CO-FOUNDERS
BUILDERPAD

Mark Thompson, born and raised in Buffalo, New York, has always carried an unwavering passion for sports and a work hard/play hard mentality. As a stalwart member of the Buffalo Bills fandom (#billsmafia), Mark parlayed his sporting enthusiasm into a successful collegiate baseball career at LeMoyne College. It was here, while earning his degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing, that Mark began to shape the determination and strategic mindset that would mark his future entrepreneurial success.

Upon graduation in 2006, Mark moved to the Raleigh-Durham area, where he spent five years at the helm of marketing agency campaigns. In this role, he helped local businesses deploy a multitude of marketing strategies, including SEO, PPC, Social Media, and Email Marketing. The knowledge and experiences gathered in this period laid the groundwork for what was to become Mark's true calling: software and Software as a Service (SaaS) development.

2011 marked a significant turning point in Mark's career, as he dove headfirst into the SaaS industry. The allure of creating software solutions that could streamline business operations, maximize revenue, and surmount day-to-day challenges was irresistible to Mark. Over the ensuing 15 years, he generated over $30M in sales, created more than ten SaaS platforms, and successfully exited three startups. The most notable of these was PayKickstart, a powerful billing and affiliate management platform, which he sold in early 2023.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Mark is a down-to-earth family man, deeply committed to his wife and daughter. This commitment, coupled with his entrepreneurial spirit, led him to build their dream lake house in late 2021. However, the experience of poor communication, lack of transparency, and unexpected cost overruns during the construction process sparked a new idea in Mark. As a seasoned software professional, he saw an opportunity to disrupt the home construction industry.

Recognizing that clients and builders alike could benefit from a better solution, Mark turned to his co-founder and friend, Hill Dickerson. With both of them fresh from successful business exits, the timing was perfect to bring their vision to life. Thus, BuilderPad was born—a venture with the potential to revolutionize the home construction industry by providing greater transparency, improved communication, and superior budget management.

Through his enduring work ethic and innovative spirit, Mark Thompson continues to redefine the boundaries of what's possible in the world of SaaS, demonstrating that with the right mindset, even the most challenging experiences can be transformed into opportunities for growth and innovation.