SiteStuff.com offers commercial real estate 'E-marketplace.SiteStuff.com is creating a dynamic new e-marketplace for owners and operators of commercial real estate. The Austin, TX-based company has received approximately $5.5 million in first-round funding from Sevin Rosen Funds Sevin Rosen Funds (SRF) is a venture capital firm that was established in 1981 by L.J. Sevin and Ben Rosen. SRF was involved in the financing of ArQule, CIENA, Citrix, Cypress Semiconductor, Electronic Arts, Lotus Development Corporation, Silicon Graphics, and Vitesse. , Centerpoint Ventures, Rho Management and individual investors, including a strategic services agreement with Ernst & Young. By electronically connecting customers to the providers of goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. they need to run their operations, SiteStuff will improve pricing and procurement efficiencies for the real estate operations market. "We expect SiteStuff to have a dramatic impact on the commercial real estate industry, much like Chemdex and e-STEEL and other vertical 'metamediaries' have had in their sectors," said Mary Ludgin, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Heitman Capital Management. "By creating a central, independent marketplace, we feel. that SiteStuff will give us a competitive advantage by making us more efficient and cost effective." In addition to Heitman Capital Management, other industry leaders, including Lend Lease Apartment Management, Summit Properties and Urban Retail Properties Co., have signed on as SiteStuff founding customers. Representing considerable buying power Buying Power The money an investor has available to buy securities. In a margin account, the buying power is the total cash held in the brokerage account plus maximum margin available. Also referred to as "Excess Equity. , SiteStuff customers currently manage over 200 million square feet in property, and the company is currently in discussions with other key players. In this trillion dollar industry, commercial real estate operators spend almost $200 billion annually just on the basic goods and services they need to run their properties. These include products such as heating, air conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. , plumbing, electrical, janitorial, furniture, office supplies Office supplies is the generic term that refers to all supplies regularly used in offices by businesses and other organizations, from private citizens to governments, who works with the collection, refinement, and output of information (colloquially referred to as "paper work"). , and services such as landscaping and security. SiteStuff will offer significant savings to customers on these, and a host of other products and services they need to run their operations. Target customers include owners and operators of multi-family, office, retail, industrial, and other commercial properties, both corporate-owned and investor-owned. Michael- E. Stewart, Sitestuff.com cofounder co·found tr.v. co·found·ed, co·found·ing, co·founds To establish or found in concert with another or others. co·found and CEO, feels strongly that using the Internet to unite real estate owners and managers with suppliers is a powerful demonstration of how new technologies can deliver real value. "What's important to our customers is not the technology itself, but improving cash-flow and real estate valuations by decreasing the price of products and reducing the transaction costs Transaction Costs Costs incurred when buying or selling securities. These include brokers' commissions and spreads (the difference between the price the dealer paid for a security and the price they can sell it). of procurement," said Stewart. "The numbers are impressive. We believe that we can increase our customers' real estate valuations by $50 billion in less than three years." In addition to SiteStuff's e-commerce capabilities, the company is creating an online community that will empower real estate owners and managers by providing easy access to the targeted information and networking resources they need to be successful. "We want to be the home page for the commercial real estate professional whether they are on-site or at the corporate office," said SiteStuff co-founder and CMO CMO See: Collateralized mortgage obligation CMO See collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO). Raj Shah. Beginning early this year, SiteStuff.com will offer customized content including focused news, new product introductions, "how-to" guides, job postings, detailed spend analyses, benchmarking data, training materials and many other industry resources. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion