Trade school to their own truck
Sleeves Up. Builders is a membership directory for independent veteran-owned businesses in the residential trades, and for the trade schools that train them. It is built to follow that path end to end: a veteran finishes a program at a member school, starts a business, and gets listed here where homeowners can find them.
Why it exists
Two problems, one directory
Veterans leave the service with discipline, a security clearance's worth of accountability, and often no clear route into the residential trades. Trade schools train them well and then lose track of them. Homeowners, meanwhile, sift through lead-broker sites where the same request is sold to five companies and nobody's license was ever checked.
Sleeves Up. Builders sits between those two problems. Schools get a public listing alongside the businesses their graduates go on to run. Veterans get a listing that carries the credibility of that training. Homeowners get a directory where every badge is backed by documents a person reviewed.
What we are
What Sleeves Up. Builders is
A for-profit company
Not a nonprofit, not a 501(c)(3), and not funded by the VA.A membership directory
A flat monthly membership for listed businesses and schools, with no per-lead charges, commissions, or job fees. No payment is taken during launch.A verification layer
Licensing, insurance, veteran-ownership and school accreditation documents are reviewed by staff before a listing goes live, and a badge appears only for what was approved.A 50-state Licensing Navigator
A Licensing Navigator covering all 50 states and DC, plus an apprenticeship reference, free to read.
What we are not
Not an employer, not a contractor
Sleeves Up. Builders does not employ, contract, train, place, assign, supervise, or hire anyone. It is not a staffing agency, a contractor, a general contractor, or an employer, and it is not a party to any agreement between a homeowner and a member business. Verification means submitted documents were approved on the date shown; it is not a guarantee of workmanship, price, safety, or outcome.
How we make money
Membership fees only
Entirely from membership fees paid by listed businesses and schools. Membership tiers are placeholders during launch, $50 to $100 a month, and no payment is taken yet; billing will start later. Homeowners never pay. We do not sell homeowner data, and we do not take a percentage of any job booked through the directory.
Tracking outcomes
From classroom to business
The point of the whole platform is the link between a classroom and a working business. Member schools will be able to publish graduate success stories: the program someone completed, when they finished, and, where it applies, the live business listing they run today. None have been published yet; they will appear on the success stories page once members share them.