The Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator is in its third year with 10 startups from Alabama, other states and even other countries. Alabama NewsCenter is putting a spotlight on all the companies in the 2022 class.

In this Startup Spotlight, we look at Idyllo.

Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator 2022: Idyllo from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Company: Idyllo

Company hometown: Washington, D.C.

Leadership: Jessica Majno, founder and CEO

Alabama NewsCenter: What is your company’s overall focus and mission?

Majno: Idyllo is building a home improvement marketplace. Our goal is to make it easy for people to find the best products and professionals for their home.

ANC: What inspired you to start this company? How do you want to contribute to the future of energy and tech?

Jessica Majno is founder and CEO of Idyllo. (contributed)

Majno: Our mission is to make homes better for people and the environment. There are 140 million housing units in the U.S. accounting for 20% of energy-related GHG emissions. Two thirds of those homes – 90 million – are owned and managed by individual households. How we take care of our homes has huge consequences for the future of our communities, our economy and our planet, and every household has a role to play. Our whole mission is to make it easier for people to act, find great partners when they need help and make great choices for their homes. In doing so, we’re building an engine to accelerate the uptake of cleantech across residential real estate.

I spent the past decade working with governments and corporations all over the world on new market development and innovation. I’m passionate about reimagining markets to make them work better for more people, and the role that technology and business model innovation can play in that. I also grew up in a family of architects and engineers, so home improvement has always been in my DNA. The initial catalyst for Idyllo was my experience as a homeowner that helped me realize the market opportunity, but ultimately I’ve stuck with it because the business sits at the intersection of so many things I care about.

ANC: What attracted you to the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator?

Majno: I previously started and ran a consulting firm and was a mentor to the program last year, so I got to witness it firsthand. What really sold me was the leadership and quality of the programming. I’ve worked with a few accelerators in the past and Nate (Schmidt), Brooke (Gillis) and the team are truly excellent at what they do. The relationship with Alabama Power and energy and climate tech focus were also huge draws. As a consumer business, reaching the right households with the right offerings, earning their trust and getting deep into communities is really important, and we knew that Alabama Power could be a great ally in that. Birmingham is also a fantastic place for us to be – it’s a real estate market that has seen an influx of growth and investment over the past years, which is our sweet spot.

ANC: What is the No. 1 thing you would like potential investors to understand about your company?

Majno: Americans spend $750 billion per year on home improvement products and services, and they are frustrated with their existing marketplace options. From our customer discovery and prototyping, 90% of consumers and 75% of vendors say they are interested in trying our product. The market is ripe for a new incumbent and we have an experienced team that can execute.

ANC: What takeaways do you hope to gain for your company by participating in the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator?

Majno: Our goal for Techstars is to get into market and refine our business model for replication and scale. We’re already benefiting from the Techstars team’s expertise and Alabama Power community’s help to achieve that.

ANC: What is your opinion of Birmingham so far?

Majno: Love it. I came to the city for the first time for Techstars and I’ve been really impressed – it’s accessible, has great nearby hiking and rivers to explore, a great food scene, all of which are really important to me. It’s also been awesome to dive right into the startup and cleantech community here. It’s clear the investments Alabama Power and the city are making in cultivating that community are paying off. There’s a lot of pride in the place and optimism about the future that is exciting to be a part of.

You can find Idyllo online at idyllo.com at LinkedIn and Instagram.

Alabama NewsCenter is highlighting the 2022 Class of startups participating in the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator. Learn more about Techstars here.