Veev is a building technology company focused on developing single-family homes. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Veev co-founder and chief revenue officer Dafna Akiva to learn more.
Dafna Akiva’s Background
Akiva is more than a 15-year veteran in the real estate investment, development, management, and construction industries.
“Before Veev, I served in the Israeli public sector, taking on legal leadership roles in the Israeli Parliament and the Justice Department. I worked on public policy, international law, constitutional law, legal research, criminal law legislation, and more across multiple industries,” said Akiva. “When we launched Veev, I oversaw day-to-day operations, driving several company-scaling initiatives as Chief Operating Officer. The goal was to enhance our operating systems, processes, and procedures to improve the home experience and enterprise efficiency. As Chief Revenue Officer today, I lead the development of new Veev projects that redefine customers’ living experiences and drive revenue growth for the company. My priority is to oversee all operational strategies, real estate development, relationship with municipalities and government, user experience, and account management – throughout sales, marketing, legal, and HR.”
Formation Of Veev
How did the idea for Veev come together? Akiva replied:
“The homebuilding industry is notorious for being slow to change and lacking innovation. The U.S. has been experiencing a housing shortage since 2008 and a deficit of 6.5 million homes. When we launched Veev, my co-founders (Amit Haller and Ami Avrahami) and I focused on real estate, buying, remodeling, building, and selling homes. However, we always viewed homes as a product, and we soon experienced the pain points of the industry and realized that, at a foundational level, major innovation was needed to address the crisis.”
“With Veev, we set out with a radical goal: build homes as the ultimate consumer product in a way that brings exceptional living to all. To do that, we needed to develop a system and process that not only helps to address the housing shortage but does so more sustainably and doesn’t sacrifice the consumer experience. We had to reinvent the way homes are built entirely.”
“The home is often the single largest, most important purchase people make in their lifetime, yet we’re essentially building them the same way we have for the past 100 years. As technology has wholly transformed today’s consumer products, it has yet to penetrate and reimagine the approach to building a home, let alone the living experience. We’re adamant that it has to change. Whether it’s a phone, car, laptop, or your home, it doesn’t have to be built based on what has always worked, it should be built to the standards and expectations of today and the future.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for Veev so far? Akiva reflected:
“Every day at Veev is creating a new favorite memory for me. With the amazing Veev team, we have many magical moments. One of my favorite things is seeing a customer’s delighted reaction when they walk into a Veev home for the first time. The feeling they get when they experience the space with our quality materials and design is incredible.”
Challenges Faced
What are some of the challenges you face in building the company? Akiva acknowledged:
“Our mission is to solve a “hard world” problem that will take decades of persistence and commitment to address adequately. The construction industry is largely entrenched in the status quo of the past hundreds of years, and breaking that mold at scale is a capital-intensive undertaking.”
“With that said, we’ve already partnered with major developers and builders that are accelerating the pace with which we can build homes in our system. As we continue to scale and expand into new markets, we expect our visibility and momentum to increase similarly.”
“No one company can solve the housing crisis – the industry as a whole needs to come together to drive innovation and tech-forward approaches to building. This is the only way to address the 6.5 million (and growing) home deficit. It’s a significant opportunity for all of us, but also one of the most complex and challenging issues facing the world. It’s not something we can tackle on our own, but our approach has major potential to make significant progress in speed, efficiency, sustainability, and quality. We understand this and welcome companies into the space that share a similar drive to offer solutions.”
Core Products
What are Veev’s core products and features? Akiva explained:
“Veev is currently focused on the single-family home market. We believe this is where we can make the largest impact, given the magnitude of the shortage. We’ve pioneered a revolutionary process that begins at our manufacturing facility we call the ‘Digital Fab.’ There, we streamline the homebuilding process with our closed wall system. Unlike traditional construction, which often consists of multiple stakeholders, Veev controls the entirety of the process, from design, material selection, mechanical/electrical/plumbing/fire (MEPF), and digital home technology, through to final assembly and installation of the complete home. We also side-step over-reliance on strained supply chains by building homes with just two primary materials – steel and high-performance surface (HPS). The real star is HPS – a truly limitless material. 100% recyclable, we can print and texture nearly any surface (granite, woodgrain, brick, stone, etc.), yet it still maintains its durability. It’s also fire, moisture, mold, and pest resistant. Homes are also outfitted with our operating system, the Veev Digital Home. It is an interface between homeowners and their homes, providing unparalleled control, accessible from integrated control panels in every room and via a smartphone app. With Veev Digital Home, consumers can adjust the lighting, temperature, fans, etc., at the touch of a button.”
