MineralWare, the fast-growing Fort Worth digital mineral management platform, continues to churn out new companies.
The company on Tuesday launched Energy Freelance, another digital platform, this one that connects mineral and royalty owners to experts nationally in oil and gas, wind, solar, and other segments. Energy Freelance is a separate company apart from MineralWare, and is held by MineralWare CEO and co-founder Ryan Vinson and MineralWare partner Larry Brogdon, who provided the seed capital.
“Uber has proven that there is a strong market for the on-demand service and be-your-own-boss model," Vinson said. "We are taking that same concept and applying it to a vast and growing energy marketplace.”
MineralWare touts Energy Freelance as "the first and only tech-enabled platform that connects mineral and royalty owners to nationwide land experts for project based work. With access to the Energy Freelance network of professionals, users can create projects and hire qualified freelancers in minutes."
The marketplace will "seeks to connect the millions of mineral and royalty owners with landman, title attorneys, and other industry professionals to complete projects that these individuals would not otherwise have access to," MineralWare said.
The site deploys a four-step process. Users post their project and what they’re willing to pay. They can then search available freelancers and seek applications. The site includes a proprietary tracking system that allows users and freelancers to follow progress on projects, and allows payment on agreed-upon milestones or project completion. “Never pay upfront,” it says.
Energy Freelance makes money by taking a small percentage of freelancers' revenue, Vinson said. It is free to the companies hiring the work.
The site includes freelancers in minerals and royalties, acquisitions and divestitures, operators, and other services, such as GIS mapping, title attorneys, valuation, lease negotiation and accounting. The platform allows freelancers to get personalized job recommendations that match their profile.
“The industry and our clients at MineralWare have continued to ask for easier access to trustworthy industry professionals and competitive rates for project based work," Vinson said. "Through an efficient tech-enabled platform, Energy Freelance does just that and more. We couldn’t be more excited."
Vinson co-founded MineralWare in 2014. He and Brogdon, a partner in the Four Sevens Oil Co. in Fort Worth, have targeted February 2021 as the launch date for Energy Domain, an app investors can use to buy and sell minerals and royalties. Vinson says he and Brogdon believe Energy Domain has significantly greater potential than MineralWare.
Earlier in the summer, Vinson signaled the Energy Freelance startup, saying in an interview he and Brogdon were working on a third company they’ve kept under wraps.
“We’re bringing the latest technology to the forefront,” Vinson, former head of oil and gas advisory at Bessemer Trust, who quit his job to launch MineralWare, said then.
MineralWare grew quickly in an arcane space not known for transparency, outgrowing office space and becoming the largest tenant in the Fort Worth Club Tower. Last year, the company triggered an employee bonus of up to 50% of salary by reaching a monthly recurring revenue target of $250,000.
Even with negative oil prices earlier this year, MineralWare saw virtually no attrition among account holders at just 1.14%, Vinson said. Through the MineralWare platform, the firm had uncovered $2.9 million in account holders’ revenue in suspense in the previous six months, Vinson said in the interview. “We have a 93% success rate in finding revenue that’s in suspense.”
The firm has 30 employees and avoided layoffs during COVID-19, Vinson says. Like many companies, MineralWare sought and received a payroll protection loan. “We went back and forth on it; we decided to take it, considering the economic impact.”
Vinson co-founded the firm with ex-TCU Energy Institute associate director John Baum. Brogdon came on later as an investor; he and Vinson subsequently bought out Baum and own MineralWare, Energy Domain and Energy Freelance.
Using the Energy Domain app, you’ll be able to find a property; perform due diligence; send messages between buyer and seller; get alerts on properties of interest; negotiate transactions securely; and use simple buttons like “accept,” “reject,” and “counter”; and use a “buy now” feature to execute a deal immediately.
Energy Domain has integrated the past six years of MineralWare data, including well, permit, production, and oil and gas check stub and revenue data.
“Historically, a lot of the oil and gas companies are really behind on their technology,” Vinson said in the interview this summer. “You think of Zillow. You can pull up what a house is worth on your phone. Essentially, that’s our vision, to bring more transparency to the acquisition and divestiture space.”