Home Design Startup DEN raises $3M to Launch Innovative New Home Building Platform BuiltBy DEN

With seed funding co-led by Gutter Capital and Crossbeam Venture Partners, the company launches its full-service homebuilding platform

HUDSON VALLEY, N.Y., Feb. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DEN Outdoors (DEN), the home design and construction management company, today announced the close of its seed funding round, raising a total of $3 million. Co-led by Gutter Capital and Crossbeam Venture Partners, the financing allows DEN to continue innovating across the home design and construction industries and roll out its latest expansion, BuiltBy DEN.

Since its founding in 2020, DEN has featured a curated collection of high-quality, design-minded modern cabin plans, helping aspiring homeowners build beautiful homes close to nature for far less than the cost of a traditional firm.

BuiltBy DEN takes the DEN offering one step further and provides homebuyers with a streamlined construction experience featuring curated designs, land selection, customizations, builders, and end-to-end project management — all in one platform for the customer to see updates in real-time. Buying and building a new home will be just as easy as purchasing a car with this latest offering, as each customer will have access to a DEN representative who will facilitate all major stages of the homebuilding process for the future homeowner, ensuring ease, transparency, and quality throughout.

"Sharing the DEN designs with the world has been so fulfilling, watching customers all over the globe bring these beautiful, modern cabins to life. And yet so many more potential customers are stuck, without the time, energy, or knowledge to manage a home build. I get it — I went through the process myself and it's extremely overwhelming and outdated. I'm really excited to merge the world of tech and homebuilding to create a seamless home buying experience that no one has seen before — one that results in customers unlocking a delightfully crafted, modern home that's their own personal retreat."

Founded by CEO Mike Romanowicz at the start of the pandemic, DEN has seen explosive organic revenue and community growth with an energetic following of over 120,000 individuals at @denoutdoors.

"Conventional wisdom says that custom housing takes twice as long and costs twice as much, Mike and his team at DEN have proven this is not true," said Dan Teran, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Gutter Capital. "We have had the privilege of watching this team execute over the past year, and we believe that DEN has an opportunity to meaningfully accelerate the pace of housing development at a time of crisis." Prior to founding Gutter Capital, Teran was the Co-Founder and CEO of Managed by Q (acquired: $WE), and Global Head of Corporate Development and Ventures at WeWork. Teran has joined the DEN Board of Directors.

"We believe DEN is revolutionizing the consumer homebuilding space including simplifying the now click-to-buy experience to be as stress-free as possible for customers," said Ryan Morgan, Managing Director at Crossbeam. "With extensive employee knowledge across nearly all sectors of design, homebuying, and construction, the team is well-positioned to continue to grow the business at scale."

BuiltBy DEN will initially be offered in the Hudson Valley and Catskills region of upstate New York, with expansion markets to quickly follow across the US.

About DEN Outdoors
DEN was founded in July 2020 as a home design and construction management company dedicated to inspiring people everywhere to take the leap and build a premium, modern home nestled in nature. Today, we serve a diverse global community of dreamers, DIYers, and doers who are as enthusiastic as we are about bringing the outdoors in. Based in upstate New York with a distributed team across the United States, DEN is committed to an intentional balance of premium design, sustainable living, and a connection to the natural world. For more information, visit: https://denoutdoors.com/

About Gutter Capital
Gutter Capital is a hard working venture firm based in New York City. Gutter partners with mission driven founders to build companies of consequence, addressing the greatest challenges facing society – namely affordability, economic mobility, and climate change. For more information, visit https://gutter.cc/.

About Crossbeam Venture Partners
Crossbeam Venture Partners (Crossbeam) is a venture capital firm that invests in Pre-Seed and Series A startups building tomorrow's economy. Focused on the themes of platform economies, fintech, new forms of media, and alternative sources of income, Crossbeam is built to back companies of the next generation economy utilizing unique structures, credit, or novel business models. For more information, visit https://crossbeam.vc

Media contact: 
Emma Thomas
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SOURCE DEN Outdoors