Evolution Of Veev’s Technology
How has Veev’s technology evolved since launching? Akiva replied:
“When we first started Veev, we were buying, remodeling, and selling homes, but eventually transitioned to fix the root of it all: reinventing the actual build of the home. We wanted to find a way to quality control every aspect, focusing on a tech-first approach that could improve speed, material selection, technology, and experience – we wanted to flip the process upside down.”
“Today, while our Veev System continues to evolve, it’s anchored by our proprietary closed wall system approach to producing fully clad walls, complete with mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire (MEPF) at our Digital Fab facility. The pre-inspected walls are delivered to the site ready for installation using our cutting-edge plug & play system.”
“With the latest launch of our Single Family Home product, we’re solving five key issues endemic to the home-building industry:
– Efficiency: Each single-family home can be built in 30 days, complete with full panelized build, installation, and a digital home backbone. Veev’s approach is up to 8x more efficient when compared to traditional construction.
– Quality: The homes offer cutting-edge materials and features like high-performance surfaces and European windows, and LED lighting throughout
– Sustainability: Veev’s system is designed for the well-being and the environment; the building process produces 50% less CO2e compared to traditional methods
– Adaptability: No cookie cutters; Veev can accommodate any home design and aesthetic
– Cost Competitive: All these features are included with no premium in cost, as the homes are priced at parity with the market
Together, these benefits comprise a holistic approach to homebuilding that prioritizes the consumer while addressing key issues that traditional builders still need to solve.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of Veev’s most significant milestones? “While we’ve been in business since 2008, the Veev you know today manifested in this shift to reimagine the ultimate consumer product in 2017. Since then, we’ve raised over $597 million, are backed by Bond, LenX, Zeev Ventures, Fifth Wall, Brookfield Development, and more, and achieved unicorn status in 2022,” Akiva reflected. “We also just announced our latest Single-Family Home product in mid-May, making Veev the first to offer a truly comprehensive homebuilding solution to the efficiency, labor, and sustainability challenges affecting our industry. In concert with this expansion, we recently opened our new headquarters. The new facility includes the company’s Digital Fab, engineering center, and production facility, and it is projected to build up to 500 homes per year. Having fine-tuned the process for building single-family homes at scale, our focus moving forward is on expanding and delivering homes with our partners.”
Funding
Veev has raised $597 million to date, and its investors include Bond, LenX, Zeev Ventures, Fifth Wall, among others. We generate revenue by building and selling our homes to developers.
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is Veev pursuing? “The overall residential construction industry is roughly $590 billion, per Mordor Intelligence,” Akiva assessed.
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Veev from its competition? “We invented a vertically-integrated, closed wall building approach, which allows developers to fully customize homes to fit their specific needs/requirements for projects at a lower cost than what they would find with similar tailoring in traditional construction. We are also faster and more sustainable than our competitors,” Akiva noted. “Our homes can be made in as little as a month compared to months or even years, and with sustainable practices and materials. Through all of this, we are pioneering the next wave of home design, development, and service – leveraging cutting-edge technology, process, and materials to build houses that last. In short, there aren’t any other companies out there that can provide this comprehensive homebuilding solution while remaining cost competitive.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of Veev’s future company goals? “Our constant goal is to bring exceptional living to all. We aim to provide the most holistic home experience possible, so we can help build communities and tackle the housing crisis,” Akiva concluded. “We believe everyone should have the chance to live in an exceptional home and are constantly working to optimize efficiency, costs, and sustainability without making concessions on experience. As we build homes at a speed and quality above the industry standard, we believe that we won’t only help address the national housing shortage, but also define a new standard of living.”
