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
90 on the Clock with Cremalab
90 on the Clock with Cremalab By John McGrath, KCPT, and Bobby Burch, Startland News Ed’s Note: Flatland and Startland News have partnered to highlight Kansas City’s innovators and entrepreneurs, all in 90 seconds. This is the third episode in the five-part series. With a team of sharp, trendily-dressed bohemians, Cremalab is where speed meets creative dynamism. The…
3 local startups advance in national pitch bout
Three startups from Kansas are among the semifinalists in a competition to snag $10,000 from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Kauffman Foundation’s One in a Million contest announced Wednesday 15 semifinalists from 12 states. Semifinalists will travel to Kansas City during Global Entrepreneurship Week for a chance to become one of five finalists for…
KC’s ‘growth and excitement’ attracts Phoenix tech firm
Give yourselves a pat on the back, Kansas City techies. The Kansas City tech community has once again enticed an out-of-state firm to expand to the City of Fountains. Phoenix-based cloud computing company Inspire Data Solutions recently opened a downtown Kansas City office in hopes of tapping into the area’s burgeoning tech community. A former Kansas…
KU entrepreneurship program nabs award
The University of Kansas’ entrepreneurial education program recently earned a national award. The University Economic Development Association awarded the Entrepreneurs@KU program its “Award of Excellence in Innovation & Entrepreneurship.” The commendation recognizes programs that accelerate economic development by supporting startups, high-growth companies and clusters within a region, and converting talent into wealth through innovation and…