Bloomington startup wins pitch competition
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — A Bloomington-based startup that wants to streamline the process for real estate developers to source construction materials has won the 2022 Crossroads Collegiate Pitch Competition. Business and entrepreneurship incubator The Mill says Andrew McMaster, co-founder and chief executive officer of Finniva, took home a $2,500 investment from the Flywheel Fund.
Finniva is building a streamlined marketplace for large multi-family and commercial real estate developers to source materials directly from the supplier. Finniva helps developers efficiently locate the best materials for each project’s specifications, which McMaster says keeps the work on time and on budget.
“We believe in rethinking how things are done and aim to revitalize the way developers source direct materials for good. I couldn’t be more proud of the work we’ve done,” said McMaster
McMaster is a student at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington. He founded the company with Kelley grad Michael Wayne, who is also CEO of Detroit Riverside Capital, a real estate investment firm with focus on constructing mixed-use communities.
They’re working with developers to build the platform and populate it with suppliers. They are currently focused on doors, but plan to expand to other products. Finniva expects to launch in January 2023.
Crossroads Collegiate Pitch Competition was open to any student currently enrolled at any Indiana university or college with a startup based in Indiana.
The Mill runs Flywheel Fund which is a member-managed capital fund for early-stage and high potential startups based in Indiana.