Rise is an education-first e-commerce marketplace that not only focuses on accessibility and availability for sustainable or high-performance building products but generates awareness and provides education, ensuring that customers can make more informed decisions based on unbiased data.
Tell us about yourself?
I’ve always had an obsessive curiosity about the footprint of how we build and renovate. I’m an ex-Radian6’er (acquired by Salesforce.com in 2011) with 10+ years in Tech, a Product Management background, an MBA in Entrepreneurship, and I won Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec in 2009.
While I’ve always loved renovations, it was the birth of my first child and the challenges I faced in my home renovations, along with a desire to build a social impact company, that led to the creation of Rise.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
There is a lesson to be learned in every obstacle or challenge that presents itself. Trust your gut and stay the course.
What problem does your business solve?
Many have looked at the “green” home improvement movement as the industry’s future – a market segment that has skyrocketed in popularity since the early 2010s and is expected to reach over $364 billion globally by 2023. For the most part, the growth will be there. But this shift struggles to communicate the benefits and how we communicate our desire for homes that are just better in every way.
As an online home improvement store, our mission is to inspire, empower, and educate homeowners and home professionals to make better, more sustainable home choices, whether building new or renovating. Rise makes vetted sustainable home improvement easier and more accessible, delivering products right to the door or job site.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
Rise is inspiring and empowering homeowners and home professionals to make better, more sustainable home choices. By shopping at Rise, we take the pressure off of consumers. We’ve done the research and vetted the manufacturers so that you can feel good about any product you find on Rise.
What is your magic sauce?
We provide education and access to innovative residential home-building products that are often hard to source, further driving the adoption of efficient and healthy homes. Our recently launched e-commerce store has thousands of innovative product SKUs, with more arriving daily. Our model makes it simple to onboard vetted products with no listing fees (standard with larger home improvement retailers). Outside of product selection, our primary focus is on educationally focused service, making it convenient for brands to reach an educated audience and improving the overall customer experience for consumers. In an online world with an increasing lack of quality and knowledgeable customer service, Rise intends to be the best in class.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
We’re developing plans for product distribution and warehousing of like-minded companies across North America and Europe. We aim to be able to provide product alternatives to existing verticals that may not have been available for sale in North America previously.
Our Go-to-Market strategy includes offering the web’s largest selection of innovative, high-performance, and sustainably focused residential building products that conform to our three main tenants: Health, Wealth, and Planet. Backing it up with class-leading web and toll-free support to our clients.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
Global supply chain issues have created various logistical and financial challenges. With an impending recession, it’s critical now, more than ever, to focus on creative solutions and exceptional customer experience.
How can people get involved?
If you’re planning a new build, renovation or just want to browse a great selection of innovative products, Rise vetted products that are good for your Health, your Wealth and the Planet, drop by www.shop.buildwithrise.ca. We look forward to seeing you soon!