Moderne Ventures names 9 startups for 2022 Passport Program
Moderne Ventures names 9 startups for 2022 Passport Program
Companies participating in the 6-month industry immersion program gain access to Moderne's network of more than 700 executives and corporations, according to an announcement Thursday
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Moderne Ventures, the Chicago-based venture fund launched by the former head of the National Association of Realtors’ venture initiatives, has accepted nine companies into its 2022 Passport Program, it was announced Thursday. Moderne, which claims $350 million in assets under management and evaluates over 4,500 emerging tech companies each year, says its Passport Program provides participating companies with education, exposure, insight and relationships to drive customer growth. Companies participating in the six-month industry immersion program gain access to Moderne’s network of over 700 executives and corporations. Constance Freedman
“We help companies understand complexities, optimize their products and services, and connect them to partners who can benefit most from them,” said Constance Freedman, Moderne Ventures’ founder and managing partner, in a statement . The nine companies selected for the 2022 Passport Program have raised more than $52 million in funding, which collectively value the companies at $268 million. The companies are:
Acorn Finance (Sacramento, California): A lending marketplace where consumers can compare prequalified offers up to $100,000 for major purchases including home improvement projects, exercise equipment and tech upgrades. Aerwave (Dallas, Texas): Aerwave provides Internet service to rental communities and enables the “smart community” through the Digital Foundation. Avvir (New York City): Harness the power of reality capture data by automating progress and earned value tracking, quality control and as-built creation to build a true system of record. Livv.ai (Tel Aviv, Israel): A large scale AI lead-profiling platform for identifying user intent to buy or sell property and the optimal moment for service providers to engage. Move Easy (Columbus, Ohio): Moving and home management service providing turnkey living for homeowners and helping real estate professionals and home service partners stay connected to clients. Occuspace (San Diego, California): Taps occupancy data to plan and improve space utilization and real estate decisions. RentCheck (New Orleans, Louisiana): Tech platform that brings rental inspections into one place to increase efficiency and reduce cost. Tumble (San Francisco, California): Using tech to transform shared laundry rooms. Zebel (Walnut Creek, California): Data analytics platform for multifamily real estate developers and general contractors to run feasibility analysis during early design stages. Some of Moderne’s more notable investments in residential real estate include Better, Easy Knock, Hippo, ICON and Porch. Moderne has already exited investments a number of companies, including Contactually, Homebot and Homesnap. Before launching Moderne in 2015 , Freedman led NAR’s venture initiatives, Second Century Ventures and REach, a startup accelerator. This week REach announced eight companies participating in its 2022 tech accelerator program: Courted, Fractional, Inspectify, leadPops, PLACE, Perchwell, Reggora and Revive.

Moderne Ventures names 9 startups for 2022 Passport Program

Tell us about your career journey. What were some of the defining moments that brought you to where you are today? I’ve had a circuitous career path, shaped by curiosity, courage and kind people. Despite being ambitious, I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I got my first tech job because my husband and I decided to take a leap and move to Colorado. I enjoyed what I was doing as a brand strategist at a large advertising agency, but when I was offered the chance to try project management for a tech consulting group, I took it. Not long after, a former coworker from that group encouraged me to apply to be a project manager at a scaling software company in Boulder. I shied away at first because I thought I needed more experience, but I eventually threw my hat in the ring anyway. Turns out I actually had just what they needed — grit, curiosity and the ability to learn quickly. After listening to the team, I found myself leading an agile transformation of the entire product and engineering organization. A few years later, a woman I met while interviewing asked me to speak at a Colorado product panel. I accepted, despite feeling underqualified. Afterwards, the COO of Homebot, a fellow panelist, reached out to connect. We got beers, talked shop and that led me to my dream job here at Homebot. I seek to empower women by helping them become the best versions of themselves.”
 
