Elemental Foundry co-founders John Pollard and Shree Madhavapeddi.
Elemental Foundry co-founders John Pollard and Shree Madhavapeddi.

It’s been quite a month for Porch. The Seattle-based home-improvement data startup just last week released its mobile app, and two days later CEO Matt Ehrlichman was named USA Today’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

That’s not all, though. Today the company announced its second acqui-hire in four months and will bring on the team behind Seattle startup Elemental Foundry.

Former Microsoft veterans John Pollard, Shree Madhavapeddi, and Ramesh Vyaghrapuri founded Elemental Foundry in March 2013 and had raised $1 million from Seattle super angel Rudy Gadre. This past January, the startup launched Sprio, its first app that was designed to help sports teams — from kick-and-chase soccer leagues to Division-I college squads — effectively communicate, coordinate and share content easily.

Porch launched its mobile app last week. Image via Porch.
Porch launched its mobile app last week. Image via Porch.

But soon after that, the execs at Porch were introduced to Elemental Foundry by an investor who backed both companies. Ehrlichman, Porch’s CEO, was impressed with the Elemental Foundry team and wanted to bring them to Porch.

“We just launched our mobile app, and to be able to pull seven individuals from an already-functioning team and have them accelerate our mobile efforts, it made a great deal of sense for us,” Ehrlichman told GeekWire today.

The Elemental Foundry team certainly brings a wealth of mobile experience to Porch. Pollard and Madhavapeddi also founded mobile service Jott in April 2006 and later sold it to Nuance Communications in 2009. Vyaghrapuri, meanwhile, was Facebook’s first-ever hire in Seattle and rewrote the social network’s chat engine. Vyaghrapuri also worked on Microsoft Messenger with Madhavapeddi at Microsoft.

Sprio
Sprio was designed to help sports teams — from kick-and-chase soccer leagues to Division-I college squads — effectively communicate, coordinate and share content easily.

Ehrlichman called the acqui-hire “a really big win for Porch,” particularly as the company puts more resources and attention toward its mobile app, which Ehrlichman described as an “Uber for home maintenance.”

“To bring a team like this that can focus on mobile exclusively and accelerate all the things we plan on doing is exciting,” he said. “It’s all about the team.”

Elemental Foundry, meanwhile, will continue to support its customers through this sports season and over the next several months. But Pollard said that “moving forward, 100 percent of our focus will be on helping Porch.”

“We are very excited to join the team and dive into the opportunity we have to help grow the home network, in particular mobile innovations like the Porch app,” Pollard said. “It is going to be a blast.”

Terms of the Elemental Foundry acquisition were not disclosed.

In September, Porch made its first acqui-hire when it swooped up another Seattle startup in ValueAppeal, which had developed a new service designed to help real estate professionals develop leads through predictive intelligence.

Porch CEO Matt Ehrlichman.
Porch CEO Matt Ehrlichman.

Porch — which faces competition from sites including Pro.com, Houzz, and Zillow Digs — has raised $33 million to date, including a $27.6 million Series A funding round led by the Lowe’s home-improvement chain. Porch earlier this year announced a partnership with Lowe’s in which store employees use Porch to help customers find contractors and remodelers.

The company has amassed data about millions home improvement projects across the country, allowing homeowners to see details about projects in their neighborhoods, and connect with remodelers and contractors. Porch offers its service for free to homeowners, charging professionals for market insights and promotional exposure in specific geographies.

The company, based in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood, says it now employs more than 300 people, up from 30 in September 2013.

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