Investing in Proptly

Accelerated by the EU’s Fit for 55 (FF55) and RePowerEU targets, renovating the EU building stock is a staggering €900 billion market opportunity. A €900 billion opportunity that is held back by a European craft industry still stuck in digital ice age. The majority of players are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that participate in real estate and construction projects as subcontractors. The complexity stemming from the multitude of different actors involved in any given project is, more often than not, still managed using traditional methods such as pen and paper.

Proptly is designed to shift these industry dynamics, by providing a digital platform that streamlines how businesses work with contractors. It offers a centralized hub for businesses to manage all their orders, delegate tasks based on multiple data metrics, and communicate seamlessly with their contractors. As a result, operations become faster more efficient and cost-effective.

Here are some reasons why we believe Proptly is going to successfully retire pen and paper:

Early Adopters at the Doorstep

‍The Norwegian craft industry is less granularly organized than for example its German counterpart, thanks to central purchasing associations and franchise structures. Furthermore, Norway boasts a relatively high level of digitalization compared to other European countries which makes it the ideal testbed for proptly.

Early Expansion

‍The German craft industry presents a large scaling market for Proptly, with an addressable market value of approximately €668 billion and around one million businesses. In addition to the traditional construction and real estate sectors, digital "general contractors" involved in projects such as solar panel installations, charging stations, or other hardware solutions represent a rapidly growing niche that heavily relies on subcontractors. With its sights set on the German market and the potential for expansion into niche sectors, Proptly is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for digital solutions in the craft business ecosystem.

Customer Centricity

‍Proptly not only provides robust tools such as omni-channel communication, CRM and project management, route optimization, and invoicing but also leverages data science to offer operational analysis. It identifies the factors slowing down operations and evaluates contractor performance based on data-driven metrics. This allows businesses to enhance delivery times, improve contractor reliability, and reduce operational costs by mitigating inefficiencies.

The Freemium

‍Proptly's business model is heavily tailored to its subcontractor target audience. As many SMEs tend to be more skeptical of subscription models and long contracts, Proptly follows a freemium strategy: Craftsmen can use the solution for free until an order is placed or the project starts. For each estimated or required project day, subcontractors then pay a small fee. Additionally, Proptly plans to monetize on the side of general contractors through a Software as a Service license fee for premium functionalities.

Data Savy Team

‍Developed by a team including former data science professionals, Proptly also features an integrated data platform, providing critical business insights with ease. This platform serves as a diagnostic tool for collaboration dynamics between businesses and their contractors, particularly within the real estate industry. By analyzing existing patterns and processes, it identifies potential bottlenecks and areas causing delays. Proptly's platform not only provides data-driven insights but also suggests practical solutions to enhance the efficiency of these collaborations.

At Styx Urban Investments, we are excited about Proptly's approach and its potential to shape the crafts industry. Our investment in Proptly reflects our belief in the teams ability to take people along for the change, create efficiencies, and unlock new growth opportunities. We are excited to drive the mission of Proptly alongside the teams of PropTech1 and Startuplab.