SQUAREFOOT Investment Thesis

Real estate is not necessarily the first industry that comes to mind when you think of technological innovation. It has been a fairly stale sector for many years, where homes are still built the same way, offices leased through agents just like decades ago, and apartments rented in still a very opaque and daunting process. So what happens when there is no progress in a certain sector? It becomes ripe for innovation!

And the innovation factor was a major appeal to us at EIP, similar in this particular way to how we looked at Aggrigator in the agriculture sector, where technology has also been lagging behind. SquareFoot is revolutionizing the leasing of office space by introducing technology, transparency, and data into the process. Target clients are companies that are growing quickly and require flexible lease options in a quick and easy way. Think about Uber, for example, that was a start-up just a few years ago with maybe a few dozen employees, but that expanded quickly to thousands of employees due to stratospheric growth.

What we at EIP like about SquareFoot is that both the human touch and technology matter at the same time. The website provides the right data to clients and offers the solutions they need unlike any competitor due to its flexible options. However, agents still play a role to show the spaces and educate the clients about their choices. It is this interaction between tech and people that makes this an efficient, yet personal experience. 

In addition, management always had a keen eye on branding and scalability. The founders developed a company name that is both straightforward and has intangible value, which is hugely important in today’s world. They developed a process that takes away the stress of finding much-needed office space in little time. And the company is set up in a way that allows for it to scale quickly from its initial markets in New York City and Houston to the rest of the United States. If you’re looking for office space, SquareFoot will be able to get you the smartest solution. We look forward to the company taking the country by storm one square foot at a time.