Power100 Names ToolBelt the #13 Strategic Partner in the Nation for 2026, Transforming How Contractors Find Skilled Labor

Power100 announces ToolBelt as the #13 Preferred Partner in the nation for 2026.

February 2026 — Power100, the only unbiased third‑party platform that ranks the best partners in the home improvement industry using a proprietary 5‑layer ranking system, has named ToolBelt the #13 Preferred Strategic Partner in the Nation for 2026 for residential construction and home improvement contractors. This recognition places ToolBelt among the most impactful platforms helping contractors simplify operations, find qualified labor faster, and scale with more consistency.

Power100’s 5-Layer Ranking System and Why ToolBelt Ranks #13

At Power100, every Preferred Partner is evaluated through a rigorous 5‑layer ranking system that includes: overall impact, operational efficiency, customer experience, innovation, sales and marketing performance, company culture, onsite CEO interviews, and overall financial health. This process was built after hundreds of conversations with top home improvement CEOs across the country and is designed to highlight companies that solve real problems for contractors and consistently deliver measurable results.

“ToolBelt stood out in our ranking system because they are addressing the single biggest constraint for contractors today—access to reliable, compliant labor—in a way that is scalable, digital, and proven in the field,” said Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100. “We look for partners who reduce chaos, increase predictability, and help our CEOs grow with confidence. ToolBelt checks all of those boxes and more.”

The ToolBelt Preferred Partner landing page on the Power100 platform details why ToolBelt earned the #13 ranking and how its marketplace model, contractor outcomes, and culture of innovation align with Power100’s criteria for strategic partners.

The ToolBelt Story: Built by a Contractor Who Lived the Labor Shortage

ToolBelt is the first digital labor marketplace built specifically for residential construction, replacing hours of phone calls and word‑of‑mouth scrambling with instant connections to thousands of licensed, compliant, and skilled tradespeople. Founded by former general contractor Joshua Engelbrecht, ToolBelt was born out of his experience struggling to keep up with project demand because he simply could not find enough quality crews fast enough.

As a general contractor for nearly a decade, Joshua Engelbrecht saw that most labor was still being sourced through informal networks, text messages, and word‑of‑mouth, leaving both contractors and tradespeople limited by who they happened to know. He realized that if there was a digital platform that could connect both sides around live projects, everyone could increase production, reduce downtime, and grow faster. That insight led to the launch of ToolBelt in 2019 as an online staffing marketplace that quickly gained adoption, capturing a significant share of residential contractors in key markets such as Portland and Seattle.

“When I started ToolBelt, I was just trying to solve my own problem—keeping jobs staffed and crews busy during the busiest season,” said Joshua Engelbrecht, CEO of ToolBelt. “Today, it’s become a nationwide platform where contractors can find labor at scale and tradespeople can find steady work with trusted companies. Being recognized by Power100 as the #13 Strategic Partner in the nation is a huge honor—and a validation that solving the labor problem is one of the most important levers for growth in home improvement

How ToolBelt Works: A Digital Labor Engine for Residential Construction

Through its mobile app and online platform, ToolBelt provides:

• Detailed project postings that allow contractors to list custom project descriptions, required trades, pricing, and timing.

   

• In‑depth tradesperson profiles that showcase licenses, insurance, bonding status, work history, work galleries, and references.

   

• Seamless communication, including direct calling and texting from within the platform, plus in‑app notifications to accelerate response times.

   

• Scalable workforce sourcing for regional teams, national general contractors, and high‑volume installation operators who need compliant crews in multiple markets.

   

ToolBelt now powers more than 75,000 contractors across 47 trades, helping them stay booked, expand their network of trusted subcontractors, and grow faster. The platform is specifically built for licensed pros in residential construction, making compliance—including license, insurance, and bonding—visible and meaningful so that “compliant contractors get hired faster.”

“The power of ToolBelt is that it gives both contractors and tradespeople control—contractors can post projects and staff them quickly, and trades can choose the jobs and partners that fit them best,” said Tom Knight , Chief Revenue Officer at ToolBelt. “We’ve designed the experience to feel simple on the surface, while handling a lot of complexity behind the scenes—compliance, matching, communication—so that our users can focus on doing quality work, not chasing phone calls.”

Real‑World Impact: From Near Shutdown to 8‑Figure Success

The impact of ToolBelt goes far beyond software metrics; it shows up in the lives and businesses of the contractors who use it. At the International Roofing Expo (IRE), the ToolBelt team met contractor Richard Menchaca, who shared a story that has become part of ToolBelt’s identity. Just a few years ago, Richard was a young business owner weeks away from shutting his doors, unable to make payroll.​

He turned to ToolBelt and made one life‑changing connection through the platform—meeting a partner who wrote him a $100,000 check, saving his company at a critical moment. Today, Richard’s business is thriving, generating eight‑figure annual revenue, and he sought out Joshua Engelbrecht at IRE specifically to say thank you for ToolBelt’s role in that turnaround.

