“It's the real economy,” Buttenham said. “The businesses and the people behind them keeping our country moving.”

That background ultimately helped bring him back to the trades when he began considering where technology could make a meaningful difference for business owners.

“I spent my childhood around the trades, and always respected how much real skill and risk sits behind the work,” he said. “When I started looking at where software could actually change outcomes for owners, this industry was the obvious answer, and it felt personal.”

Today, Reins helps independent business owners share the value they've created with key employees. For Buttenham, seeing that happen firsthand is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.

“When a tech who's been with a company for 15 years finally has a stake in the upside, that's the whole job,” he said.

Buttenham is motivated by helping give independent owner-operators access to tools that have traditionally been more readily available to private equity and larger businesses. Part of that means helping owners better understand the value of what they've built.

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“Most owners, especially in this industry, have no idea what their business is actually worth, and most find out at the worst possible moment — when a buyer tells them,” he said. “Knowing your number early changes every decision you make afterward.”

Before Reins, Buttenham founded insurance technology company Obie and ultimately saw it through an acquisition: an experience he considers his proudest professional accomplishment and one that continues to shape how he approaches entrepreneurship today.

His building experience isn't limited to companies, either. Outside of work, Buttenham has taken on a very different kind of project: building a Finnish sauna from scratch.