Why We Invested in e-PlanSoft
If you’ve listened to the PE Funcast for any stretch of time, you know we like niche, mission-critical software; the kind that quietly keeps communities and businesses moving. That’s exactly what drew us to e-PlanSoft, a leader in electronic plan review for permitting and development. The company helps cities, counties, and third-party reviewers move plans through faster with collaborative workflows, digital markups, version control, and status tracking — all the tools that eliminate bottlenecks and paper shuffling, getting projects approved and shovels in the ground sooner.
Why us, and why now? We seek founder-built B2B software where deep domain expertise creates real value and loyal customers. e-PlanSoft fits that mold perfectly. It began as an in-house tool inside a plan-review business and earned its way into the market by solving practical problems for plan reviewers. That kind of origin story matters — it’s how you get software that feels simple for a user on a busy Tuesday yet powerful enough for a building official with a mile-long backlog.
Founder Dr. Michael Chegini and his team spent two decades developing a differentiated product and a committed customer base. We’re thrilled to welcome Jon Sonnenschein as CEO to lead the next chapter, focused on elevating service, support, and product innovation, including the application of AI that will actually work and make reviewers’ jobs faster and more complete. Since closing, we’ve already built out leadership across sales, finance, engineering, and product management to support that mission.
At ParkerGale, we’ll apply our four operating pillars: Systems, Talent, Growth, and Product. In practice, that means sharper data and reporting, a stronger leadership bench, refined go-to-market strategy, and faster delivery of the right features — driven by a loud and continuous Voice of the Customer. If you’ve followed our writing or the PE Funcast, you know we like to share what works, what doesn’t, and what we’ve learned the hard way. That transparency will continue here.
Most importantly, this partnership is about outcomes for communities and their development. Faster, clearer plan reviews reduce costly delays for contractors, improve builder experience, and help agencies achieve more with less. When software quietly shortens the distance between “submitted” and “approved,” everyone wins.
We’re grateful to the e-PlanSoft team and customers for trusting us with this next chapter.