Apply

Founders,tell us where you're headed.

Five fields. Two regulated disclosures. Detroit, Cleveland, and St. Louis run parallel cohorts through the 12-week apprenticeship-to-ownership pipeline — paid from week one, equity grant at week twelve.

  • HVAC · Electrical · Plumbing · Carpentry · Roofing
  • Reviewed within five business days
Step 01 of 04
Intake
Founder intake form
Every founder-apprentice starts here. Your submission is reviewed by the Stepsmith program lead within five business days.

5-digit US ZIP — where you'll operate.

40–4000 characters. Sell yourself in a paragraph.

20–4000 characters. Include scope and dates.

20–8000 characters. Required for every applicant — see eligibility.

After you submit

Five business days, then a real human.
  1. 1Auto-receipt lands the moment you submit — your submission ID is on file.
  2. 2Program lead review against license, trade, and disclosed record — five business days.
  3. 3Intake interview with the assigned journeyman mentor — 45 minutes, your city.
  4. 4Cohort placement in the next rolling intake — Detroit, Cleveland, or St. Louis.

Eligibility

Active license · non-material record.

Active journeyman license (or in process) in HVAC, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, or roofing. Stepsmith underwrites context — a non-material record is reviewed, not auto-disqualified.

Read the eligibility details