WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Airship, a company that provides software tools and financial products to help home services owner-operators grow their businesses, today came out of stealth with the announcement of a $4 million pre-seed round.
The funding was led by global fintech specialists QED Investors, with participation from Silence, Lorimer Ventures, Four Acres Capital and Twine Ventures. To coincide with the fundraise, Airship announced partnerships with ServiceTitan, a cloud-based software platform built to power trades businesses, and with multiple home services platforms.
Home services are changing rapidly. As millennials become the largest home owning group, and the average U.S. home is more than 50 years old, homeowners are moving away from “DIY” to “DIFM - Do It For Me.”
Seeing this trend, private equity has begun to consolidate and professionalize this nearly $200 billion industry. Climate change is increasing the rate of turnover as homeowners use air conditioning more often, replace equipment more frequently and seek to access the more than $2 billion in home improvement tax credits made available by the IRA.
In addition, as the cost of equipment and labor have gone up, customers increasingly finance these purchases. Simpler, smaller $5,000 air conditioning replacements have become $15,000 heat pump installations. As a result, businesses that once just needed to “fix it” now need to know how to “sell it,” too.
Airship is taking the complexity out of home services sales. While current field service management software focuses on scheduling and dispatch, Airship’s platform provides technology that sits on the tablet when technicians enter the home. Airship’s software integrates with existing field service management tools, assists with sizing the heating and cooling load, matches equipment to meet regulatory standards, surfaces available incentives and reduces both time and paperwork. Customers using Airship see ticket sizes go up by 20 percent, and close rates improve by more than 15 percent.
“Installing a furnace or heat pump is hard work, but selling them shouldn’t be,” said Airship CEO, Craig Battin. “After their house and their car, HVAC is the third largest purchase for most homeowners, but selling practices often depend on pen and paper. We’re modernizing home services sales with purpose-built software that connects disparate data, digitizes paper forms and anticipates customer needs. Airship helps HVAC teams deliver better service and maximize transaction value, benefiting both the business and the customer.”
“The need for a streamlined buying process for HVAC businesses has never been greater," said Adams Conrad of QED Investors. “Due to a slow-changing industry, few options allow homeowners to make better decisions for their homes, wallet and climate. Airship is bringing world-class software and fintech products to the home services space, helping alleviate the pressure businesses are experiencing from a changing climate, increasing regulation, more complex equipment and industry consolidation.”
Airship was founded by CEO Craig Battin and executive chairman Michael Sachse. Battin was formerly the Chief Growth Officer of Earnest, a consumer lending and technology company, that Battin led to over $200 million in annual revenue. Sachse was previously the CEO of Dandelion Energy, a home geothermal company. Prior to that, Sachse was the chief marketing officer at Opower, one of the early cleantech successes.
The company was backed with over $4 million from a syndicate that included QED, Silence, Lorimer Ventures, Four Acres Capital and Twine Ventures. The company is working with multiple development partners, and expects to deploy its product in the coming months.
For more information visit www.airship.us
About Airship
Airship is point of sale software for HVAC businesses. Every HVAC company is focused on getting more calls, but there is an enormous opportunity to get the most out of the calls you already have. Airship does this by plugging into your existing field service management system, creating lead scores and expected values; incorporating OEM, state, and local incentives; facilitating the collection of data on the home; providing state of the art manager dashboards to ensure that no dollar is left on the table. Founded by cleantech and fintech veterans, Airship is modernizing sales in the home services space.
About QED Investors
QED Investors is a global leading venture capital firm based in Alexandria, Va. Founded by Nigel Morris and Frank Rotman in 2007, QED Investors is focused on investing in disruptive financial services companies worldwide. QED Investors is dedicated to building great businesses and uses a unique, hands-on approach that leverages its partners’ decades of entrepreneurial and operational experience, helping companies achieve breakthrough growth. Notable investments include AvidXchange, Betterfly, Bitso, Caribou, ClearScore, Creditas, Credit Karma, Current, Flywire, Kavak, Klarna, Konfio, Loft, Mission Lane, Nubank, QuintoAndar, Remitly, SoFi, Wagestream and Wayflyer.
