Rotterdam-based real estate tech company Chainels is celebrating a decade of resilience and sustainable growth.
Starting as a student project in 2014, Chainels initially focused on building trust in the Dutch market before expanding internationally, prioritising long-term relationships.
Avoiding the 'hype' of quick funding, Chainels achieved organic growth through a 'land-and-expand' strategy.
Co-founders Erwin Buckers and Sander Verseput led the company from its beginnings to securing a Series-A investment from Aconterra and Capricorn Partners in January 2023.
’We critically evaluate how we can spend our resources to make the most impact. We don’t enter a market where we don’t see proven potential in tech adoption. We grow with a ‘land-and-expand’ strategy – start a pilot project with a new client, creating a good customer experience, and rolling out the software to their portfolio. We take it day by day, stay patient, make sure that our product responds to landlords and tenant needs, and that it improves every day.’ says Verseput.
’As Chainels started as a graduation project and developed at an incubator, we could focus on building a high-quality product, rather than hitting financial milestones – which is the pressure that many startups in our field experience. Looking back at those days now, I’m glad that we did not join the hype of raising capital fast, or we weren’t greedy towards international expansion,’’ adds Buckers.
Chainels is now a major player, with a 40-member team that provides a tenant experience platform to clients in 17 markets across Benelux, DACH, Italy, France, CEE, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Nordics.
Their platform prioritises ease of use for both tenants and property staff, aligning with real estate needs, striving to be the central platform for various PropTech solutions.
Chainels caters to a wide range of asset types like shopping malls, residential apartments, student accommodations, co-living buildings, inner cities and districts, office buildings, business parks, airports and train stations.
The customer portfolio includes commercial and residential real estate giants like Multi Corporation, SCC, G City, EPP, CBRE, Vienna Airport City, Amvest and BPD; as well as municipal communities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Malmö, and Gothenburg.
The platform is available in ten languages and seven more will be added in 2024.
Chainels' vision for the future includes expanding to new asset types, full neighbourhoods, and alignment with ESG standards.
