New Brunswick’s Rise Releases Pre-beta Platform
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick startup Rise has finally raised its roof.
Rise is an online platform that connects homeowners, home improvement professionals and retailers/merchants through meaningful spaces and smart products. This week, the pre-beta version of that platform became available for people to use.
“What we’re hoping to get is Atlantic Canada’s pulse on what we’ve built so far and what we’ve been building out is a virtually interactive lookbook,” says Rise founder and CEO Matt Daigle. “We’re showing them really nice pictures of homes inside and out and we’re kind of enriching that experience by showing how those spaces came together with the best products and the best techniques.”
The homes featured in the lookbook are all of projects from Rise’s early adopters and home improvement professionals who are mostly from across North America. For instance, the user can hover over a wall of the room, then the information about the products/services that went into that wall will be revealed. The platform will also offer resources for how homeowners can save on green renovations.
“A big thing Rise does is show people that it can be more attainable than people think. People tend to think that sustainable homes are associated with a higher price and we’re here to show people otherwise and to also expose rebates and incentives that are available for home owners to start to implement some of these practices,” Daigle says. “We’ve actually gathered all the rebates and incentives from across Canada, so depending on each region you’re in, you’re able to identify how you save by building this way. “
After getting feedback from the pre-beta testing, Rise plans to release its full-beta platform in November, which will include some additional features.
“We’re planning a fairly big campaign splash at that point. Because at that point we’re really looking to go across North America,” Daigle says. “So we have a few things in the works, but primarily one large campaign where we’ve actually gathered several partners from across North America.”
With the company recently closing its first funding round and growing to three full-time employees with plans to hire another by the end of the month, Daigle say he’s excited to see an idea he came up with a few years ago get to this point.
“There’s a lot that goes into building a company and there’s lots of hurtles and challenges. You discover a lot about yourself and about what it takes to build a company along the way,” he says. “It’s been a couple of years in the making now, it’s been about a year that I’ve been at it full-time. So right now we’re at a point where we’re really starting to pick up steam … We’re really excited. All the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes is now coming to fruition and we’re excited for what’s to come.”