TitletownTech, a Green Bay venture capital firm formed by the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft, said its latest investment was in a new startup spun out of one of the largest engineering firms in greater Cincinnati.
TitletownTech led a $2 million seed round for Configure Inc., an online construction marketplace that recently launched to connect manufacturers, suppliers and contractors, according to a Tuesday announcement.
Configure was started by two former principals at Kohrs Lonnemann Heil Engineers Inc. (KLH Engineers), which has locations in Ohio and Kentucky. The new startup is developing a construction marketplace that digitizes supply and allows designers and contractors to specify, compare and purchase engineered-to-order products with connected suppliers.
The startup is going to market with a regional focus in Cincinnati and the Green Bay area. Green Bay-area mechanical construction firm Tweet/Garot Mechanical Inc. is an early customer.
“Configure solves a massive problem in the construction industry and is poised to disrupt the way that contractors procure equipment,” Tweet/Garot CEO Christopher Howald said in a statement. “We are excited to help Configure build its platform as an early adopter, as it will give our customers more information, increased efficiency and better pricing.”
Other Configure customers include Silicon Valley Mechanical in San Jose, California, and Peck Hannaford & Briggs in Cincinnati, according to the announcement.
Configure plans to use some of the seed funding to expand its software technology and make additional product development hires, according to the announcement. Other investors included strategic clients and customers, and angel investors.
TitletownTech started around 2018 and has invested in 22 other companies to date, according to its website. Its portfolio includes artificial intelligence startup Synthetaic in Delafield and Green Bay's hydroponic farming tech startup Fork Farms.
The partnership between Configure and TitletownTech isn't the first example of collaboration between Wisconsin's and Ohio's startup ecosystems. Milwaukee-area angel investor and former Northwestern Mutual technology executive Karl Gouverneur is now the chief technology officer at Cincinnati-based financial technology startup Struxtion LLC, which specializes in the commercial construction industry.
Configure has five employees, including co-founders Michael Albanese and Jeff Leuderalbert. It plans to add two to five more employees this year.
Albanese said he and Leuderalbert started working on what would become Configure in late 2019 while they were principals at KLH Engineers. KLH Engineers CEO Bob Heil and president Jim Tavernelli provided them with the resources needed to start Configure, leveraging the in-house software team to build the platform. The firm “nurtures entrepreneurism," Heil said.
