Tapa

Tapa is redefining “smart” building management.

It’s created a centralized technology platform to help its customers manage building controls systems and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

In doing so, Tapa’s platform boosts the efficiency of commercial buildings. It also helps create a safe and healthy space so occupants can feel comfortable returning to work.

Simply put, Tapa provides central control for building systems, similar to how Amazon Alexa or Google Home works for residences.

“Smart” building management is a huge market, projected to reach $60 billion by 2025.

The problem is that many commercial property owners still use dozens of disconnected solutions and outdated technology to manage and monitor their building’s energy, controls, performance, and safety systems.

This inefficient set of operations is a costly challenge for building owners and managers who are under pressure to reduce expenses and power usage. They must also meet expectations of occupants to create a modern, safe, healthy space to live and work.

80% of buildings have multiple systems for management, automation, and security that can’t communicate with each other. These buildings are ill-equipped to handle post-Covid-19 safety requirements.

Building occupants are demanding safer building conditions and direct control of their environment. Specifically, they want touch-free controls, better air quality, and enhanced cleaning processes.

Tapa meets the needs of building owners and occupants. It enables owners to lower costs and unlock new revenue opportunities, and enables occupants to have direct control over their experience.

For its customers, which include commercial real estate owners, infrastructure service providers, and technology integrators, the process involves three simple steps:

First, Tapa’s Edge Server is installed and connected to a building’s existing communication systems.

Second, Tapa searches the building’s systems for controls, sensors, endpoints, and other IoT devices.

Third, once registered, the building’s owner and occupants gain access and control to dashboards and devices that have been assigned to them.

Once up and running, owners receive:

• Sensor infrastructure monitoring.

• Control systems management.

• Real-time intelligence and analytics.

• Energy and performance efficiencies.

• Security management.

• Emergency response integration.

• And improved tenant experiences.

In addition, Tapa gathers actionable intelligence through building operations and occupant interactions. This allows for machine learning and Artificial Intelligence-driven IoT technologies to enable a smarter building.

This comprehensive system outperforms the competition. That’s because existing solutions only address part of the current market demand.

Tapa has multiple revenue streams, including setup and configuration, managed services, licensing, service consumption, and data analytics. 90% of its revenues come via monthly recurring services.

Tapa was developed in 2019 by “smart” systems integrators at Smart Buildings Technologies, a company providing technologies and solutions in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. That same year, it completed three proofs-of-concept: District Center 555 and Edlavitch Jewish Community Center in Washington D.C., and the Four Seasons Senior Living facility in Leesburg, Virginia.

In March 2020, Tapa was spun out as an independent company. And in May, it secured an agreement with BrainBox AI to integrate its intelligence energy savings solution.

In July 2020, the company secured an agreement with Lynxspring, an automation business to integrate Tapa into its industry-leading solutions. That same month, it introduced the first version of its Healthy Building tenant application, and secured a Letter of Intent with Alps Control, an HVAC parts company, as the leading distribution channel to multiple markets.

Tapa is raising capital to go to market and build out its solution sets. It will also improve its newest features:

• A multi-customer monitoring platform, designed to enable building owners to configure alarms and receive alerts when building systems operate outside of normal parameters (e.g., temperature, energy, air quality).

• A tenant application which expands tenant control with hands-free access to doors and elevators.

Team Background

Paul Meng - Co-Founder

Paul has spent more than three decades innovating the building automation industry. He's held numerous senior leadership roles and spent time developing state-of-the-art “smart” building solutions.

In addition to his role with Tapa, he is a co-founder of Smart Building Technologies. Paul attended Meramec College in St. Louis and the University of Maryland University College.

Harry Smeenk - EVP, Business Development

Harry has 30 years of telecommunications experience.

He began his career working for Nortel, a telecommunications company, serving in various leadership roles including marketing and sales, professional services, and training and knowledge.

From there, he spent eight years as a business development executive with HgS Results, a business consulting company. He then became Vice President of Sales for EmFinders, a sales division of a larger healthcare company.

More recently, Harry was Senior Vice President of Technology and Programs with the Telecommunications Industry Association. In this role, he spearheaded best practices and development standards in “smart” buildings and cities.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Saint John Fisher College and an MBA from the University of North Carolina.

Ben Steinberg - President

Ben is a seasoned IT executive with more than 25 years of experience managing IT strategy for Fortune 500 companies. He is an expert at building and scaling large multi-tenant software-as-a-service-based systems.

Ben earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Software Engineering from Radford University and an MBA from George Mason University.

Mike Schmitz - Co-Founder

Mike has more than 30 years of leadership and ownership experience with multiple types of building controls. He has specialized in operations and advanced technical problem solving, and is a sought-after industry thought leader in the building automation industry.

In addition to his role with Tapa, Mike is a co-founder of Smart Buildings Technologies.

He graduated from Towson University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and served in the U.S. Army.

Co-Investors