“Stories like Richard’s are the reason we exist,” said Joshua Engelbrecht, CEO of ToolBelt. “A single connection can change the trajectory of a business. When you multiply that by thousands of contractors across the country, you start to see how transformative solving the labor bottleneck really is for our industry.”

Greg Cummings of Power100 added, “When we hear real stories of contractors going from ‘days away from shutting down’ to eight‑figure businesses—and ToolBelt is the bridge between those two realities—it tells us everything we need to know about their impact. That’s exactly what our rankings are designed to spotlight.”

Scaling Nationwide: From Local Incubator to National Stage

While ToolBelt began in the Pacific Northwest, its vision has always been national. A key moment in its early journey was being the first company hosted at the new Northbank Innovation incubator at The Vic in Vancouver, Washington, a venue dedicated to fostering innovation and high‑growth startups.

Startup leader Dave Barcos played a pivotal role in ToolBelt’s early years, connecting Joshua Engelbrecht with local angels and venture capital investors who helped the platform get off the ground. “Dave has been a driving force for startups in Vancouver for over a decade, and ToolBelt is one of the companies that benefitted from his vision of building a real innovation ecosystem in Southwest Washington,” said Tom Knight , Chief Revenue Officer of ToolBelt.

From those early incubator days, ToolBelt has grown into a national presence. The company’s launch onto the “big stage” came at the International Roofing Expo (IRE), where ToolBelt made a clear statement to contractors across the U.S.: “No longer should contractors say, ‘I can’t find crews.’”

At IRE, ToolBelt also spotlighted its partnership with SRS Distribution Inc., one of the leading building products distributors serving roofing and exterior contractors nationwide. “SRS truly cares about finding valuable solutions for their PRO customers, and ToolBelt is a natural fit because we give their contractors a practical way to turn more materials into completed jobs,” said Dean S., Talent Acquisition Lead for Enterprise Accounts at ToolBelt. “If you’re an SRS customer, you can now walk into your local branch or contact your territory manager and get set up with a ToolBelt Pro account to start building your labor network immediately.”

Building the Future of the Trades: Skilled Hands Alliance

ToolBelt’s mission extends beyond matching jobs and crews—it’s also about building a stronger, more sustainable future for the trades. As the founding sponsor of Skilled Hands Alliance, a nonprofit initiative led by Carl Coffey, ToolBelt is helping to unite contractors, workforce programs, and business partners to strengthen the residential trades through jobs, training, compliance, and support.

“We can’t solve the labor shortage just by making connections faster—we also have to help create and support the next generation of skilled tradespeople,” said Dean S., Talent Acquisition Lead for Enterprise Accounts at ToolBelt. “That’s why we support initiatives like Skilled Hands Alliance that focus on workforce development, compliance, and business support alongside what we’re doing with the ToolBelt platform.”

The Skilled Hands Alliance lists ToolBelt as a primary sponsor, recognizing it as “the only platform built specifically for licensed pros in residential construction looking for work or finding labor.” This alignment between marketplace innovation and nonprofit support was a key factor in Power100’s assessment of ToolBelt’s broader industry impact and company culture.

Why ToolBelt Matters for Power100 CEOs and Home Improvement Leaders

For the CEOs and leadership teams featured on Power100, labor is often the bottleneck that holds back growth, delays production schedules, and strains customer experience. ToolBelt directly addresses this constraint by offering a platform where:

• Contractors can expand their network of trusted subcontractors beyond their existing relationships.

   

• Project‑based labor can be sourced quickly in local markets across the U.S.

   

• Compliance (license, insurance, bonding) is easy to verify and prioritize.

   

• Enterprise operators can ramp up or ramp down crews as volume shifts.

   

“The best sales training, the best marketing, and the best systems don’t matter if you can’t find crews to actually do the work,” said Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100. “ToolBelt is one of the few platforms we’ve seen that takes the chaos out of the labor side and gives our CEOs a real path to predictable production.”

“From the contractor’s perspective, we’re not just another job board—we’re an all‑in‑one labor engine that helps them stay booked, staff projects, and grow into new markets,” added Tom Knight , Chief Revenue Officer at ToolBelt. “From the tradesperson’s perspective, ToolBelt is a way to build a better book of business with compliant, serious contractors who respect their time and skills.”