Chicago startup Groundbreaker, which helps commercial real estate investors streamline their workflow with an easy-to-use software platform, raised its first round of funding to help it expand its staff and improve its tech.
Groundbreaker announced Thursday that it raised $2 million in a round led by Andrew Bluhm, whose family is behind Rivers Casino, Walton Street Capital and Marquee Chicago properties.
The startup has developed an all-in-one investment management software for commercial real estate investment firms. Groundbreaker’s software helps real estate investors automate fundraising and better organize workflow to cut down on time spent doing manual work.
The platform also provides an online investor portal, which allows for transparency and secure access to information.
Groundbreaker says it supports $3 billion in assets under management and thousands of individual investors.
Founded in 2015, Groundbreaker’s CEO and founder Jake Marmulstein has up until this point bootstrapped the company. He launched it after working at Watermark Capital Partners as a real estate investor and identifying inefficiencies in the industry.
“This funding will allow Groundbreaker to invest more in our product and on customer growth,” Marmulstein said in a statement. “Having been in the shoes of real estate investment professionals, and received years of customer feedback, we developed our application with the voice of every stakeholder—from investor relations to controllers, capital markets professionals, and high net worth investors.”
The startup currently employs nine employees and is using the new financing to help it hire three more by the end of the year. The financing will also be used to improve Groundbreaker's tech and sign on new clients.
