HqO Raises $6.6M in Funding to Scale its Tenant Experience Software for the Built Environment

Top Commercial Real Estate Tech Investors Fund New Category Leader that Helps Landlords Provide Tech-enabled Experiences at their Properties

Thursday, September 27, 2018 – HqO, a tenant experience (TeX) platform for commercial real estate, today announced it raised a $6.6M round of seed funding from Accomplice and a syndicate of strategic commercial real estate partners, including:

  • JLL Spark, a division of JLL, with a $100M global venture fund that will connect promising new technology companies with JLL’s business lines and clients for distribution of their products
  • Navitas Capital, a venture capital firm focused on investing in technology for the built environment
  • DivcoWest, a vertically-integrated owner, operator, developer and real estate partner to the innovation economy, having acquired more than 42M square feet of space since inception
  • Pritzker Group Venture Capital, a venture capital firm focused on entrepreneurs helping build market-leading technology companies at every stage of their growth
  • Goodwin Gaw, chairman of Gaw Capital and managing principal of Downtown Properties
  • David Hirsh, former Managing Director Blackstone
  • Jeremy Neuer, CBRE Suburban Tri-State Capital Markets

A fundamental shift is happening in the commercial real estate space. An industry that was solely focused on physical asset management has shifted to one centered on user experience. As a result, HqO has led the development of a new proptech category, tenant experience (TeX) software.

“The HqO team understands that software is a key layer in the way people experience physical space, and consequently, will play a huge role in how commercial real estate can attract and retain the most innovative, high-growth tenants,” said Mihir Shah, co-CEO at JLL Spark. “We initiated an exhaustive investigation into this emerging space and found that HqO’s approach to product development, go-to-market, and customer success, drives overall property value in a way that is unparalleled by other players – which is why we made this strategic investment.”

HqO enables landlords to give tenants a remote control for their property, making software integral to the customer relationship and a key access point for experiencing their physical space. The HqO platform includes:

  • Branded, tenant-facing mobile app that emphasizes aspects of the property that impact a day in the life of a tenant (i.e. transportation alerts, smart building features, amenities and commerce, and property communication)
  • Administrative tools to streamline daily operations for the onsite property team
  • Custom support and services to amenitize the property
  • Dedicated product development that takes a tenant-first mentality

“HqO is aggregating and unlocking a treasure trove of anonymized data that will serve as both a revenue enhancement platform for properties and a new window into tenant activity level,” said Travis Putnam, partner at Navitas Capital. “By giving landlords a better understanding of client demographics, tenant interests, onsite retail patterns, and overall occupancy trends, they can make more informed decisions and ultimately increase NOI with insights from a single proptech platform.”

The HqO platform is currently live at properties owned by leading property owners, such as DivcoWest, Jamestown, National Development, Boylston Properties, Bulfinch Companies, and more. HqO will use this round of funding to accelerate sales, marketing, product development, and property launch and success, making hires in multiple roles across all departments of the business.

“Coworking and flex-space providers have done a good job of proving that today’s tenants and employees care deeply about having a great experience at their place of work,” said Chase Garbarino, co-founder and CEO of HqO. “However, new innovation cycles typically aren’t driven by the creation of a new middleman. Our software platform gives landlords the tools to activate their amenities, own the relationship with the end-user of their product, and ultimately increase NOI and asset value.”

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 JLL Spark

JLL Spark is dedicated to transforming the real estate industry through technology-based innovation. JLL Spark provides the nimbleness of a startup backed by JLL’s expertise and resources. Led by experienced Silicon Valley entrepreneurs with successful track records building and investing in tech companies, JLL Spark’s strategic proptech investments offer JLL the ability to provide innovative products to real estate owners and operators. JLL Spark was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information, please visit https://spark.jll.com.

About Navitas Capital
Navitas Capital is a venture capital fund focused on early-stage technology investments for the real estate and construction industries, in six primary areas: AI/Machine Learning, Visualization, Workflow, Marketplaces, FinTech and Smart Buildings. Navitas Capital has made investments in the most successful commercial real estate technology companies, such as PlanGrid, Matterport, Honest Buildings, PeerStreet, Bowery, Truss, Katerra, and more. For more information about Navitas Capital, visit: www.navitascap.com.

About Accomplice
Accomplice ‍‍‍is a seed-led venture capital firm that embraces risk. They have been part of the origination story of companies that matter, including AngelList, Carbon Black, DraftKings, Hopper, PillPack, Veracode, and Zoopla. Accomplice has pioneered a community approach through platforms like Spearhead, BOSS, Rev, and TUGG. Based in Boston and San Francisco. To learn more about Accomplice, visit https://accomplice.co/.