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
The WTF Series: Augmented Reality
On a daily basis, Ben Kittrell translates the jargon-filled world of technology for clients of his tech consultancy. The Words that Frustrate (WTF) series aims to offer readers some clarity in an industry dominated by techies’ confusing argot. Thanks to the Oculus Rift device, you probably heard last year’s buzz on virtual reality. The device,…
ShotTracker scores partnership with sports equipment giant Spalding
Overland Park, Kan.-based startup ShotTracker will partner with Spalding, the largest basketball equipment supplier in the world, to debut the first multi-player basketball tracking technology. ShotTracker’s technology tracks real-time basketball performance statistics using data from chips embedded in a basketball, players’ shoes, and portable sensors placed around the court. Davyeon Ross, COO of ShotTracker, commented that their…
After waning state support, Kansas Bioscience Authority will go private
A formerly state-backed investment organization for Kansas bioscience businesses will soon be transitioning from a public to private organization. After dwindling support from the State of Kansas, the Kansas Bioscience Authority’s board recently voted unanimously to shift the organization to the private market in 2016, allowing portfolio companies to partner with investors in the private…
Rightfully Sewn founder stitches a vision for Kansas City’s fashion future
Poised, posh and purposeful, Jennifer Lapka Pfeifer sits straight as a board at Kaldi’s coffee shop with unwavering eye contact. Donning a contoured-floral blue and white dress, Lapka smiles as she poetically recalls painting in high school and learning to sew with her grandmother in rural Kansas. Those experiences fostered a love for fashion, art…