Commercial Real Estate Tech Company Kicks Off 2019 With Distribution Opportunities, Partnerships, Capital and More
Boston, MA — Friday, February 8, 2019 — HqO, a tenant experience (TeX) platform for commercial real estate, today announced it added two new investors: Jamestown, one of the largest vertically integrated real estate operators in the U.S. with approximately $10.1 billion of assets under management, and MetaProp, a NYC-based PropTech venture capital firm whose limited partner investors include the top three real estate services firms – JLL, CBRE, and Cushman & Wakefield.
As tech-enabled experiences and amenities became a priority for office tenants hoping to attract talent, building owners have turned to tenant experience software to create a seamless interface at their properties. HqO has emerged as a leader in the space by enabling a premium tenant experience while also unlocking unprecedented data to improve decision making, NOI, and property value for building owners.
“HqO has proven to be a valuable tool in building an innovation ecosystem in the Jamestown portfolio,” said Michael Phillips, president of Jamestown. “Collaborative technology partnerships like this are pushing the boundaries of innovation in PropTech.”
HqO’s first-in-class mobile technology enhances the most critical aspects and delightful features of a property: convenience, entertainment, mobility, security, sustainability and wellness, by giving tenants access to commerce, community, content and control functionality.
“We ran a rigorous assessment of the many players in the tenant experience space and found HqO to be the clear leader,” said Zach Aarons, partner at MetaProp. “This investment was important for MetaProp because we believe all of the top property owners and operators will evaluate and launch TeX software for their property this year, and we want our network to be successful. It’s not enough to just check the TeX technology box – there’s a lot that goes into creating a long-term strategy that drives property value, and we endorse HqO’s understanding and approach to TeX success.”
HqO experienced strong momentum in 2018, its first year of operation, deploying its TeX software in millions of square feet of property owned by Jamestown, DivcoWest, National Development, The Bulfinch Companies, and more. It also secured its initial seed round of funding from Accomplice, JLL Spark, Navitas Capital, Pritzker Group, DivcoWest, and others. Momentum is growing in 2019 as HqO, in addition to counting Jamestown and MetaProp as new investors, also added:
- A growing partnership: Jamestown first piloted HqO at the Innovation and Design Building in Boston in 2018 and invested in HqO at the end of 2018. Jamestown’s assets include notable adaptive reuse properties like Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Industry City in Brooklyn, Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, among others.
- New distribution channels: JLL Property Management chose HqO to be the tech component of its JLL Curae Approach, a service philosophy offering a variety of experience management programming via software, all with the goal of making life better for tenants in its 4.6 billion square feet under management.
- Additional executive leadership: HqO strengthened its leadership team by hiring Mark Rosenthal, formerly Google’s head of programmatic ad sales in North America, to become its VP of marketing, sales & success, and Dan Koh, formerly chief of staff to Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh, to become partner at the company.
“2019 is shaping up to be a huge year for this PropTech category as tenant-first landlords realize the potential for data learnings inherent in TeX technology,” said Chase Garbarino, CEO and co-founder of HqO. “In addition to a premium daily experience for tenants at their buildings, those data learnings will drive NOI and property value for our clients. Our team is poised to grow and scale to meet the demand for TeX success from the best landlords in the world.”
Learn more and request a software demo at www.hqo.co.
About HqO
HqO is a tenant experience platform that enables landlords to create places people love. Headquartered in Boston, HqO partners with the leading landlords, property managers, and brokers who want to attract innovative tenants, provide a premium experience, and increase overall asset value. For more information, visit https://www.HqO.co or follow HqO on Twitter @HqOapp.
About Jamestown
Jamestown was established in 1983 as an investment and management company focused on income-producing real estate in the United States. Over the last 35+ years, Jamestown has grown its portfolio of assets in key markets throughout the U.S. and expanded its investment footprint to South America and Europe. Jamestown’s capabilities include: acquisitions, capital markets, property management, asset management, retail leasing, design, sustainability, and risk management. Jamestown has headquarters in Atlanta, GA and Cologne, Germany, and offices in New York, NY, Boston, MA, San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA, and Bogota, Colombia. For more information, visit www.jamestownlp.com.
About MetaProp
MetaProp is a New York-based venture capital firm focused on the real estate technology (“PropTech”) industry. Founded in 2015, MetaProp’s investment team has invested in 100+ technology companies across the real estate value chain. The firm manages multiple investment funds for both financial and strategic real estate investors representing a pilot- and test-ready sandbox of 15+ billion square feet across every real estate asset type and global market. The firm’s investment activities are complemented by pioneering community leadership including the PropTech Place innovation hub, MetaProp Accelerator at Columbia University programs, global events NYC Real Estate Tech Week and MIPIM PropTech NYC, and publications Global PropTech Confidence Index and PropTech 101.
