/Companies

Foundation

YC S23

Boulder, US · Founded 2023 · 4 employees · 5 known investors

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Foundation builds a customer experience platform for home builders and construction companies, providing native mobile apps and integrated portals to manage buyer engagement alongside back-office systems like CRMs and ERPs.

Also known as Foundation Technology, Inc.

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S23)

Foundation was founded in 2023 by Luke Groesbeck and Derek Schairer.

LGLuke Groesbeck
Luke GroesbeckCo-founder & CEOHe has over 15 years of experience founding and scaling venture-backed startups in product and executive roles.
DSDerek Schairer
Derek SchairerCo-founder, CCOHe previously held the role of general manager of Opendoor's homebuilder business and worked at Lennar, bringing over 15 years of experience in the homebuilding industry.
AS
Arjun SethiFounder
ML
Mike LeBlancFounder
SP
Sankaet PathakFounder
GP
Graham PlaceFounderuntil 2025
BE
Blake Embrey

Investors · 5

The YC application· Summer 2023 batch

Alumni Q&A

How did your company get started? (i.e., How did the founders meet? How did you come up with the idea? How did you decide to be a founder?)
The founding team met at Opendoor: Derek and Luke worked together on the partnerships team, and Graham was among the first employees on Opendoor Mortgage. Homebuilders were Opendoor's first partner channel, and through those relationships the founders saw builder demand for digital products, which led them to start Foundation.
What is the core problem you are solving? Why is this a big problem? What made you decide to work on it?
The founders are addressing the fact that most of the homebuilding consumer experience remains offline, building a buyer experience platform to help builders sell more homes at higher margins. They note that the top 300 U.S. production builders sell over $250 billion in homes annually and spend more than $10 billion on technology, customer acquisition, and commissions.
What is your long-term vision? If you truly succeed, what will be different about the world?
The founders point to a U.S. housing shortfall of roughly 2 million to 6 million homes and aim to help builders run better businesses by moving homebuilding online. Their longer-term goal is for Foundation to become a digitally native platform for homeownership rather than a search portal.

Summarized from the founders' answers on their Y Combinator profile.

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Companies working in the same space as Foundation.

Legal entities · 1

corporate structure
Foundation Technology, Inc.

In the news

Frequently asked questions

What does Foundation do?
Foundation builds a customer experience platform for home builders and construction companies, providing native mobile apps and integrated portals to manage buyer engagement alongside back-office systems like CRMs and ERPs.
Who founded Foundation?
Foundation was founded by Luke Groesbeck, Derek Schairer in 2023.
Who are Foundation's investors?
Foundation's investors include Y Combinator, a16z crypto, Designer Fund, Fortified Ventures, Fulgur Ventures.
Where is Foundation headquartered?
Foundation is headquartered in Boulder, US.