As we all know, the market is tough. Regardless, it was reported here that Cecilian Partners (https://cecilianpartners.com/), a proptech firm providing end-to-end digital solutions for home builders and land developers, raised $11 million in its first institutional equity round led by Resolve Growth Partners. So, how did they do it?
“It’s been a very, very intensive year and in many cases venture equity, private equity and growth equity have been hard to come by,” said John Cecilian Jr., co-founder and CEO at Cecilian Partners. “You really must have the right idea. You really must have the right tool to address the market. It really is sort of a perfect storm to qualify for investment funding these days.
“We landed on Resolve Growth Partners out of Baltimore, Maryland for a variety of reasons,” continued Cecilian. “We got to the final term sheet with three other groups but Resolve went for us because we had a similar strategic vision.”
Much of the real estate industry still runs on manual processes, from lot inventory management to prospect outreach, slowing down operations and driving up costs. And, while many builders and developers have access to invaluable homebuyer data, very few put it to use or even know how to access it. Cecilian’s technology platform streamlines and accelerates operations so companies can focus on growing their business. The technology makes it easier to collect, store, and leverage actionable buyer data for better strategic decisions.
Most clients, according to data compiled by Cecilian, save 30-40% on operational costs while experiencing 2-3x growth in marketing leads and 5-6x higher conversion rates. In addition, while many real estate firms struggle to implement new technology, Cecilian’s software has a 99% user adoption rate and over 1,200 weekly users.
Good technology that solves real industry problems is what Cecilian prides itself on. The company’s signature product, the XO (https://cecilianpartners.com/the-xo/), which includes a patented anti-monotony algorithm. As a central document sharing and communications platform, the XO forms the backbone of the new home value chain, from land to lots to homes to residents. The solution digitizes the end-to-end land and property development process — providing a single source of truth for data, streamlining approvals and processes, and delivering a better, faster experience at every point in the customer journey.
Cicilian also offers other innovative technology. The company’s Xplorer solution (https://cecilianpartners.com/xplorer/) offers mapping software that lets buyers explore available homes, landscapes, and amenities with 3D topographical maps, high-res satellite imagery, videos, virtual tours, and more. A built-in contact request form and seamless integration with BrightDoor CRM (https://cecilianpartners.com/brightdoor-crm/) provides an end-to-end lead management solution. BrightDoor CRM is a dedicated real estate tool for monitoring customer interactions and tracking leads. Its partner product, called BrightDoor Touch (https://cecilianpartners.com/brightdoor-touch/), powers touchscreen devices in sales centers and model homes with visually striking maps and seamless lead capture.
The company also launched two major new products this year: Customer Blueprint (https://cecilianpartners.com/customer-blueprint/), an end-to-end platform for resident engagement and community management, and Lot Vault, an innovative lot banking solution for community builders and investment firms.
It’s all about the vision, says Cecilian. “One of the ways that home builders are offsetting these high interest rates, is by offering incentives. By using our technology, they can say that if you finance with us and our mortgage underwriters, we’ll throw in a free basement or we’ll throw in a covered porch, or maybe you would rather have the special kitchen seamlessly. So, it becomes more of an exchange and an experienced purchase. You’re not just buying a home and saying good-bye. The technology is empowering people to be experts.”
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