Real estate tech startup accelerator Moderne Ventures announces new class

Chicago-based Moderne Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund with a focus on real estate tech startups, just announced the launch of its Accelerator Class today. The seven-month-long class includes three startups headquartered in Chicago and five other startups from across the country.

The companies chosen for the class do not co-locate. Top candidates have seed stage or A-round financing already in place and existing customers nationwide.

Moderne strategically invests in technology companies that are innovating within real estate, mortgage, finance, insurance and home services. That collection of expertise has a huge impact on the national economy: those multi-trillion dollar industries account for more than 20 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.  

In Moderne’s sights are companies have applicability in these verticals and the have the ability to expand to other markets. Moderne is not a traditional accelerator. It connects tech companies just starting out to those with $15 million in revenues with its Network.

That network includes more than 200 franchise groups, independent brokerages, commercial real estate brokers, developers and managers, and financial institutions who provide Moderne’s companies with valuable insight, knowledge and a chance to earn their business.

The Accelerator class includes three Chicago-based startups:

• UrbanBound, in the business of web-based relocation management software that companies use to help with important aspects of relocation for employees who are moving for their jobs. UrbanBound has already reeled in  $13 million in funding from investors.
• Purchasing Platform looks to be a single source e-commerce platform that for real estate professionals. It sells a variety of office supplies and even appliances.
• Growth Geeks allows companies to locate freelance talent for marketing tasks.

“Our target companies have established their product/market fit and are now ready to execute,” said Moderne’s Founder and Managing Partner, Constance Freedman, in a statement announcing applications for the class last October.

“We help them execute by providing an expeditious way to learn the markets, make all the right connections and launch into our core verticals.”

Other members of the class and their products are:

• Better online mortgages
• FieldLens construction site communications
• ImageSurge  e-commerce interfaces
• New Story fundraising for homeless families.
• TaskEasy a service booking platform.

Moderne Ventures selected this year’s class with an eye toward clues that suggest that a company is poised for growth in those key verticals.

Key characteristics for consideration for the class were:

• Startups with promising early revenues  to later stage companies with more than $30 million in revenues
• They have already brought in more than $100 million in financing at valuations ranging from seed to more than $200 million.
• Backing by top-tier venture and accelerator programs including Grotech, Softbank, Starvest, Tech Stars, Y-Combinator and others.
• They are addressing key challenges including green living, modern sales procurement and lead generation, financing, efficient construction and property management, and even disaster relief optimization.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in The Loop, Moderne Ventures strives to drive innovation in multi-trillion dollar real estate-related marketplace that, with a few notable exceptions, has been neglected by the tech industry.

Email Kimberley Sirk.