitiveness.
How is Volca different?
Volca doesn’t just build products for home services businesses, we build better customer experiences for homeowners. This is possible because we have deep empathy for the trades given our personal backgrounds and extreme amount of time spent with customers. At the same time, we are able to bring the speed of a Silicon Valley startup. That duel dynamic has supercharged our ability to take over the reins on rewriting the playbook for how home services grow.
What market does Volca target and how big is it?
Volca targets the $500B+ home services market.
What’s your business model?
Volca has a subscription-based model charging for seats or platform access.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
Home services is a recession-proof industry that is always in need of help. We intend to be a force in this industry for years to come, building whatever is needed from our customers.
What was the funding process like?
We navigated a fairly quick funding process that was highly competitive. In the end, we went with funds that had great knowledge of vertical SaaS and more specifically, the home services industry.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
We had to do a lot of educating on the home services industry. For a long time, capital has been flowing into AI tools geared toward enterprise productivity, but more underserved industries like home services have been flying under the radar. It’s an industry thriving and ripe to benefit from those same technologies. It’s an industry that in a lot of ways powers our economy. 1.4M home services jobs are done every single day. And homeowner spending on maintenance and home improvement projects is projected to rise to $526 billion by Q1 2026, according to Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
High traction out of the gate, an industry ripe for disruption, and a young team that is passionate about the customers they serve.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
The more your customers are willing to vouch for you, the better story you can tell, and the more options you will have as a company. Customers are everything.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
In the near term, we want to be the go-to destination for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical shops that are seeking out a sustainable and efficient way to grow their business. We are agnostic to SMB vs MM vs ENT, and instead just want to work with business owners that truly care about their customers.
What’s your favorite summer destination in and around the city?
I’m a big fan of Williamsburg and getting to walk around the park, try good food, and meet cool people.
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