iGo Raises $5.5 Million to Strengthen Lead in Home Inspection Tech and Launch AI-based Home Repair Valuation
It's great to see technology innovation in all aspects of the real estate transaction. If you haven't checked out InspectionGo yet, you need to take a look. Led by industry veterans Celeste Starchild and Mark Wise, iGo is shaking up the home inspection sector and enabling independent home inspection companies with breakthrough tech to deliver a more comprehensive and actionable home inspection report to consumers and the professionals that support them.
Read the full news release below:
InspectionGo (iGo) Announces $5.5 Million Series A and the Acquisitions of Repair Pricer and HomeBinder
Transactions allow iGo to build next-generation platform for home inspectors to unlock the full value of inspections for homeowners and single-family investors
TYRONE, Pa., (July 19, 2023) – InspectionGo (iGo), the leading provider of cutting-edge technology and services that helps independent home inspection companies be successful by unlocking the full value of home inspections for homeowners and real estate investors, today announced it has closed a $5.5 million Series A funding round. The company also announced the strategic acquisitions of Repair Pricer and HomeBinder, moving iGo closer to its vision of providing home inspectors with a seamless platform to manage their business and extending the value of a home inspection throughout home ownership.
The Series A was led by existing investor Wasatch Equity Partners. The acquisitions were all-stock transactions, reinforcing the confidence of Repair Pricer and HomeBinder's investors in the partnership iGo has forged with the inspector community and the company's long-term vision.
In addition to enhancing iGo's service offerings to its growing community of home inspectors who perform an estimated one million home inspections annually, the capital raise and acquisitions will bring hundreds of jobs to Central Pennsylvania by 2026.
"We are thrilled to welcome Repair Pricer and HomeBinder to the iGo family. The addition of their product offerings accelerates our strategy of giving the inspection community the ability to provide homeowners with valuable tools for managing their home for as long as they own it," iGo Co-Founder and CEO John Russell said.
Russell added, "We also couldn't be more appreciative of the confidence that Wasatch and our other investors have placed in us. They not only share our vision for giving home inspection a new meaning, but they also are committed to bringing more employment and economic opportunities to our local community and putting Tyrone on the map as an emerging tech hub."
Repair Pricer leverages artificial intelligence and national language processing to turn any inspection report into an accurate home repair estimate. Since 2016, homeowners in nearly 42,000 ZIP codes throughout the U.S. have used Repair Pricer to generate more than 1.1 million home repair estimates to gain assurance they are receiving a fair price on their home purchase.
Offered by a network of 9,000 professionals to more than 950,000 homeowners nationwide, HomeBinder is aresidential home management platform that allows homeowners to manage their home at their fingertips. With HomeBinder, homeowners have a centralized location to store valuable home documents, set up home improvement projects and maintenance reminders, stay up to date on appliance recalls, access a network of recommended service providers and maintain records of their single largest asset.
As part of the acquisitions, iGo strengthened its leadership team. Repair Pricer CEO Christian Adams will serve as iGo's Chief Revenue Officer and Jack Huntress, CEO of HomeBinder, joins the company as Head of Consumer Products. Both are newly created positions.
Since its founding in 2019, iGo has focused on building a community that empowers inspectors to operate more efficiently while ensuring that they offer buyers and their agents a better experience. The acquisitions of Repair Pricer and HomeBinder add to iGo's comprehensive suite of existing solutions. These offerings include Keystone, a plug and play back-office platform; access to coaching, marketing and management resources through the iGo Community; and iGo Academy, which provides a steady stream of highly trained home inspectors to the inspector community.
"With this new series of funding we are unlocking new opportunities to impact a growing market in a unique way. Through these newly announced strategic acquisitions we anticipate an offering of services like never before seen in the space that captures AI technology and tools that brings home inspection services to the forefront of innovation for homeowners. Our commitment to the growth and future of the business remains stronger than ever, "Scott Stettler, Managing Director, Wasatch Equity Partners said.
The Series A raise brings iGo's total funding to $10.3 million. In addition to Wasatch, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Allegheny Angel Fund, The West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust, Twenty Five Ventures, Mountain State Capital, and Hamilton Ventures have shown their commitment to iGo through early stage investments.Like Wasatch, they share iGo's commitment to creating opportunities for underserved communities by bringing technology-based companies to the region.
About Wasatch Equity Partners
Wasatch Equity Partners, a subsidiary of The Wasatch Group, specializes in identifying and investing in high-growth companies across key market verticals. Wasatch Equity Partners delivers results driven impact through strategic advisement and a proven record of performance. With integrated specialty support through Finance, Marketing, HR, Tax and Legal, WEP brings an innovative and comprehensive approach to their diverse investment portfolio. Bringing over 30 years of combined experience and with over $4 Billion AUM, WEP is uniquely positioned to drive growth and strategic alignment that has driven results for both investors and companies. Wasatch Equity Partners is located in Logan, Utah with a portfolio expanding the industries of PropTech, Medical, Energy, CPG and more.
