This Pitch Deck Helped an Office-Technology Company Raise $15 Million
- WiredScore certifies buildings' tech capabilities, like LEED does with environmental ratings.
- With office space flooding the market, one broker says WiredScore can help get leases signed.
- WiredScore CEO Arie Barendrecht walked Insider through the pitch deck he used to raise $15 million.
WiredScore, a company that evaluates and certifies the technology inside office buildings, launched almost a decade ago with the endorsement of then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and major New York City landlords like Rudin Management, SL Green, and Vornado.
The company has grown substantially in terms of reach and offerings, including an assessment of "smart" features. But its core product, a certification that shows the quality and reliability of internet connectivity and mobile signal in a building, may be more essential than ever.
In a world of remote work, potential office tenants have become pickier about their spaces. An office building now needs to be "commute-worthy," or enticing enough for workers to come in for personal collaboration, said Oliver Alves, an executive vice president tenant representative for the broker JLL. If the internet is slow in the office, with Zoom calls always buffering, companies are more likely to balk at paying huge rents.
Generally speaking, prospective office tenants have little insight into what their office WiFi will look like. They may know they're renting in a building with fiber internet, but without a thorough check of the property, faulty wiring or other unexpected issues can cause headaches down the line. They want certainty with their technology, and that's where WiredScore comes in.
"Now, even when tenants are making a preliminary pass in the market, they're very focused on what buildings have certifications," Alves said. "Those buildings make the shortlist."
Alves saw this while working on Toronto's Portland Commons, a 15-story office tower that's set to open next year. As with many new developments, potential tenants had little more than interactive 3D-models in order to make their leasing decisions. But WiredScore provided an early certification, and tech-heavy tenants signed up for space, according to Alves.
WiredScore raised a $15 million Series B round earlier this year, led by the venture firm Beringea, with the participation of the commercial-real-estate brokerage and service firm Cushman & Wakefield; the private real-estate firm Crow Holdings; proptech's largest venture fund, Fifth Wall, and others. The company has now raised $28 million in total funding.
The company now also certifies technology in apartment buildings, the office of the remote worker.
WiredScore's CEO, Arie Barendrecht, walked Insider through the pitch deck he used to help raise the firm's latest round.
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