JE Dunn leads $500K round in smart apartment startup Homebase
July 20, 2017 | Bobby Burch
A handful of Kansas City firms both large and small are partnering to advance smart home technologies.
Blake Miller
JE Dunn Construction Group and Sunflower Development Group have led at $500,000 investment round in Kansas City-based Homebase, a tech firm building an IoT smart apartment and building platform for multi-family properties. Will Winkler of PSW Real Estate, Andrew Brain of Brain Family Development and John Meyer of Lemonly also joined in the round.
Homebase’s app allows tenants to not only pay rent and request maintenance, but also schedule services and tap a plethora of smart home technology that has emerged in recent years. Homebase also enables property managers to remotely manage vacant units’ lighting and thermostats to help with utility costs.
Homebase CEO Blake Miller said the funding adds credibility to the IoT firm as well as scale outside of Kansas City. He added it will also allow the firm to add new engineering and customer support staff.
“I’m really looking forward to improving our residents lifestyle through unique connected services offered via the Homebase platform,” Miller said. “We are a IoT smart home provider, but to me it’s not really about the “things,” like smart locks, as it is the type of experience we can deliver to our residents.
Since February, Homebase has been conducting beta testing of the platform with Marvel Properties in apartment communities around the Kansas City area. Homebase is also designing multiple smart communities concepts that are currently under construction in Kansas City and Austin, Texas, with planned delivery in the second half of 2017.
The Homebase tech is taking on a big market opportunity. Research from the NMMC suggests that the U.S. will need 4.6 million new apartments by 2030.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Three local GEW events you don’t want to miss
Global Entrepreneurship Week is coming up quickly and there are some events you won’t want to miss. From Nov. 10 to 22, Kansas City will celebrate the global celebration along with more than 160 participating countries. Global Entrepreneurship Week was launched by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in 2008 with the intent to inspire millions…
MECA Challenge pushes area students to think more entrepreneurially
Editor’s note: Startland News is an affiliate organization of MECA Challenge, both of which are operated by CEED LLC. A competition that challenges students to solve startups’ business problems is gaining traction in Kansas City. MECA Challenge is an entrepreneurial problem-solving contest for high school- and college-aged students that aims to transform education and produce…
Events Preview: #Cowork4Good
There are a boatload of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious Kansas Citian, we recommend these upcoming events for you. WEEKLY EVENT PREVIEW The Foundation Series: Idea to App – Creating a Digital MVP When: November 10 @ 10:00am – 11:00am Where: Enterprise…
Digital Sandbox announces partnership with Pinsight Media
Digital Sandbox KC revealed Monday a new partnership that will offer application development to participating startups. The Kansas City-based incubator invests up to $25,000 in area startups and provides proof-of-concept resources for its cohorts. Now, its collaboration with mobile data company Pinsight Media+ will garner mobile development and application monetization opportunities for founders. “As a locally-grown…