Jacob Bloodworth
Founder
LinkedInThe problem
Home improvement is set up to fail both parties.
Handshakes. WhatsApp messages. Verbal promises. That's how billions of pounds of home improvement work gets agreed every year. Written contracts are time-consuming and inflexible, so most people skip them. Informal agreements leave both parties exposed and on the defensive from day one, with thousands of pounds at risk and very little to fall back on if things go wrong.
Homeowners hand over large sums without knowing what good looks like, sometimes waiting on work that never starts or finishes, sometimes left with a ruined home and nowhere to turn. Tradespeople front the work, trusting they'll get paid, and often spend months chasing money they're owed – sometimes writing it off entirely.
How we fix it
Replacing trust with accountability.
A digital job agreement that's as easy as a handshake, with the protection of a contract. It keeps everyone on the same page and gives both parties something to fall back on.
A shared record that grows with the job. Both sides see what was agreed, what's been done, and what's still owed – backed by a built-in change log, work log, and timestamped approvals. Quick to set up, robust enough to hold up if either side ever needs it. Built with UK government standards in mind.
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Ease
Set up in minutes. Grows with the job. Friendlier than a contract. Built to actually use.
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Clarity
Both sides see what was agreed, what's been done, and what's still owed.
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Protection
A clear, timestamped record that holds up if either side ever needs it.
Our story
We built Renofy because we needed it.
Luke hired a contractor for a bathroom renovation. After paying the first milestone, the tiles started falling off. The moment he raised the issue, they walked away with the money – leaving a mess no one else would touch.
Jacob had a roofer fit new dry verges. Something felt off, but he didn't know what to look for and trusted the experts. The next morning he found dry verge panels in the garden. Ten visits later, the roof still wasn't fixed.
The problem runs both ways. A close friend told us about begging a customer for money she was owed, stood on the porch she'd just built for them. A family member who works as a subcontractor, explaining that the final milestone – the one where the margin lives – is the one most likely to be unpaid, and often enough to break a small business.
As we did more research, the scale of the problem astounded us. Homeowner after homeowner telling us they didn't know what good looked like. Contractor after contractor chasing thousands. This isn't a few bad apples – it's a market running on trust with nothing to back it up. So we built Renofy.
"There's nothing quite like begging a customer for the money you're owed, while stood on the porch you just built for them."
