After a decade in business, Denver-based Engrain has closed its largest outside funding round to fuel its national expansion.
The company, which builds interactive mapping technology and data visualization software, announced Friday that it has raised $3.7 million in funding.
The round was led by RET Ventures, a venture fund focused on single- and multi-family rent tech, along with participation from existing investors.
Founded a decade ago, Engrain has long focused on mapping software and touchscreen touring, which are used on property websites and in leasing offices of multifamily communities.
"The capital will be used equally across investments in our technology stack to move faster through our roadmap, to our marketing and sales team, and expansion of our production team to accommodate the additional volume," CEO Brent Steiner told Colorado Inno.
The company raised its first outside capital a year ago, a $750,000 equity round, and returned for additional funding this year as its products saw increased traction.
Much of the company’s recent growth can be tied to the increased importance of its SightMap product, which gives properties the ability to enhance self-guided tours.
It provides additional context of each unit's proximity to amenities and parking, while also displaying pricing and other key information. It can also be used with smart locks to enable unit access and helps guide potential renters around a property, allowing leasing teams to show units while maintaining distancing.
In April, Engrain rolled out SightMap's location awareness feature, pinpointing an individual's location on the property map. For prospective renters trying to navigate to vacant units and amenity areas through labyrinthine hallways and sprawling multifamily complexes, the location awareness has helped streamline self-guided tours.
Building on that recent growth, Engrain plans to develop regional business development teams to further penetrate submarkets across the U.S. and Canada, Steiner said.
"Our current sales team is spread between Denver and Dallas, and having a more distributed team will allow for faster growth," he said.
The company recently passed 100 total employees after bringing on an additional 10 employees as a result of this round.
"We anticipate growing 20% to 40% through 2021 cross departmentally as we mobilize business development efforts," Steiner added.
Among Engrain's most prominent clients is Cortland, a limited partner in RET Ventures and the country's twelfth largest apartment owner, with a portfolio of more than 60,000 units.
"Over the past few years, Engrain has established client relationships with many of our Strategic Investors, and they've also created partnerships with several of our portfolio companies, including SmartRent and Funnel," said RET Ventures Partner Christopher Yip in statement. "Their interactive maps and innovative approach deliver real value to the entire multifamily landscape, and we're excited to work with Brent to accelerate Engrain's growth in the years ahead."
