BILT Inc., which makes a 3D interactive app to help folks to assemble things on their own at home, today announced its latest capital infusion: a $9 million dollar investment from Silverton Partners.
Grapevine-based BILT, which saw increased demand last year during the lockdowns, created a smartphone app that uses interactive 3D animated images, voice, and text to replace paper and video instructions for TV stands, swing sets, flooring, and more.
The future of instructions
The company sees its easy instructions as the future of instructions: BILT plans to use the fresh capital to further innovate the user experience and increase sales.
“BILT has created a technology the world desperately needs. I can’t imagine in five years, we’ll still be dealing with paper instructions,” Silverton Managing Partner Morgan Flager said in a statement. “BILT has created a better way and we’re going to help them scale.”
Turning consumers into brand champions
BILT says it partnered with Silverton for its “stellar reputation, their track record of picking winners, and their desire to help us grow the world’s greatest customer experience platform,” according to BILT Chairman and CEO Nate Henderson. The company wants to provide an experience “so enabling and empowering that it turns consumers into promoters of the brands they serve.”
Fast-growing BILT, which has generated triple-digit growth each of the last three years, made the Inc 500 list in 2020 and claims millions of users in over 200 countries.
BILT 3D-guided assembly instructions
The company provides animated 3D Intelligent Instructions for thousands of products including Weber grills, Delta faucets, NordicTrack fitness equipment, Springfree trampolines, Genie garage door openers, Coleman Powersports, and Home Depot private label products.
The aim? To reduce assembly time, product returns, calls to customer support, errors, and maybe most of all — user frustration.
Closer to home, BILT works with brand partners in North Texas such as Solo Stove in Southlake and KidKraft in Farmers Branch.
It’s part of loving their customers and valuing their time, KidKraft says in a Facebook post.
Pros use the app, too
The app is also a boon to professional installers—and the folks that hire them.
“Have you ever hired a technician only to have them spend half the service call on the phone?” BILT notes on social media. “You’re paying for that. Next time be sure they’re using BILT.”
BILT instruction enables Air Force maintenance
In March, BILT won a SBIR phase 1 contract to help improve Air Force maintenance and training. The company’s instructions on the BILT mobile app support assembly, installation, set up, repair, and programming for thousands of commercial products. BILT says it can reduce project completion time and errors: It’s a solution that increases mission readiness worldwide.
Earlier this month, CEO Henderson told the DBJ the company raised $4 million to back its expansion plans.
This story was updated with additional detail on July 30, 2021 at 8:50 am.
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