A Cincinnati-based proptech startup has landed a spot in one of the world’s top accelerators, and the founders behind the idea hope the program will serve as a launchpad as they look to break into a highly capitalized and legacy industry.
Nector, an AI-powered platform that allows for faster commercial real estate loans, was one of 12 companies plucked for the Techstars NYC Accelerator, part of its winter 2023 class. The three-month program kicked off this week and will conclude with a demo day Feb. 15, 2024, where the companies will pitch their ideas to top investors from around the world.
Nector first launched in 2019 and was incorporated earlier this year by co-founders Steven Young, who is serving as its CEO, and Connor Cleves, the company’s chief operating officer. The team also includes John David Back, chief technology officer, who has led engineering teams through various growth stages at firms like Procter & Gamble, Casamatic and Indeed.
Young, a South Carolina transplant, and Cleves, a Greater Cincinnati native who now lives in New York, first met back when Young was working with U.S. Bank and Cleves with Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm. Cleves would often send clients looking for lending opportunities Young’s way.
As is typical with most entrepreneurs, the two noticed the systems they were using were clunky, antiquated and slow.
Nector’s platform – using an AI interface and backend data integration – provides tools so commercial real estate investors or borrowers can create a loan request within minutes – versus the days it takes now. The other side of its marketplace includes a range of pre-vetted lenders.
The two said they’re not looking to blow up the industry, just make it more efficient for all stakeholders involved.
“It’s been the same for 50 years,” Cleves told me. “We saw an opportunity to do it differently. We quickly realized the idea had legs.”
“Our goal is, when anybody thinks of buying commercial real estate, they think of Nector,” Young added. “Right now, if you Google ‘commercial real estate financing,’ a Bank of America ad pops up, and that’s not always the best solution. We want to have education tools inside to help you. We want everybody in the ecosystem to get deals done more efficiently.”
This is the company’s first time applying for Techstars. It’s the only Midwest-based startup in the New York winter cohort; the other companies hail from New York; Charlotte, N.C.; Seattle; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and more.
Young and Cleves said the goal is to use the accelerator – and the network that comes with it – to break into the market. They said their solution already stands on its own. Other new offerings simply just add tech to already existing “broken marketplaces,” Cleves said.
Nector will likely look to raise a round of funding after the program concludes early next year.
“The commercial real estate market is a well-capitalized, legacy industry. It’s certainly an uphill battle breaking in,” Cleves said. “This puts us in a good position to scale.”
Nector is the latest in a recent string of Cincinnati-area companies to earn Techstars nods. The program is considered one of the largest pre-seed investors in the world, with access to “an unrivaled network” of corporate partners, 10,000 investors and 1,600 alumni. The program also traditionally comes with $120,000 in equity financing.
Its acceptance rate is said to be 1% to 2%.
Band Connect, a digital health platform for remote physical therapy, was selected for the Techstars Healthcare Accelerator in Los Angeles earlier this year.
And TinnCann, which lets its users chat 1:1 with athletes and experts in fashion, photography and music, led by Ryan Frew, graduated from Techstars Chicago in 2021.
