Clearstory & Skillit | BVIN Fall 2023
When we sent our summer newsletter, we mentioned that our team had been on the road quite a bit. We could say the same right now, as we’re in the midst of the fall conference season. Over the last two weeks, our team has traveled for terrific content at Blueprint, CREtech, Groundbreak, and Climate Week NYC.
During the events, our team also had the chance to talk to our strategic partners, meet with co-investors, connect with new startups, and catch up with our own founders. Heather and Travis hosted a dinner with our portfolio company founders in town for Blueprint, including Mike Travalini from Mezo and Kathy Hannun from Dandelion. Allen stopped by Clearstory’s booth at Groundbreak to crumple up the paper T&M tags that the platform replaces. It’s the recaps of these conversations sparked by the conference content and made possible by its context that are the best dispatches from the field—at least, second best to the accompanying photos.
Allen with Clearstory’s Cameron Page and Join.build’s Jim Forester.
Of course, Building Ventures isn’t alone in a busy start to fall. Below, please find highlights from our portfolio companies, including our recent follow-on investments in Skillit and Clearstory, an excited award for Dandelion, product launches for Elephant Energy and Join.build, and more.
– The BV Team
Investment Updates
Our Investment in Clearstory
We’re excited to share our follow-on investment in Extracker, which became Clearstory to more fully reflect its mission to increase trust and financial transparency. You can read more about the funding here.
Our Investment in Skillit
Skillit has raised an additional $8.5 million to fuel the company’s growth make recruiting and retaining permanent craft employees faster and easier. We’re thrilled to participate in the round, and Jesse shares more here.
Portfolio News & Activity
Dandelion Earns Spot on Inc. 5000
The annual list ranks the fastest-growing independent, entrepreneurial companies in America. Household names like Chobani, Microsoft, and Patagonia had their first national exposure on the Inc. list. Read more about the honor from Dandelion here. 🏆
In the media
Measurabl founder and CEO Matt Ellis spoke with Propmodo about the impact of European carbon reduction laws on real estate in the US. Read the piece here. 🌎
👫 The Dayton Daily News included Aeroseal in a feature on the city’s legacy of innovation celebrating the breakthrough technology companies calling Dayton home today.
Mezo co-founder and CTO Erin Karam was named one of Crain’s 2023 Notable Women in STEM. The list recognizes 100 leaders in the Chicago area for their career achievements, significant contributions to industry, and commitment to mentoring other women in STEM. Way to go, Erin! 👏
Arch Daily featured Hypar on its recent roundup of transformative tools in architecture. See the full list. 📐
✍️ Join Digital shared a guide for companies to make the transition to hybrid work using data in Employee Benefit News. Read it here.
🏢 75F got a shout out in a recent webinar from James Dice and Nexus Labs, “A Buyer’s Guide to HVAC & Lighting Controls.”
UpCodes co-founder & CEO Scott Reynolds joined Evan Troxel’s podcast to discuss Copilot, UpCodes’ new product that leverages AI to make building code more accessible. Listened to the podcast here. 🦾
New products & more
Elephant Energy launched Your Electrical Roadmap, a new tool to help you make your home climate-friendly by providing a customized electrification plan for free. Get your roadmap here. 🐘 ⚡️
🤝 Collaborative delivery platform Join.build released a suite of new features, including schedule impact, contingency management, and project timeline. Take a look.
enVerid announced its latest offering to cut HVAC costs and carbon emissions, the new HLR 100C for packaged rooftop units. 🚀
Mosaic broke ground on its latest BTR project, 197 single-family homes in Glendale, Arizona. 🏘
🛶 The Studio Anand Sheth x CANOA collection launched, featuring a mix of furnishings from local artists and manufacturers. Check out the collection.
We have more than 70 job openings across the BV portfolio. Check out the roles in marketing, sales, project management, and more here. 👀
BV Updates
At Blueprint, Heather moderated a discussion exploring the question “What Will It Take to Get Workers Back to the Office?”. The panel featured with CANOA’s Fed Negro, Coldwell Banker Commercial’s Daniel Spiegel, and Gable’s Liza Mash Levin, all pictured above.
Also at Blueprint, Travis spoke on the panel “Real Estate Tech VC for all Markets and Seasons” with 1Sharpe’s Kat Collins, A/O Proptech’s Gregory Dewerpe, Zigg Capital’s Dave Eisenberg, and Revolution Ventures’ Alex Shtarkman.
Allen attended Groundbreak this week, where he caught up with portfolio companies Join.build, Skillit, and Clearstory.
Mayra recently talked about her experience in the construction industry and her role here at Building Ventures on the TECHSUYO podcast.
Jesse shared his perspectives on the current challenges and promising opportunities in AEC technology during a roundtable hosted by Tech Soft 3D CEO Ron Fritz. You can read the conversation here.
Building Ventures invests in companies that are reshaping the way we design, build, operate and experience our built environment. Do you know a founder we simply have to meet? Send them here!
