Welcoming Acelab, the Next Revolution in Building Design
Every year, manufacturers spend a whopping $33B on business development — aka advertising to architects to get their products on spec sheets and ultimately installed in buildings. These spec sheets mostly come in the form of spreadsheets or word documents that quickly become outdated, just like the pamphlets that manufacturers pass out at conferences. This cycle of paper-based processes is inefficient for everyone involved.
The Elevator Pitch
Ever marveled at the ease and efficiency of filtering products on a retail website for exactly what you’re looking for? Probably not, because almost all of us take it for granted. If I want size 8 black leather shoes, I just set my filters and find my product. Simple. But in the building products universe, not so much. This $440BN market leaves architects to sift through often-outdated pamphlets of products from hundreds of manufacturers, picking up the phone constantly to confirm which products are still under production, what customizations are possible and at what price. And all of this despite the fact that manufacturers spend a huge amount of time and money trying to disseminate updated information to architects, whose recommended products end up in buildings over 70% of the time. Acelab is on a mission to make this process work better for all sides of the equation.
Acelab is a win-win information marketplace for architects, manufacturers, contractors and clients to find, compare and procure building materials. The platform digitizes and automates the manual and time-consuming process of sourcing building materials and drafting spec sheets. Manufacturers are able to use the platform as a higher-ROI business development tool versus traditional conference sponsorships and materials, providing product specs directly to customers online. Acelab also allows architects to easily filter and review products that fit their project’s criteria, make procurement decisions and avoid delays or misordered items.
I’m excited to announce our investment in Acelab’s $3.5M seed round alongside other great investors including Pillar VC, Draper Associates, MIT MET Fund and many others.
The “It” Factor
From our very first meeting with Vardhan and Dries, we were struck by their methodical and customer-obsessed approach to making building product sourcing better for all members of the construction ecosystem. Speaking with them, you immediately feel their passion for building an amazing product so that the next generation of architects never knows the pain of picking up the phone 100 times to write a single spec sheet. Their enthusiasm isn’t surprising — they’ve both directly experienced the problem they are solving, first as students and then as licensed architects at firms across the globe. Their ability to execute also impresses: they’ve won multiple pitch competitions, signed up over 25 pilot partners and built an impressive team around them with both technical chops and industry experience.
All in all, the deal ticked every one of our boxes: a massive market, little to no tech innovation or adoption, strong founder-market-fit and an awesome supporting cast of employees and investors. Alpaca’s Construction Tech expertise and previous field study in Construction Materials Marketplaces allowed us to quickly recognize the massive market opportunity and Acelab’s value proposition to key stakeholders in the construction process. Welcome to the pack, Acelab!
Extra Credits
● Acelab is hiring! Check out open roles here
● Interested in checking out the product? Click here
