Building Up

What Building Up does

Building Up is a Toronto-based non-profit social purpose contractor that delivers residential and commercial renovation services — general contracting, green retrofits, insulation, and general labour — through a workforce-development-integrated operating model. The organization's central mechanic is an 8-week pre-apprenticeship training program that supplies both its own project crews and a separate Temp Labour staffing line placed with external contractors; trainees enter the program with a confirmed interest in the trades and exit with health and safety certifications, supporting retention and on-site readiness. The company maintains licensed contractor status in the City of Toronto, carries full insurance and WSIB coverage, and offers a 1-year warranty on labour as trust signals in a price-competitive local market.

The business model is a hybrid of fee-for-service renovation contracting and B2B temporary labour placement, targeted at property owners/managers (for project work) and at contractors and businesses needing workforce capacity (for temp labour). Marketing is conducted primarily through the buildingup.ca website and organic social channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube), positioning the organization around a "social purpose builder" brand that combines quality renovation output with measurable workforce and community impact. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; no funding rounds, equity investors, or revenue figures are present in the available data.

Operationally, Building Up is a small organization (11-50 employees) headquartered at 116 Industry St, Unit 208 in Toronto, serving the Greater Toronto Region under Marc Soberano as Founder and Executive Director. Its stated mission targets three structural problems simultaneously — the skilled labour shortage, the housing crisis, and the need for green retrofitting — and its product roadmap (adding retrofits, insulation, and temp labour as distinct lines; opening new training cohorts) reflects incremental expansion of both service surface and revenue mix rather than geographic or volume scaling.

Name

Building Up

Legal name

Building Up

Website

https://buildingup.ca

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Building Up is a Toronto-based non-profit social purpose contractor delivering residential and commercial renovation, retrofit, insulation, and temporary labour services through an integrated 8-week pre-apprenticeship training program, serving property owners, contractors, and businesses in the Greater Toronto Region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction and Renovation Services

NAICS

Construction of Buildings (236), Residential Building Construction (23611), Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (236220)

SIC

Construction - Special Trade Contractors (1700)

akta.pro primary industry

Office & Corporate Building Construction (IMAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Green Building & Energy-Efficient Construction (LEED, Weatherization) (EDAOAAAO), Incumbent Worker Training & Upskilling (EDAAAOAE), Residential Green / High-Performance Home Construction (Net-Zero, Passive House) (IMAFABAH)

Keywords

• General contracting services
• Green retrofitting
• Construction labour staffing
• Pre-apprenticeship training
• Insulation installation

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Renovation Services: Revenue generated through providing general contracting, retrofits, insulation, and general labour services to customers. Services are offered at competitive prices with a focus on quality and social purpose.
2. Temporary Labour: Providing trained, eager, committed labourers to clients. Trainees spend 8 weeks with the organization and are equipped with health and safety tickets before being available for temporary placement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Building Up is a nonprofit social purpose contractor that delivers professional renovation and construction services—general contracting, green retrofits, insulation installation, and general/temporary labour—to property owners, managers, and contractors in the Greater Toronto Area. All work is performed by workers trained through its 8-week pre-apprenticeship program, and the organization is a licensed Toronto contractor providing a 1-year warranty on all labour.

Product overview

Building Up is a non-profit social purpose contractor based in Toronto that operates as a single unified offering combining professional renovation and construction services with a workforce development mission. The company provides five core service lines—General Contracting, Retrofits, Insulation, General Labour, and Temp Labour—all delivered by trainees from its 8-week pre-apprenticeship program. This integrated model allows Building Up to address green retrofitting needs, the housing crisis, and skilled labour shortages simultaneously while offering clients a 1-year warranty on all labour.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Contracting Professional renovation and construction contracting services delivered by experienced renovation professionals at competitive prices for property owners, managers, and businesses.
• Retrofits Green retrofitting services focused on energy efficiency improvements for residential and commercial properties.
• Insulation Services Professional insulation installation services as part of energy-efficient retrofit projects.
• General Labour Skilled labour services for construction and renovation projects delivered by trained workers.
• Temp Labour Temporary labour staffing services providing trained, eager, and committed workers who have completed an 8-week pre-apprenticeship program and hold health and safety certifications.
• Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program An 8-week training program that prepares individuals for careers in the skilled trades, covering health and safety certifications and practical trade skills.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tridel: Largest residential condominium developer in the Greater Toronto Area. Comparable as a major Toronto-area building-construction incumbent but focused on new condo development rather than renovations.
• EllisDon: Major Canadian construction services company operating across commercial, institutional, and residential building. Comparable as a Toronto-based full-service contractor but at vastly larger scale and broader scope.
• Mattamy Homes: Canada's largest privately owned homebuilder, active in the GTA. Comparable as a major residential building-construction player in the same Toronto geography but operating at much greater scale on for-sale new homes.

Direct peers

• Civic Works: Baltimore-based non-profit that runs workforce development programs alongside construction and home-repair services. Closely comparable operating model to Building Up's integration of training and contracting.
• Habitat for Humanity Canada: Non-profit home-building and renovation organization that combines construction activity with volunteer engagement and affordable housing outcomes. Directly comparable to Building Up's mission-driven contracting model and reliance on non-traditional labour.
• Job Corps: U.S. federal workforce training program with a heavy construction-trades curriculum that combines classroom training with on-the-job construction work. Comparable as a construction-focused pre-apprenticeship-to-employment pathway.
• Paul Davis Restoration: National franchise network providing residential and commercial renovation, restoration, and reconstruction services. Comparable as a multi-line renovation services operator with insurance and warranty-backed delivery.
• YouthBuild USA: Non-profit that delivers construction trades training to young adults while building affordable housing. Closely comparable to Building Up's pre-apprenticeship program feeding into paid construction work.

Others

• George Brown College: Toronto-based college offering construction trades and renovation programs. Comparable as a Toronto construction-trades training provider but as an educational institution rather than a contracting employer.
• Centennial College: Toronto-area college delivering skilled-trades and construction programs. Comparable as an adjacent construction-trades training institution but not a direct competitor on contracting services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/buildingupto
• Facebookfacebook.com/buildingupTO
• Instagraminstagram.com/buildingup.to

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Building Up