Software as a service
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is con ...
company that specializes in
enterprise asset management Enterprise asset management (EAM) involves the management of the maintenance of physical assets of an organization throughout each asset's lifecycle. EAM is used to plan, optimize, execute, and track the needed maintenance activities with the associ ...
technology for the circular economy. The company markets resource exchange technology to improve
asset recovery
Asset recovery, also known as investment or resource recovery, is the process of maximizing the value of unused or end-of-life assets through effective reuse or divestment. While sometimes referred to in the context of a company undergoing liqu ...
outcomes and internal reuse of physical assets within large organizations. Rheaply operates a
progressive web application
A progressive web application (PWA), commonly known as a progressive web app, is a type of application software delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WebAssembly. It is intended to work ...
for resource management in higher education, government, enterprise, biopharma, built environment and retail organizations. The company is located in Chicago, IL.
History
Early Beginnings
Rheaply was founded by
Garry Cooper
Garry Cooper is an English actor.
He was born in Hull, East Yorkshire, on 2 June 1955. Garry trained at Drama Centre, London and has worked extensively in film, television and theatre.
Filmography
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coope ...
, Peter Tucker and Tyler Skelton in Chicago in 2015. The company started out as a
peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer ...
, virtual marketplace for laboratory equipment and consumables within higher education, where postdoctoral and graduate researchers could share unneeded resources, message each other and connect with nearby departments and laboratories. The name is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordscircular economy principles and technology to bring better efficiencies to resource recovery and reuse within and across organizations.
Growth and Expansion
The company joined the startup accelerator Techstars and was named one of Built in Chicago's “50 Startups to Watch” in 2018. Rheaply was also part of the initial cohort for 1871’s Advanced Member Program.
In 2019, Rheaply was selected into the 2019 MIT Solve Circular class, an open innovation initiative of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
to solve world challenges. Rheaply was also part of the initial cohort for 1871’s Advanced Member Program. The company also earned the Leadership Award for Advancing the Circular Economy from the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council.
On March 18, 2020, Rheaply raised $2.5M in a seed round led by Hyde Park Angels, with participation from Concentric Equity Partners, M25, and Techstars Ventures. In April 2020, Rheaply launched its Emergency Resource Exchange (ERx) to address shortages in
personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, e ...
and medical supplies during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
On December 3, 2020, Rheaply was awarded a $1 million investment during a pitch event, Revolution's Rise of the Rest Virtual Tour: Equity Edition with Steve Case. The startups were chosen out of the more than 450 black startup founders who applied to participate in the competition.
On February 16, 2021, Rheaply announced an $8M Series A investment round led by High Alpha, with additional participation from 100 Black Angels & Allies Fund, Concrete Rose Capital, Hyde Park Angels, M25, MCJ Collective,
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
Multicultural Innovation Lab, the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, and
Salesforce Ventures
Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides customer relationship management (CRM) software and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, ...
.
In May of 2021, Rheaply was one of 15 companies selected by Goldman Sachs to participate in the 2021 ''Launch With GS'' Entrepreneur Cohort, which provides access and resources to U.S.-based Black and Latinx founders to “fast-track their companies’ growth and build relationships with investors and industry experts.”
On Dec 22, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Program invested in Rheaply to enhance building material recycling, and empower decarbonization efforts by reporting on estimated embodied carbon savings related to reuse.
In June of 2022, Rheaply announced a raise of $20M, led by Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. Additional investors included the John Doerr Family Trust,
Emerson Collective
Emerson Collective is a for-profit corporation focused on education, immigration reform, the environment, media and journalism, and health. Founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, this limited liability company (LLC) uses philanthropy, impact investing, ...
, and various other new and prior investors.
In recognition of his efforts building Rheaply, Cooper has earned numerous honors, including Crain’s Chicago’s “40 Under 40” list, the
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
“Next 1000” list, and the cover of
Entrepreneur magazine
''Entrepreneur'' is an American magazine and website that carries news stories about entrepreneurship, small business management, and business. The magazine was first published in 1977. It is published by ''Entrepreneur Media Inc''., headquarte ...
’s pandemic response edition.
Business Model and Partnerships
Rheaply has been used by numerous universities, including
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
, MIT,
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
,
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...
and the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
. Rheaply also services private enterprises such as
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
,
Exelon
Exelon Corporation is an American Fortune 100 energy company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and incorporated in Pennsylvania. It generates revenues of approximately $33.5 billion and employs approximately 33,400 people. Exelon is the largest ...
, and
AbbVie
AbbVie is an American publicly traded biopharmaceutical company founded in 2013. It originated as a spin-off of Abbott Laboratories.
History
On October 19, 2011, Abbott Laboratories announced its plan to separate into two publicly traded compani ...
. In addition to its private sector service offering, Rheaply partners with state and local governments looking to provide access to surplus and salvaged resources at cost-effective rates.
Rheaply offers a sliding subscription & freemium model, which allows users to post castoffs and browse for supplies, many free or at a steep discount. In 2022, Rheaply launched an
embodied carbon
One way of attributing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is to measure the embedded emissions of goods that are being consumed (also referred to as "embodied emissions", "embodied carbon emissions", or "embodied carbon"). This is different from the ...
avoidance tool to enable companies to better understand the environmental impacts of resource exchange.
In May 2020, Rheaply partnered with the City of Chicago to launch the Chicago PPE Market, designed to help small businesses and nonprofits obtain protective equipment for their employees.
In late-November of 2020, Rheaply joined the
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur (born 8 July 1976) is a retired English sailor, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in Cowes, Isle of Wight.
MacArthur is a successful solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005, ...
member network, the world's leading circular economy network.