Brooks Anderson knows that his company can make a high-quality, modular structure.
The question has been how to turn that idea into a scalable business.
TimberHut Cabin Co. has pivoted away from high-quality modular cabins sold to individuals into two new markets.
Ice cream shacks. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Pittsburgh artisan ice cream company, Mille’s Homemade, which is looking to develop franchises. Instead of standalone stores, TimberHut will build seasonal, modular shacks for franchisees.
It’s the kind of business-to-business opportunity that uses TimberHut’s skill set while also giving the company sustained business.
“These are going to be nicely appointed, highly stylized, branded structures that are functional as vendor kiosks,” Anderson said.
Camping cabins. The campground industry is rapidly consolidating behind private-equity investors, who are unleashing more sophisticated business models. One of those solutions is modular cabins that can be rented at a premium and offer tax advantages because they’re not permanent parts of the property.
Anderson said his company is prepared to begin building test models for camping companies that could lead to major orders.
Anderson switched his company’s home base to Great Valley in Cattaraugus County last year, where his 15,000-square-foot facility can handle multiple manufacturing lines. The company has raised private investment “in the six figures” this year, including contributions from angel investor Jack Greco. Anderson said a more substantial funding round may become necessary if TimberHut closes on the opportunities in front of it.
The business-to-business nature of the contracts means that Anderson can focus on enterprise accounts, rather than the constant interest he’d need to generate from a consumer-based business.
“We see really deep, deep markets here, and we have an opportunity to jump on them,” he said. “We were a startup 18 months ago, and now things are coming at us really fast. We need to be ready to capitalize.”
TimberHut is the 12th local startup to confirm a growth-oriented capital raise this year. The others are Circuit Clinical ($29 million), PostProcess Technologies ($5 million), VeriTX ($4.5 million), HELIXintel ($3 million), ShearShare ($2.3 million), Patient Pattern ($2 million), BetterMynd ($1 million), Cahill Tech ($375,000), AireXpert ($125,000), Arbol ($110,000) and Ognomy (undisclosed).
