SchemeFlow

What do they actually do

SchemeFlow provides an AI-assisted tool for drafting technical reports used in construction approvals and environmental review. It’s a cloud web app plus a Microsoft Word toolbar that generates first‑draft text, maps, and structured analyses from project inputs, then lets engineers edit inside Word with source traceability and checklist‑style QA before finalizing the report SchemeFlow — technology and disciplines & reports.

To limit common AI errors, the system layers LLM‑generated text on top of structured technical data and controlled templates, and exposes data sources so experts can verify or correct sections. It’s used by engineering and environmental consultancies across disciplines such as transportation, air quality, noise, flood risk, and geotechnical in the US and UK. The company sells software subscriptions and paid services (template configuration, enterprise programs) SchemeFlow — technology, disciplines & reports, and YC profile.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Project engineers at small-to-mid environmental or transport consultancies: They lose hours assembling routine permit/planning reports by copying templates and waiting on GIS or other specialists, which delays delivery and reduces billable efficiency.
• In-house GIS specialists or mapping teams at consultancies: They are a bottleneck because every project needs bespoke maps; constant ad‑hoc requests slow scoping and early drafting.
• Technical reviewers / senior engineers who sign off reports: They must verify assumptions and data sources for regulator submissions and are wary of AI errors; they need clear traceability and checklist QA rather than opaque text.
• Heads of delivery or transformation leads at large, multi‑office consultancies: They face inconsistent report quality across teams, slow template rollouts, and high costs to scale repeatable drafting across disciplines.
• Operations / bids managers focused on utilization and margins: Repetitive report writing ties up senior staff and reduces capacity for higher‑value work, making bids harder to price and deliver on time.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Run paid pilots with hands‑on template setup inside the customer’s Word workflow; trade discounted pilot pricing for structured feedback and a public case study/reference SchemeFlow — technology and disciplines & reports.
• First 50: Use pilot case studies to drive targeted outbound to regional consultancies’ delivery leads; run short onboarding workshops/webinars and convert pilots to standard subscriptions with a packaged setup YC profile and disciplines & reports.
• First 100: Shift toward multi‑office enterprise programs and channel partnerships (e.g., large consultancies or GIS/data vendors); lower onboarding cost by pushing self‑serve maps and hardened QA/traceability features YC profile and technology.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Independent research places the global environmental & sustainability consulting market around the tens of billions today (e.g., ~$54.7B globally in 2023; ~$22.3B in the US) Environment Analyst and US market.

Bottom-up calculation:

SchemeFlow estimates the immediate “report‑writing” TAM at ~$9B in the US and ~$23B globally, based on 143k consultants × ~$64k of report‑writing work per person per year YC profile.

Assumptions:

• Consultants spend enough time on drafting/report production to justify ~$64k per person annually (or equivalent time value).
• Similar report workflows exist across US/UK and internationally in environmental and transport consulting.
• Willingness to pay tracks time saved in drafting/report production rather than total project budgets.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Quire: Report‑writing platform used by environmental and engineering firms for templated, collaborative technical reports (e.g., ESAs). Competes on standardizing report workflows; not AI‑first.
• Esri ArcGIS: De facto GIS platform for producing maps and figures in consulting workflows; competes for the mapping step and offers automation via ArcGIS Pro and Python tools.
• EarthSoft EQuIS: Environmental data management and reporting system used for regulatory submissions; competes where data pipelines and standard reports are automated.
• Autodesk InfraWorks: Used by civil/transport engineers for preliminary design, visualization, and some reporting; adjacent competition for producing figures and analyses embedded in submissions.
• Enablon (Wolters Kluwer): Enterprise EHS and sustainability software with compliance reporting; not focused on planning/permitting narratives, but competes for standardization budgets in large firms.