Everett-based shelter solutions startup Pallet has big plans to grow its team after raising $15 million Tuesday.
The company currently has just over 100 employees, according to CEO Amy King, and is looking to at least triple its headcount by the end of 2022. She added that over 80% of the company's employees have experience with homelessness, addiction or the criminal justice system.
"We encourage people with any kind of background to apply to work with us. We take all offense types. We take everything," King said. "It brings the lived experience, but also we want people to know we don't care about their background. We care about their future and where they're going."
Pallet currently has office space on Merrill Creek Parkway in Everett but is looking for a larger headquarters space. King said the company plans to stay in Everett. A major reason to stay in Everett, according to King, is the company wants to create jobs in Snohomish County, particularly for those released from incarceration.
King added that the vast majority of Pallet's employees are based in the Seattle area. On its website, the company has open roles in administration, engineering and marketing.
Pallet is a social purpose corporation that launched in 2016. The company makes shelter villages of small cabins, each with a locking door, storage, beds and windows. According to the company, each cabin can be put up in 30 minutes. Pallet's clients are often municipalities and states, and King said although Pallet doesn't operate its sites, the company has certain "dignity requirements" like hygiene services and food distribution that clients must show they will have on-site.
There are more than 60 Pallet communities in 11 states. King said the company only sets up its shelters in community settings. Unlike tiny homes made from lumber, Pallet's shelters are made from a composite material that is mold-resistant and easy to clean, she said.
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority put out a request for proposals in January for about $5 million to fund non-congregate shelters — or spaces with some kind of physical boundary between them. King confirmed Pallet had applied for funding but hadn't heard back yet.
DBL Partners and the Citi Impact Fund led the $15 million investment, and a total of six firms participated.
Going forward, King said Pallet would like to innovate on its current designs and has already added new products like bathrooms and community rooms. She added that the company is looking to advocate for additional homelessness responses and policy changes to make permanent housing supplies more readily available.
"That's really what solves homelessness," King said. "We're using some funds to help support those advocacy efforts."
