What we're building — and why

Getting a price for anything substantial in Canada is a grind. Insurance, a roof, a mortgage, a fleet of equipment — it's the same routine every time. You search, you fill in four contact forms, you explain your situation over and over, and then you spend the next two weeks fielding calls from people you'll never hire. When you finally pick someone, you still don't really know whether you got a fair number.

Businesses get the losing end of the same deal. They buy leads that were sold to four competitors, chase people who never intended to answer, and pay for the privilege of guessing.

Flip it. The buyer posts once, describing exactly what they need. Verified businesses come to them with real offers. The buyer compares, negotiates, and picks — then both sides sign a digital contract inside the platform.

The buyer stays anonymous until that contract is signed, so there is no way to be spam-called out of a listing. The business pays a flat monthly membership rather than a commission, so a big job doesn't cost them more than a small one.

It's not a new idea. It's the oldest one. The Athenian agora was a public square where buyers and sellers met in the open and negotiated face to face. We're rebuilding the square.

Agora is in beta and we'd rather be straight with you about that than pretend otherwise.

Working now: posting listings, anonymous bidding, direct messaging and negotiation, digital contracts with milestones, verified reviews, and registry verification for insurance brokers (RIBO, AIC, BCFSA) and mortgage agents (FSRA).

Still coming: more categories, wider provincial coverage, an analytics dashboard for business accounts, and a public API.

We ship changes most weeks. If you hit something broken or missing, email us — right now that email goes to a person, not a queue.