As a leader, what have you done to empower and uplift the women around you? I seek to empower women by helping them become the best versions of themselves. One of my favorite quotes is “Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple and it is also that difficult.” This is best supported by a culture of continual learning. I aim to create that culture by leading by example. To start, I regularly stoke my own curiosity and proactively share learnings with people around me — it might even spark curiosity for them, too! Slack is a great tool for sharing a Thích Nhất Hạnh quote or a Masters of Scale episode. Leading by example also means saying aloud to my team that I know I have room to improve and letting my actions back up my words. Instead of assuming I know the one and only right way, we try new things together with a clear aim to grow. I also lead by example by “becoming myself.” I’ve learned to accept my introversion, have compassion for my mental health, be bravely honest about imposter syndrome and let myself feel proud of my success. By showing up as my authentic self, I believe I give permission for other women to do so. More subtly, what behaviors do you think are important for leaders to model to their team members, particularly to women in more junior roles? Vulnerability starts with self-awareness. Leaders need to name hard conversations as hard. We need to notice when we may be coming from a place of fear instead of curiosity and we need to give others the same opportunity to be real. Rather than slow down the pace of business, being vulnerable enables more confident, faster decision-making. Part of it is simply showing up — someone’s got to make decisions to keep the business moving. The second part is being seen as a continual learner. It’s okay if I’m not right all the time. It’s also okay if I need to ask questions instead of already knowing the answers. A good question unlocks insight to support a good decision. I used to think leading meant that you had to know stuff, like the right way to run a process or a grand product vision. Mentors and experience taught me that leading with compassion, curiosity and vulnerability more effectively motivates teams to take powerful action.

How Women In Colorado Are Empowering Each Other

By partnering with Homebot, Castle & Cooke Mortgage loan officers can automate their client retention strategy
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DENVER, Feb. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new partnership between Castle & Cooke Mortgage and Homebot, Inc . is empowering families across the country to build strong financial futures through the benefits of homeownership. Loan officers will leverage Homebot's award-winning client-for-life portal to give families key home finance insights, including: what their homes may be worth, how much equity they could have, and future opportunities for leveraging their real estate assets. This will help loan officers build lasting relationships with their homeowners and their real estate peers. "Homebot is a slam dunk to generate repeat business for both loan officers and real estate agents," said Scott Kirkessner, VP of Marketing at Castle & Cooke Mortgage. "We're serious about giving our loan officers the tools they need to foster repeat business." Castle & Cooke Mortgage has solidified its reputation as one of the industry's top mortgage lenders by creating exceptional home loan experiences for loan officers and customers alike. The company has retail branches across the country and is licensed in 46 states. "We're all about helping families build successful tomorrows through the benefits of homeownership, and that goes for our people as well as the families we help," Kirkessner said. "Homebot is going to take us to the next level, and it's going to work in the background so our loan officers can focus on taking care of their homeowners day in and day out. "        
About Castle & Cooke Mortgage
Castle & Cooke Mortgage, LLC, is one of the nation's leading independent mortgage lenders with locations across the United States and more than 300 employees. Since opening our doors in 2005, our dedication and successes have grown right alongside the communities we serve. NMLS 1251 | Equal Housing Lender. About Homebot
Founded in 2015, Homebot is a client-for-life portal that maximizes repeat and referral business for lenders by empowering consumers to build wealth through homeownership. The award-winning portal delivers personalized, actionable intelligence throughout the entire homeownership lifecycle to every client and prospect. With an average 50% monthly engagement rate, Homebot ensures lenders and agents remain the trusted advisors that consumers rely on to make informed decisions about the largest asset they may ever own, their home. Homebot is based in Denver, Colorado. Contact:

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Castle & Cooke Mortgage Adds Homebot to its List of Preferred Software

Photo: Infermedica
These Colorado tech companies are paving the way for a better future by using tech to transport vaccines, elevate e-commerce brands, offer AI solutions for doctors and more. This is the Built In Colorado weekly refresh. These startups are the Future 5 of Colorado tech. Colorado continues to be a growing tech hub for startups. As the innovation continues, Built In compiled a list of five up-and-coming startups to keep an eye on throughout the year. These companies include media ranking platform Ad Fontes Media, interactive content creation platform Giide, gaming platform The Last Gameboard, climate tech company Optera and fitness company PantherTec. [Built In Colorado]
Soona gained $35M. Soona is a Denver-based content creation company providing photos and videos of products for e-commerce brands. The $35 million Series B round will allow soona to build new fulfillment centers to decrease shipping times and increase production capacity. The new centers will be built this year in Miami, Atlanta, Seattle and Los Angeles. [Built In Colorado]
COLORADO TECH QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We use ground-truth data to strengthen supply chain risk management and provide tailored insurance protection at a time when the global supply chain is in crisis and effective vaccine distribution is increasingly urgent.” — Ben Hubbard, co-founder and CEO of Parsyl
Parsyl raised $25M. Parsyl’s risk management technology is used to make sure shipments of medicine, perishable food and vaccines are delivered. The company has also taken its efforts further by recently partnering with Africa’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to deliver 10,000 Covvid-19 vaccine monitoring devices. The company raised $25 million in a Series B round and is currently hiring for eight positions. [Built In Colorado]
Infermedica brought in $30M. Infermedica provides AI-powered solutions for doctors to more easily pre-diagnose and triage patients. Infermedica’s B2B platform is used by providers, health systems and patients. The company’s $30 million Series B round will further develop its Medical Guidance Platform and double the size of its the team over the year. [TechCrunch]
Homebot updated its board of directors. Homebot offers a platform that aims to help homeowners make smart financial decisions by providing them with financial insights and advice from experts. Former Homebot CRO Charlie Pratt was appointed as the company’s new CEO. Ernie Graham, the former CEO and co-founder, was appointed to executive chairman of the company’s board of directors. [Homebot]
Colorado startup guides

