A new platform designed to link PropTech startups with agencies and principals seeking to diversify their business or fill a technology gap has launched and is calling for new participants in 2023.
Following a soft launch earlier this year, the Inhouse Ventures Marketplace, which aims to match startups with venture capitalists and industry leaders, is already seeing strong interest, according to founder Elliot Spiegel.
“We’re not an accelerator or a crowdfunding site, we’re curating a place for startups to succeed faster with better products and go to market strategy, all whilst matching them with industry leaders for advice and top venture capitalists for funding,” Mr Spiegel said.
“The data and insights we’re seeing is insane, we’re getting a really good sense of what founders, industry leaders and venture capitalists all want and then providing it to them quick,” he added.
Inhouse Ventures, which aims to help grow 1500 startups by 2025, splits Marketplace participants into ‘leaders’ and ‘startups’ on the platform.
Mr Spiegel said that the platform was designed for ‘leaders’ operating in the property space, including developers, agencies and principals, who were looking to build, invest in or simply act as an advisor to an “innovative PropTech startup”.
He said that “the marketplace helps established real estate businesses diversify revenue and de-risk their business through building a venture arm”.
It could also assist when a business had an identified gap in their technology requirements that needed a bespoke solution, he said.
In order to qualify as a leader participant on the platform applicants either needed to lead a team of 20 or more or have ten years of experience in the startup space and have exited at least one startup company.
Applications to participate in the Marketplace during 2023 are still open, with a setup fee payable by qualified leaders who are accepted.
Investors in the InHouse include Chad Stephens, co-founder of tenancy forms site 1Form which was sold to REA Group in 2014.
Mr Stephens said that while the initial focus was on the PropTech industry, there were future plans to expand.
“I was really impressed by the vision of Spiegel and the suite of products on the roadmap. We might be solving for PropTechs and FinTechs first but we’re very quickly scaling into other verticals and countries,” Mr Stephens said.
Mr Spiegel said that among the companies InHouse Ventures had assisted so far was Kerb, which helps bring digital technology to 20th century parking lot structures.
