JLL Spark leads SwiftConnect fundraise
Citing a “significant opportunity to scale adoption” amid the growth of hybrid working, JLL Spark has co-led a $9m fundraising round for software that connects access control across buildings around the world.
Ordering name brand PM/FM products is now even easier with JLL Marketplace
The faster and easier property managers (PMs), facility managers (FMs), engineers, and maintenance pros can find and order the products they need—especially at preferred prices from top name brands—the better their buildings perform operationally and financially.
JLL Marketplace is an ecommerce platform that offers more than three million items curated for property management (PM) and facilities management (FM)—everything from plumbing and electrical products to janitorial and office supplies.
The platform has secure online ordering with permission controls, approvals, detailed invoices, and flexible delivery options. You can order online and pick up in-store for your on-the-go needs.
Taking Strategic Partnerships to the Next Level: JLL Spark
Funding in the PropTech space is continuing at a feverish pace, and although VCs still contribute the lion’s share of the dollars being invested, the secret sauce to success may come in the form of strategic investors; specifically, investors who operate large businesses that can utilize the solution of the company that they are investing in. Think about a portfolio owner that has 30 commercial buildings totaling 15,000,000 square feet. If they invest in a company that has a solution that can be deployed throughout their portfolio, they can nearly guarantee the success of the company by acting not only as an investor, but also as the company’s largest customer.
Build better vendor relationships with these tech-driven best practices
Breakdowns in communication between facility managers and vendors are unfortunately commonplace and chip away at good professional relationships over time.
Duplicate orders alone are a persistent problem. An average of 1.5% of payments paid each year by organizations go to cover duplicate or incorrect orders, according to CFO.
Facility managers (FMs) are responsible for working through these miscommunications daily—often without support to make the process more manageable. But finely tuned tools for organizing and automating vendor management are within reach. You’ll typically find these solutions built into a comprehensive computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) such as Corrigo.
Proptech startup funding on track to break real estate industry records in 2021
The number of real estate technology startups has increased 300% over the past decade, seizing the opportunity to address the industry’s biggest challenges through technology. Data released today by JLL (NYSE: JLL) suggests that opportunity continues to abound in the sector’s startup landscape, with US$9.7 billion of funding activity in the first half of 2021, the most active first half on record. Additionally, the market shows signs of maturation as funding begins to shift toward established players and increasing consolidation drives the emergence of industry leaders.
JLL, Khosla lead Jones’ $12.5M Series A for real estate vendor compliance
Commercial real estate tenants and property managers have to abide by strict liability rules that any vendor entering the property must have insurance certificates and meet other requirements. The approval process for this currently can take days and is still largely done on paper.
Enter Jones. The New York-based commercial real estate startup is curating a marketplace of pre-approved vendors for tenants and property managers to find and hire the people they need in a compliant way.
To continue advancing its network, the company announced Monday it raised $12.5 million in Series A funding led by JLL Spark and Khosla Ventures that also included strategic investors Camber Creek, Rudin Management, DivcoWest and Sage Realty. This new investment brings Jones’ total raised to $20 million, according to Crunchbase data.
Featured Femmes interview with Kitty Sullivan from JLL Spark Venture Fund
Kitty Sullivan is a principal at JLL Spark, a strategic venture fund that invests in early stage proptech companies. She previously worked at carpooling startup Scoop, LinkedIn, and management consultancies Bain & Company and Monitor Group. She is passionate about mentoring and collaborating with startups of all sizes on strategy, business ops, and growth. She has a B.A. from Bowdoin College and an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
The Proptech 20: Real estate capital markets’ next frontier
Proptech investing started largely as a balance sheet cost for managers to drive efficiencies in their real estate portfolios. Today, it is the focus of a whole new wave of capital raising, highlighted by PERE’S inaugural Proptech 20 ranking.