Infermedica Gained $30M, Soona Raised $35M, and More Colorado Tech...

Photo: Shutterstock
Last week’s LA tech updates includes a little bit of everything: new unicorns, new startups, and even news from Rihanna. This is the Built In LA weekly refresh. Five startups to watch in LA. Built In LA just launched its first edition of The Future 5, a quarterly selection of promising LA startups to watch. Featured in this round were NFT display company Danvas, SaaS company Cinapse, the GoDisco social app, healthtech company Kiira Health and smart homes manufacturing company Roombus. [Built In LA]
Savage X Fenty gained $125M. Rihanna’s popular lingerie brand Savage X Fenty raised $125 million in a Series C round led by Neuberger Berman. The funding round comes after the brand just opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Las Vegas. A total of 10 stores will be open by the end of the year. The funding will help the brand take off by opening more retail stores as well as launching new product lines and expanding its reach overseas. [Built In LA]
LOS ANGELES TECH QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Consumers now more than ever want transparency around online ordering and hold brands to higher standards. We’ve demystified the post-purchase experience by communicating with users at every step of the customer journey.” – Evan Walker, founder and CEO of Route
Route gained its horn. Route makes it easier for consumers to track the location of your in-transit purchases more easily. Using AI, the app aggregates all online purchases to provide its users live updates on shipping time and location. Route raised a $200 million Series B round bringing the company into unicorn status with a $1.25 billion valuation. The company plans to launch new products as well as double the size of its LA team with 56 positions currently open. [Built In LA]
PortalOne raised $60M. PortalOne is a game developer with a hybrid gaming platform, allowing live broadcast shows to be embedded in video games. The company raised a $60 million Series A led by big-name investors like TQ Ventures and Tiger Global. The funding will allow the international team to expand into LA. PortalOne is U.S.-based but has a subsidiary in Norway. Eleven positions are currently available and remote-friendly. [Built In LA]
SerivceTitan reportedly filed for IPO . Glendale-based ServiceTitan appears to be moving ahead with plans to go public. The company provides a software platform to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses across a range of service industries. ServiceTitan currently has 80 positions open spanning across all services including engineering, data and marketing. The company announced a $500 million funding round last spring. [dot.LA]
Homebot updated its board of directors. Homebot offers a platform that aims to help homeowners make smart financial decisions by providing them with financial insights and advice from experts. Former Homebot CRO Charlie Pratt was appointed as the company’s new CEO. Ernie Graham, the former CEO and co-founder, was appointed to executive chairman of the company’s board of directors. [Homebot]
Los Angeles startup guides

Route Raised $200M, Savage X Fenty Got $125M, and More LA Tech News

castle & cooke mortgage

DENVER , Feb. 16 , 2022 / PRNewswire / -- A new partnership between Castle & Cooke Mortgage and Homebot , Inc .

Castle & Cooke Mortgage Adds Homebot to its List of Preferred Software.

DENVER , Feb. 16 , 2022 / PRNewswire / -- A new partnership between Castle and Homebot , Inc .

Thrive Mortgage specializes in loans for mortgages, refinancing, or renovations.

Thrive Mortgage

In addition to educating clients with tailored content about their unique home finance situation , and the integration into other platforms and services , Homebot , Inc. has shown a great increase in the post-closing engagement with clients and business partners across a large cross-section of Thrive Mortgage 's production teams .

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Thrive Mortgage Corporation Partners With Homebot Client-For-Life Portal

Academy Mortgage is a mortgage lender that offers home financing services such as mortgages and home equity loans. It is based in Draper, Utah.

Academy Mortgage

Alterra Home Loans in one of the fastest Mortgage Banks doing business in over 18 states and growing.

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Homebot is an AI-powered financial dashboard and planner for homeowners. It helps homeowners build wealth by optimizing debt, home improvement, and rental potential.

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