Jars Capital companies keep apartment community residents and staff in sync

Bandwidth’s Toll-free Messaging API powers Jars Capital’s efforts to help apartment complexes create community and solve problems.

“Jars Capital is part venture studio, part incubator,” says Founding Partner Steve Bucklin. “We help companies that are in the early stages. They’ve just had their first ideas, and we help them with technology, sales, operational experience, and platforms so they can grow and scale.”

A boon to business and a benefit to residents

Jars Capital is a venture capital investment firm and incubator, based in Leesburg, Virginia. Their specialty is incubating tech companies that support the multi-family housing industry, like KEY Texting and Umbrello.

“Umbrello is fascinating,” says Bucklin. “It is a platform that takes on the process of verifying an apartment prospect’s identity, and helping leasing teams determine whether or not they are financially able to be in a specific apartment.” This is a major benefit to the property management company and the tenant because no one wants somebody to get an apartment they can’t afford.

KEY Texting is a browser-based messaging platform designed specifically for the multi-family industry. Bucklin explains, “It’s connecting residents at apartment communities with the office and leasing staff for things like maintenance requests, package pickups, or questions about community events.” The platform is meant to help foster fast and intimate communications between residents and apartment complexes. “KEY is built around the philosophy of one-to-one, intimate, interpersonal communications,” says Bucklin. “We want texting to be a source of information and enrichment.”

Knowing what to do when the rules of the game change

In this venture, Jars Capital recognized that the rules of the messaging industry are always changing. “Our partnership with Bandwidth is so important. They help us navigate and get through the game even when the rules of the game change mid-game,” says Bucklin.

By offering our guidance and Toll-free messaging API, Bandwidth is facilitating the relevant and personalized text conversations for Jars Capital’s customers.

Bandwidth’s API lets KEY Texting and Umbrello send timely reminders and alerts from a number they already know. Property management companies can turn their preexisting toll-free number into a text-enabled number to eliminate customer confusion.

KEY Texting and Umbrello benefit from other toll-free perks, too. While it can also take weeks to get a short code for sending messages, toll-free messaging allows a faster campaign onboarding process for management companies to start texting and creating those important community connections.

Highlighting the importance of people-to-people connections

Jars Capital acknowledges they wouldn’t have the same messaging success without the premium support from Bandwidth. “The resources that Bandwidth has been able to provide to us, both through their webinars and SMS support interactions, have been invaluable,” says Bucklin.

As Bucklin explains, a huge benefit to working with Bandwidth was working with a real, dedicated support person. “Having somebody that would be familiar with us, familiar with our business, who could learn how we use messaging and what our customers are looking for from messaging was really big for us.”

And that support makes all the difference.

“The differentiation comes when you have a partner to collaborate with, you can communicate with, you can grow with, that’s invested in your success,” says Bucklin. “And one thing that’s pretty unique about Bandwidth is that even given their size, Bandwidth is still able to maintain relationships with smaller folks like us. That’s been really special.”