The pandemic has introduced prolific changes to the workforce and how companies view the traditional office/employee structure. With many companies looking to restrategize their approaches to their commercial real estate needs, understanding their lease portfolios enables these companies to strategically plan for the future, armed with data and transparency. Occupier is a collaborative lease management platform that allows both brokers and commercial tenants to centralize lease administration, transactions, and accounting. ASC 842 is a new accounting standard that requires companies to disclose leased assets and all private companies are now required to adopt this standard in 2021. Occupier makes compliance seamless. AlleyWatch caught up with Cofounder Matt Giffune to learn more about the state of commercial leasing during the pandemic, the company’s progress since we last spoke in 2019, future plans, and latest round of funding from investors that include Alate Partners, MetaProp, from Second Century Ventures, Thomson Reuters, and commercial real estate industry leaders across the United States.
Real Estate
Dandelion Energy Raises $30M to Bring Geothermal Energy into Homes
70+% of energy usage in the typical home comes from heating, cooling, and water heating. 2.9% of household income is spent in New York on electricity each year. Add in heating oil and home ownership becomes very costly, very quickly. Dandelion Energy has built a geothermal system that replaces a home’s existing air conditioning and heating systems by placing underground pipes below your property. At a basic level, in the winter, the pipes push heat stored in the ground into your home and in the summer, the pipes take away heat from your home. As society shifts away from a dependency on fossil fuels, customers are able to take advantage of federal, state, and utility subsidy programs that are available to reduce the cost of installation and upgrade for less than what they are paying now monthly.
AlleyWatch caught up with CEO Michael Sachse to learn more about the promise of widespread geothermal adoption, the company’s future plans, latest round of funding from investors that include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, GV, NEA, Lennar Corporation, Collaborative Fund, Building Ventures, Catchlight Ventures, and GroundUp.
Realm Raises $3.2M to Make it Easy to Optimize the Value of Your Single Greatest Asset
The American Dream has traditionally been rooted in homeownership and for most, real estate represents the most highly-valued asset. Yet not much attention has been dedicated to helping homeowners maximize the value of these assets. Realm is a real estate startup that analyzes thousands of data points, many disparate and not readily accessible, to evaluate the potential value of a property through its centralized destination for data-driven homeownership insight. The platform is free to use and additional in-depth reports can be purchased for $99. Presently, Realm covers 63M single-family homes nationwide. The pandemic has reshaped how we view our homes and Realm makes sure that you are maximizing this investment today and for the future. AlleyWatch caught up with CEO and Founder Liz Young to learn more about the need for consumer data applications in the real estate space, building a data-intensive business without a tech cofounder, the company’s recent funding round from Primary Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau, and Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures.
Unlocking the Future: Latch Announces SPAC Merger at $1.56 Billion Valuation
Sometimes you just know in the first meeting… For all the deep relationship-building with founders, market sizing, competitive analysis, and other diligence work we pride ourselves on doing, sometimes you just know. Primary Venture Partners GP Brad Svrluga shares some insight in working with Latch from the seed-stage.
Stuf Raises $1.8M to Bring Storage Facilities Next Door
Stuf, cofounded by Katharine Lau, partners with real estate owners to use underutilized as convenient full-service storage centers. AlleyWatch caught up with Lau to learn more about the inspiration for launching Stuf, the pandemic’s impact on the storage industry, and the company’s first round of institutional funding from investors that include Harlem Capital Partners, Wilshire Lane Partners, and Harrison Rayford.
Hydra Studios Raises $3.8M for its Network of Wellness Spaces
The experience of COVID has brought wellness top of mind along with maintaining both physical and mental health during these trying times. Hydra Studios, an operator of wellness spaces in the city launched by two Goldman alums, is looking to serve this market through its network of spaces for people to relax, workout, and recharge at convenient locations throughout the city as we began pondering life post-COVID. The company’s first studio launched in 2019 within a Convene location in Midtown and now Hydra is ready to launch its flagship space in FiDi in the new year. AlleyWatch caught up with Cofounders Marie Kloor (CEO) and Dan Nielsen (COO) to learn more about the company’s vision, the experience of building a space in the middle of a pandemic, and the company’s recent funding round from investors that include Slow Ventures, CityRock Ventures, Courtside Ventures, Fifth Wall, and Outbound Ventures.
ButterflyMX Raises $35M for its Smart Video Intercom System That Provides Building Access and Security with Ease
“That’s when the lightbulb went off in my head. This was the era of the iPhone 4, where you could already stream YouTube, and Apple had just launched FaceTime so I knew you could stream video to a mobile app, I should be able to open the building door from my smartphone too!” ButterflyMX Founder Cyrus Claffey shares more about how the company’s smart intercom system is already being used in nearly half a million apartments in five short years, the effect of the pandemic on the popularity of its offering, and the company’s recent funding round from investors that include Volition Capital, Egis Capital, RiverPark Ventures, and Stifel Financial Corporation.
Orchard Raises Another $69M to Unify the Home Buying and Selling Experience into a Single Digital Platform
For most people, buying a home is the single biggest investment in their lifetime. For existing homeowners, the process becomes a bit more stressful when they need to consider selling their old home. Orchard allows homeowners to manage this delicate balancing act by allowing you to purchase a new home before you have sold your existing property. Orchards agents handle the entire process of getting you into your new home and selling your old home; handling listing, cleaning, and showings. Cofounder Phil DeGisi shares more about how Orchard is making the homeownership process easier and the company’s recent round of funding from investors that include Revolution Growth, FirstMark, Navitas, Accomplice, and Juxtapose.
MeetElise Raises $6.5M for its AI-Powered Assistant for Rentals
COVID has brought contactless to the forefront in situations where technology can replace human interaction. This societal shift has had a significant impact on the real estate industry, forcing it to reexamine how to better serve and communicate in times where in-person interactions are not advisable. MeetElise has built an AI personal assistant that helps leasing agents manage the rental process and respond immediately to prospect leads, questions, and even schedule guided tours. The company’s growth is up 50% during COVID. CEO Minna Song shares more about how the platform is simplifying the rental process with AI, how leasing agents are reclaiming 2-3 hours a day with automation, and the company’s recent funding from investors that include Navitas Capital, AvalonBay Communities, and Equity Residential
EasyKnock Raises Another $20M for its Residential Sales Leaseback Platform
Sales leasebacks have been popular institutionally with REITs and for commercial real estate but EasyKnock makes it accessible for residential homeowners. While we face uncertainty about the future health of the economy, homeowners will need flexibility and may need to tap into the equity they’ve built in their homes. CEO and Cofounder Jarred Kessler shares some insight about how EasyKnock can help homeowners access this equity and stay in their homes, the future of the housing market, and the company’s latest funding round from investors that include Blumberg Capital, QED, Correlation Ventures, FJ Labs, and Moderne.
Northspyre Raises $7.5M to Automate Workflows and Unlock Data for Real Estate Development
While working as a commercial real estate developer, William Sankey was convinced there was a better way to manage complex, multi-million-dollar projects that didn’t involve paper-based workflows, data entry, filing cabinets, and “gut feelings”. He cofounded Northspyre, a cloud intelligence platform that automates workflow and reveals data insights for the CRE industry. AlleyWatch caught up with Sankey to learn more about the company’s product, traction, and recent funding round.