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HqO CEO Chase Garbarino
A Boston-based startup that’s developed a tenant services mobile app for some of the region’s largest commercial landlords is set to double its workforce after receiving $6.6 million in venture funding.
HqO – which is short for Headquarters Optimized – will use the proceeds to hire up to 25 new employees as it lines up new clients beyond Boston, CEO Chase Garbarino said. The Leather District firm’s current clients include DivcoWest, which recently launched the app at 955 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, along with Innovation and Design Building owner Jamestown, National Development, Boylston Properties and Bulfinch Cos.
Its mobile app enables property owners and tenants to post event notifications and transportation alerts, and can be incorporated into security systems to provide building access.
HqO is scheduled to expand this fall to properties in Washington, D.C. and New York, followed by West Coast properties by early 2019, Garbarino said.
Accomplice led the round of funding with participation by JLL Spark, Navitas Capital, DivcoWest, Pritzer Group Venture Capital and Goodwin Gaw.
“HqO is aggregating and unlocking a treasure trove of anonymized data that will serve as both a revenue enhancement platform for properties and a new window into tenant activity level,” Travis Putnam, partner at Navitas Capital, said in a statement. “By giving landlords a better understanding of client demographics, tenant interests, onsite retail patterns, and overall occupancy trends, they can make more informed decisions and ultimately increase NOI with insights from a single proptech platform.”
HqO is nearing capacity in its current offices at 125 Lincoln St., Garbarino said, and expects to start looking for a new headquarters by the end of the year.
