Home improvement projects can be unpredictable for both clients and builders. At the same time, Small contractors don't use modern software, and home improvement companies like IKEA often struggle with outdated legacy software. UK startup Not cool It thinks it can solve this problem and has now raised $9 million in Series A funding to squash the issues. It raised its total to date to $13.3 million.
He led this last match. ETF partnersExisting investors Giant Ventures; Participation by firstminute capital and Borusan Ventures.
Beams has a pricing engine that predicts how much a project will cost and how long it will take. It was compared to more than 6,000 previous construction projects and used 3D photography and laser scans to build a blueprint of the home to design the renovation.
When founder and CEO Hayden Wood first saw the problem Beams was trying to solve at renewable energy startup Bulb (later acquired by Octopus Energy), “I saw how much friction there was in making homes more energy efficient; told TechCrunch.
“Projects are often too risky or complex for consumers; That means many don't make progress at all. I realized that if someone could simplify the process and reduce the risks, more people would be able to complete these upgrades and make their homes greener.”
Realizing how little software was used in the renovation process, especially when compared to commercial building projects, he decided to take on the housing construction sector with an antiquated approach.
That's why Beams is a marketplace where customers and builders manage to find each other, adding software to the home improvement process to make it more predictable and efficient.
A proprietary pricing engine estimates how much a project will ultimately cost, and vets builders before entering the market and after every project.
“We have been operating since September 2023. At the time, the projects were sold for over £4 million. There are currently 130 renovations underway and 25 completed,” Wood said.
Of course, There are competitors. They include Neptune; Plain English Reform Uncommon Devol Including kitchen companies such as Wren and Magnet. Also in the UK, leading trade websites such as Checkatrade help contractors find jobs.
But Wood says “there are no players in the market that offer end-to-end renovations from plan-to-build to renovations”.
Beams is tapping into a sizeable market.
The renovation market is worth £380 billion. Europe and £5.5 billion London alone
The company now plans to accelerate product development and growth to serve the rest of the UK and Europe.
But what if the plan goes wrong or the economy gets worse?
“We're so close to profitability that if the program fails, if growth slows, we'll stabilize spending and experiment with other business models,” Wood said.
Commenting on the funding round, Lucy Rands, Partner at ETF Partners, said: “Hayden and the team have built a comprehensive suite of services that go beyond simple energy assessments. Their solutions seamlessly integrate sustainability and practical home improvements to help modernize the UK and Europe's aging housing stock.”