About InspectionGo (iGo)
Founded in Tyrone, Pa. in 2019, iGo is on a mission to revolutionize the home inspection experience by uniting and equipping the community of home inspection companies with a modern technology platform. Through strategic investments and acquisitions, iGo empowers home inspectors to deliver exceptional customer experiences and become industry leaders. Learn more at inspectiongo.com.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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Home Inspections Finally Wakes Up with Booking Tech
One aspect that many of us understand about real estate is that it is like the Hotel California -- you can check out, but you can never leave. Two executives that I have long admired in the real estate technology industry are Celeste Starchild and Mark Wise. After building a very successful company with ListHub, they sold the company to Move, operators of realtor.com. After a few years, this team moved on and joined iGo under the leadership of CEO John Russell.
Today, they launched the iGo Network. It is a national network of home inspectors.
It is a service that allows anyone (consumers or agents) to go online and book an inspection. They teased out the new brand for this service – iGo Network. The full suite of the service provides a list of primary benefits to home inspectors:
iGo Network booking service drives sales
Backend software for order management reduces drive time, improving efficiency
Manages pricing, payroll, payments, agreements
Reporting
Communications
Marketing – inspectors' website and mobile experiences
Workflow integration to your systems
At WAV Group, we always look at technology as either a vitamin or a painkiller. The No. 1 challenge that real estate agents express frustration with in closing a sale is the analog inspection process. For the first time, iGo is solving that pain point.
For the automation to work effectively, Mark Wise and his team of merry developers started with building an end-to-end solution through the browser. They made a critical and wise (pun intended) decision to build the application using APIs. The great news about the workflow from iGo is that the service can be completely leveraged though an API call.
The significance of this API support is that iGo can now allow enterprise software to order, manage, and report on inspection orders without leaving their workflow environment. For example, transaction management solutions for real estate and mortgage can order service without logging in to iGo.
Try it now
Follow this link to give iGo a try or email Celeste Starchild for more information.
Please see below for the full press release.
iGo Launches iGo Network: A National Home Inspection Booking Platform
Tyrone, PA – April 5, 2022 – InspectionGo (iGo), provider of technology and services to the home inspection industry, announces the launch of iGo Network, a national platform for real estate agents, consumers, and investors to order home inspections through a digital, but human-enhanced, booking service.
iGo Network was created to make property inspection booking and delivery more accurate and efficient and solves the geographical fragmentation in the inspection industry. For real estate or technology companies seeking inspection services across multiple markets, iGo Network provides a central, digital solution for tapping into reputable inspectors nationwide. Participating inspectors meet ongoing service standards and are committed to maintaining a high bar for E&O and general liability insurance.
"We are excited to launch iGo Network," said Celeste Starchild, COO of iGo. "The majority of home inspections today are ordered via a 12-minute phone call, making it cumbersome and error prone. We are changing this, and now with a modern national platform, the inspection can be incorporated into a more cohesive and enjoyable consumer journey."
Every inspection booked through iGo Network comes with a repair estimate report from Repair Pricer – the industry's most accurate AI-powered home repair cost calculator. With an accuracy rate of 98%, Repair Pricer reduces time and stress associated with gathering repair estimates from contractors during a critical time in the closing process.
"We are thrilled to join forces with iGo to launch iGo Network," said Christian, co-founder of Repair Pricer. "Agents have been asking us for years for an easy way to book with inspectors that will provide them with Repair Pricer reports as standard. iGo Network not only meets this demand, but it brings best-in-class tools and services together to deliver a game changing experience for the industry as a whole."
Inspection companies gained advance access to join the iGo Network at iGo's annual conference in February, where more than 400 inspectors signed up for the platform. With dozens of market-leading multi-inspector firms participating at launch, iGo Network is positioned to bring a higher level of professionalism and standards to the industry.
For inspectors, iGo Network provides a source of new business without compromising control and confidentiality of their client data. "The inspection industry needs a trusted partner to meet the opportunities of the future. I believe that partner is iGo, and Axium Inspections is proud to be a founding member of the iGo Network," said Wade Williamson, CEO of Axium Inspections.
Order a home inspection through the iGo Network at igobooking.com. For inspection companies interested in joining iGo Network, visit inspectiongo.com/igo-network.
About InspectionGo (iGo)
iGo, is a leading provider of technology and services for the home inspection industry. iGo's vision is to empower home owners and their agents with professional, digitally driven home inspection services and actionable insights about their homes, making home ownership more joyful. Based in Tyrone, PA, iGo also operates iGo Community, the nation's largest business coaching group for inspection company owners, iGo Academy, the gold standard for home inspector education in 17 states, and iGo Booking, the nation's foremost home inspection booking service.
To learn more about InspectionGo visit inspectiongo.com.
About Repair Pricer
Repair Pricer is an AI-powered repair estimator that can turn any inspection report into a highly accurate fully-interactive repair estimate. The buyer's agent receives this report, with the option to modify the final display for their buyer. Customizable, universal, automated and secure, Repair Pricer is demanded by real estate professionals and investors nationwide.
To learn more about Repair Pricer visit repairpricer.com.
To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.
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Their legal practices focus on a variety of dimensions throughout the real estate industry including ecommerce, databases, Web branding issues, and rule-making for online communities. Larson/Sobotka supported RE Technology in the development of many of its business documents. Legal services also extend to providing copyright, trademark, Internet/computer and technology licensing counsel.
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