FA Company Spotlight: Prepad

Before it was PrePad, it was a prototype buried inside Shell’s innovation lab. Not a slide deck, not a hunch. A functioning system built to tear through the messy, spreadsheet-laden chaos of drilling and completions planning. That MVP didn’t just impress, it proved. And like any real spark, it refused to stay in the lab. By 2021, Sean Hervo and Brandon Eidson, PhD walked out with more than just experience; they had a product the industry hadn’t seen but desperately needed.

PrePad is that rare breed, not just a software company, but a category creator. A Calgary-born, Boston-fueled platform redefining how energy operators simulate cost, time, and production outcomes with the speed of thought. It’s not estimation, it’s intelligent iteration. This thing runs circles around spreadsheets, and for operators like Devon Energy, Chevron, and Artis Exploration Ltd., the upside is measured in seven figures per program.

Sean Hervo, PrePad’s CEO, cut his teeth as a Completions Engineering Manager at Shell, but his eyes were always on broader capital efficiency. Brandon Eidson, now President and CPO, brought the surgical depth of a PhD in electrical engineering and layered it with startup grit and Shell TechWorks finesse. Together, they’ve engineered a new way to think about well manufacturing, not as a one-off project, but as a scalable system.

And the team? Sharp as tungsten. Kohl Meister as CTO, refined in the upstream trenches. Kris Goodmanson as VP of Engineering, who’s delivered over a thousand wells. Ryan Schneider and Tom L. tag-team Sales and Client Success with pedigrees from CMG and Shell. This isn’t a crew playing pretend, this is elite software execution built by people who’ve been in the field and at the table.

With $3.7M in total funding, including a $2.8M seed round led by Devon Energy Ventures, PrePad is scaling fast. Their simulation platform cuts well costs by over $100K per well and makes room for decarbonization without tanking returns. No fluff. Just precision, velocity, and ROI. This is what real energy transformation looks like, backed by Alberta Innovates, Chevron Technology Ventures, and BDC.

They’re not hiring to fill seats. They’re hiring to build the future. If you know how to scale with precision and think like a partner, now’s your moment. PrePad is laying down a new foundation for energy ops. The smart money, and the smart people, are already paying attention.

Let’s connect and keep the momentum going across the tech ecosystem. Whether you’re a founder shaping the future, a leader driving change, a VC backing bold ideas, or an investor spotting the next big thing, together, we’re pushing boundaries. Proud to be building the future with you.

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Twitter (X), and keep the conversation going.

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