24 years of HUD procurement, built by people who lived it.
Housing Agency Marketplace was founded in 2002 by three people with deep expertise in entrepreneurship, technology, and housing authority procurement software. We’ve been 100% privately owned ever since — and the same three founders are still actively running the company today.
24 years serving public housing · Family-owned since 2002
WHO WE ARE
A small company that knows public housing.
The Housing Agency Marketplace started as the vision of three people with very different backgrounds — one an entrepreneur and marketer, one with deep expertise in information technology, and one a procurement specialist with decades of experience in HUD and Housing Agency regulations. They saw an opportunity to bring electronic bid submission to housing agency procurement teams still running on fax machines and paper.
We’re headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, with satellite offices in Detroit, Michigan and Atlanta, Georgia. The company is still 100% privately owned, and to this day all three initial founders are actively involved in day-to-day operations.
It’s an unusual setup for a SaaS company, and we think it shows up in the work. The same people who built the Marketplace in 2002 are still answering the phone today.
OUR HISTORY
24 years, four chapters.
From a three-person startup to the Marketplace that 200+ Housing Agencies rely on today.
The Housing Agency Marketplace launches.
Larry Hancock, Mike Gifford, and Valerio della Porta found the company with a focus on helping Housing Agencies and vendors communicate electronically through the bid process — at a fraction of the cost of paper-based procurement.
Procurement Assistance Software & Support, LLC forms.
We establish Procurement Assistance Software & Support, LLC to provide cloud based procurement software to housing authorities, private organizations, and nonprofits — all relying on HUD-compliant bid management. The Housing Agency Marketplace grows to become the largest private provider of technology-driven procurement solutions in the sector.
International eProcurement, LLC takes shape.
We rebrand to International eProcurement LLC, keeping the same six core values from 2002. Both Housing Agency Marketplace and the newly formed USA Buyers Marketplace come under the new umbrella.
200+ housing agencies, 36,000+ vendors, and growing.
We're making dramatic improvements to the Housing Agency Marketplace core software and launching the USA Buyers Marketplace as we narrow our focus to public and private sector procurement solutions. Same three founders. Same core values. New chapter.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
The same six values since 2002.
When the parent company rebranded in 2014, these values stayed exactly as they were on day one. They still drive how we run the business today.
Customer service with integrity
We treat support like a relationship, not a ticket queue. When you call, you talk to someone who knows the Marketplace and your account.
Honesty
Straightforward answers about what the platform does, what it doesn't, and what we're working on next. We don't oversell.
Courtesy
Every Housing Agency, every vendor, every conversation. We treat people the way we'd want to be treated.
Under promise, over deliver
We'd rather quietly exceed expectations than market promises we can't keep. Quality first, hype never.
Innovation
The Marketplace we delivered in 2002 wouldn't be enough for today. We keep investing in real improvements that make procurement easier for both Housing Authorities and Vendors who wish to do business with them.
Profitability
Sustainable economics is what lets us stay independent and family-owned. It's a value, not just a metric.
MEET THE TEAM
Still here. Still building.
Three founders, three areas of expertise, twenty-four years of continuous involvement in the company they started.
Larry Hancock
PRESIDENT
Larry has been an entrepreneur most of his career. He founded his first business — a rare coin and jewelry business — in 1975 at age 22, then moved into video retail with Movie Warehouse, expanding to 12 company stores and 21 franchise locations as President and CEO from 1986 to 1989.
In 1997 he co-founded PurchasePro.com, an e-commerce procurement startup that went public in 1999. He served as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing and later the Supplier Diversity Program before resigning in 2000.
In 2002 he co-founded the predecessor to International eProcurement LLC, where he’s still President of the privately held company.
Michael S. Gifford, C.P.M., CPSD
CO-FOUNDER
Mike retired in 2007 as Purchasing and Contracts Manager at a Las Vegas housing authority after more than 32 years of service. Since then he’s worked as a consultant providing procurement training and technical assistance to housing agencies nationwide.
He holds a Lifetime Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) designation from the Institute for Supply Management and is a Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity (CPSD). He’s given hundreds of procurement presentations on-site at Housing Agencies and at NAHRO national, regional, and state conferences, and has instructed more than 150 multi-day procurement and contracts seminars across the country.
Mike answers procurement-related inquiries daily from HUD, Housing Agency staff, and consultants. His solicitation documents are recognized nationally as best-in-field and are available at no charge on his resource site, procurementassistance.org.
Valerio della Porta
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
Valerio has 30 years of professional experience in information technology, including seven years specifically building internet applications. He’s led development teams, managed budgets, and supervised production and support operations across multiple companies.
He’s been a Lotus Business Partner and an IBM development partner for AS/400 since 1996. In 1996 he built one of the earliest internet-based procurement systems in the United States — for Wayne County, Michigan — years before e-procurement became mainstream.
READY TO SEE IT?
See the Marketplace in action.
For Public Housing Agencies across the country, we'd be happy to schedule a 45–60-minute Zoom demonstration of the Marketplace. Most agencies are fully up to speed in under 90 minutes.
Or email sales@internationaleprocurement.com