Architectural sourcing startup Source made its first acquisition in a deal that bolsters the company’s vision to be an essential one-stop tool for commercial construction projects.
Source acquired the procurement arm of Portland-based Wildwood House, a company that works with architects and interior designers to procure décor and furniture. Wildwood also has a retail store front that was not part of the deal.
What Source did acquire in the all-stock deal is Wildwood’s pipeline of projects and contracts as well as three employees, said Source founder and CEO Nicole Schmidt. Wildwood co-founder Brittney Herrera is remaining in her job at HBx Studio and will be an adviser to Source.
Both companies work in the architectural and construction industry. Source has built an online platform that helps professionals in construction and design streamline the process of finding materials, obtaining samples and sourcing final orders for projects. In addition to the massive online database of items the company also has physical libraries of materials in four cities: Portland, Seattle, Honolulu and Phoenix.
Two thousand architectural and design firms across the country are on the platform. There is more than $4 billion in project value being managed on the platform, said Schmidt. There are 50 manufacturers on the waiting list to upload their items and information.
What is the Source platform
Schmidt describes the company’s business in three buckets: Discovery, which happens in either the digital or physical libraries; Decision, which is the Source software that allows product comparison and manages project workflow; and Delivery, which is procuring furniture and any item in a project that isn’t physically attached in construction. (Those items are bought by the general contractors).
Source launched the procurement business last year. It now makes up the bulk of the company’s revenue. The company has 24 employees and is on track to be profitable next year.
With the acquisition of Wildwood House Procurement, that aspect of the business is deepened.
“We have valued Source as a partner for our material library needs for years. When we learned they were disrupting the procurement industry in the same way they had done to the materials library, we had to learn more. What we found was an exciting future for procurement together and a huge amount of value for our clients,” said Herrera in a written statement.
Who is using the Source
One of the first projects to use the Source from planning to management to procurement was biotech company Absci’s new headquarters.
“It was very successful,” Schmidt said. She noted the architect on the project was Bora Architects, who were an early adopter of the Source platform, plus Source investor Oregon Venture Fund was also an early investor in Absci. Everyone knew each other.
“It was the perfect first beta project. We joke that we bought their furniture and then they went public, so that’s what happens (when you use Source),” said Schmidt.
The Source platform targets builders and designers in all non-residential projects, meaning it works across multifamily, commercial and hospitality. That diversity has meant the company has continued to see growth and a strong project pipeline despite any changes in office construction or other macro economic uncertainty, said Schmidt.
She added that even with hybrid work models office construction is happening as companies and developers rework existing spaces to current needs.
