# Richy Nelson

> Richy Nelson is the co-founder and CEO of Roofr, the cloud-based operating system for roofing contractors. A third-generation roofer who first climbed a roof at twelve years old, Nelson transformed decades of hands-on industry experience into a platform trusted by over 12,000 roofing companies across North America. After selling his house to fund the company, surviving Y Combinator in 2017, and raising a Series B from TCV and ABC Supply in January 2025, he leads a 150-person remote team on a mission to build the most trusted roofing platform in the world.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Roofr
- **Organizations:** Roofr, Y Combinator (alumni), DMZ at Toronto Metropolitan University (alumni)
- **From:** Toronto, Canada
- **Nationality:** Canadian
- **Education:** Accelerator Program, DMZ at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), Summer 2017 Cohort, Y Combinator
- **Known for:** Co-founded Roofr in 2016, now serving 12,000+ roofing contractors across North America, Secured Y Combinator acceptance in Summer 2017 cohort, Raised over $43.88M in total funding across seed, Series A+, and Series B rounds

## Career timeline

- **~2000** — First climbed a roof at age 12 in the family roofing business
- **2000-2016** — Worked approximately 12 years in family roofing business, then transitioned to sales at one of Toronto's largest roofing contractors
- **2016** — Co-founded Roofr in Toronto with Kevin Redman (CTO) and Zachary Melo; sold his house to fund the venture
- **2016** — Accepted into the DMZ accelerator at Ryerson University, Toronto
- **2017** — Accepted into Y Combinator Summer 2017 cohort; relocated team from Toronto to San Francisco
- **2017-2018** — Raised $4M seed round led by Crosslink Capital post-YC Demo Day
- **2023** — Raised $23.5M Series A+ led by Vertical Venture Partners with strategic investment from ABC Supply Co.
- **2023** — Launched Roofr CRM, expanding platform beyond measurements and proposals
- **2025** — Raised Series B from TCV and ABC Supply; Roofr surpasses 12,000 roofing company customers and 150 employees
- **2025** — Appointed Ryan O'Nell as Chief Revenue Officer to accelerate growth

## Achievements

- Co-founded Roofr in 2016, now serving 12,000+ roofing contractors across North America
- Secured Y Combinator acceptance in Summer 2017 cohort
- Raised over $43.88M in total funding across seed, Series A+, and Series B rounds
- Grew team from 10 to 150+ employees, fully remote
- Built platform that helped roofing contractors generate millions in additional revenue
- Closed Series B led by TCV - a top-tier growth equity firm - in January 2025
- Secured strategic investment from ABC Supply Co., the largest roofing distributor in North America
- Received coverage from Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat in early growth years
- Expanded Roofr from Ontario, Canada to all of North America
- Alumni-in-Residence at DMZ, mentoring next generation of founders

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Roofr raises Series B funding led by TCV and ABC Supply; Richy Nelson states company is building aggressively while competitors pull back
- **2025-05** — Roofr appoints Ryan O'Nell as Chief Revenue Officer, signaling a push to accelerate revenue growth and innovation
- **2023-10** — Roofr closes $23.5M Series A+ led by Vertical Venture Partners with ABC Supply as strategic investor
- **2023-01** — Roofr launches its CRM product, unifying all roofing business tools in a single platform

## Links

- Website: https://roofr.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/richy-nelson-105b7593
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/roofrapp
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roofrapp/?fref=ts

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/richy-nelson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-15