About SMS Assist
SMS Assist is a Business Services company based in Chicago (United States) founded in 2003, and was acquired by Lessen in January 2023. SaaS-driven maintenance solutions for commercial spaces are provided. It operates in the Business Services, Energy & Utilities, and Real Estate & Construction sectors. SMS Assist has raised $255 million across 4 funding rounds from investors including Goldman Sachs, Lessen and Insight Partners. The company has 432 employees. SMS Assist has completed 1 acquisition, including Olympic Support. SMS Assist was last valued at $124 million in February 2017. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Jay McKee. SMS Assist offers products and services including Lessen Marketplace, Lessen360™, and Lessen Copilot. Its focus areas include Real Estate and Construction Tech, Facility Management Tech, Building Management and Maintenance Management. Its legal entity is SMS ASSIST, L.L.C. Its competitors include Happy, Facilio and Latchel; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Founded in 2003 and based in Chicago, United States, SMS Assist operates in the facility management sector. SaaS platforms are utilized to integrate clients, affiliates, and employees within an online system. Services encompass vendor management, facility management, work order management, call center management, quality assurance, and asset management. Training and education programs are also delivered to technicians.
- Headquarters Chicago, United States
- Employees 432
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsBusiness ServicesEnergy & Utilities Real Estate & Construction
- Email••••••••
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website smsassist.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Acquired by Lessen (Jan 2023)
- Legal Name Sms Assist, L.L.C.
- Total Equity Funding$255M (USD)
in 4 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$150M (USD), Series D
Jun 2016
- InvestorsGoldman Sachs
& 10 more
- Employee Count432
- Investments & Acquisitions
- Acquired byLessen
(Jan 2023)
Products & Services of SMS Assist
SMS Assist offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Lessen Marketplace, Lessen360™, and Lessen Copilot.
Connects vendors and clients for property services and maintenance opportunities
Manages work orders and asset lifecycles for property maintenance
Assists in streamlining processes for repairs and capital projects
Apps and channels of SMS Assist
SMS Assist publishes 2 mobile apps with over 55K+ downloads.
Funding Insights of SMS Assist
SMS Assist has successfully raised a total of $255M across 4 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series D round of $150 million completed in June 2016. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $255M
- Total Rounds 4
- Last Round Series D — $150M
- First Round $15M
(Jun 2011)
- Investors Count 11
All 4 funding rounds of SMS Assist with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2016 | $150M | Series D | $1B | Goldman Sachs Investment Partners | |
| May 2015 | $45M | Series C | – | Insight Partners | – |
| Oct 2013 | $45M | Series B | – | Pritzker Group | – |
| Jun 2011 | $15M | Series A | – | Pritzker Group | – |
| Date | Valuation | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 2016 | $1B | •••••••• |
Last known valuation $124M (Feb 2017). 11 investors in total: 11 institutional.
Investors in SMS Assist
SMS Assist has secured backing from 11 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Goldman Sachs, Lessen and Insight Partners.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Investment firm scaling software and technology companies from early to late stages. | insightpartners.com | |||
Investments in SaaS, marketplace, and middle market companies are managed. | pritzkergroup.com | Chicago, United States | ||
Investment banking services are delivered across multiple financial sectors. | 1869 | goldmansachs.com | New York, United States | |
Private equity investments are directed toward North American companies. | brooksideequity.com | Stamford, United States | ||
Single-family office is focused on aviation, finance, hospitality, and insurance. | kwilson.com | Memphis, United States | ||
Granite Creek Capital Partners is focused on providing capital to lower middle market companies. | granitecreek.com | Chicago, United States | ||
Investments in SaaS startups are made by ScOp Venture Capital. | scopvc.com | Santa Barbara, United States | ||
Early-stage technology investments are targeted by HDS Capital. | hdscapital.com | New York, United States | ||
| rangelightllc.com | ||||
Investments are made in technology-based businesses by this VC firm. | gsipventures.com | New York, United States |
Investor details for SMS Assist
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of SMS Assist
37 people are tracked at SMS Assist (13 in leadership, 1 in board & advisors, 23 in team); the tracked headcount is 432.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Jay McKee | CEO | Leadership |
Maureen Ehrenberg | President, Commercial Division | Leadership |
Brian Ilc | Regional Director Of Hospitality Operations | Leadership |
Justin Iannacone | Chief Process and Innovation Officer | Leadership |
Sean Miller | Chief Revenue Officer | Leadership |
Mark Johnson | Director of Client Programs | Leadership |
Richard Gray | Enterprise Sales Director | Leadership |
Jianqing Zhao | Chief Technology Officer | Leadership |
Sloan Swanson | Chief Business Officer | Leadership |
Quan N. | Head of Recruiting, Technology | Leadership |
Scott Whalen | Senior Vice President, Legal & Compliance | Leadership |
Michael Linn | Director- Field Operations | Leadership |
Joshua Silverstein | Sales Director | Leadership |
Gregor Watson | Co-Founder + Board Member | Board & advisors |
Jorge Padilla | Project Manager | Team |
Tyler Toenyes | Senior Project Manager | Team |
Todd Johnston, MBA, MRED | Project Manager | Team |
Derrek Kaier | Regional Project Manager | Team |
Kenzie Beach | Field Project Manager | Team |
Sam Joseph | Software Engineer | Team |
17 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for SMS Assist
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
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Investments & Acquisitions by SMS Assist
SMS Assist has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 1 company. Notable acquisitions include Olympic Support.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Provider of data centre, storage, IT support, asset maintenance, and other services | olympicsupport.com | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1997 | Mar 2013 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for SMS Assist
Acquired stakes, deal sources and the complete acquisition history require an active premium plan.
- Acquired stakes
- Deal sources
- Complete history
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Timeline of SMS Assist
6 dated milestones of SMS Assist across 20 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded SMS Assist is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $15.0M.
- Acquisition Acquires Olympic Support.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series D, of $150.0M.
- Milestone Reaches Unicorn status.
- Exit Acquired by Lessen.
Competitors of SMS Assist
SMS Assist has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Happy, Facilio and Latchel.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| happy.co | 2011 | Carlsbad, United States | $78.77M | 30 | Software for property maintenance, asset management, and leasing is developed. | |
| facilio.com | 2017 | New York, United States | $42.9M | 137 | SaaS platform for property operations and maintenance is delivered. | |
| latchel.com | 2016 | Seattle, United States | $41.1M | Maintenance management software is provided for property owners and managers. |
Detailed competitors of SMS Assist
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
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Web traffic of SMS Assist
The website of SMS Assist (smsassist.com) receives about 4.2K visits a month.
- Monthly visits4.2K
▲ 39% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with SMS Assist. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lessen.com | 100% | 85K | #215,533 | View details | |
| tastytrade.com | 72% | 1.9M | #19,343 | View details | |
| forbes.com | 51% | 94.8M | #628 | View details | |
| indeed.com | 49% | 416.4M | #70 | View details | |
smsclean.com | smsclean.com | 47% | #2,240,914 | – | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 6 similar websites and full traffic analytics for SMS Assist
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 6 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Facility Management Platforms
3 companies that operate in the same segment as SMS Assist (Facility Management Platforms) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cloud-based software is provided for managing outdoor events and activities. | 1999 | Dallas, Texas, United States | USD 313.84 M | 2,458 | ||
Envoy is recognized for providing workplace management solutions. | 2013 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 170.5 M | 463 | ||
IoT connectivity platform from prototype to production is developed. | 2011 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 134.87 M | 109 |
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Related news about Sms Assist
Complete news archive for SMS Assist
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- Brand-specific news history
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Frequently Asked Questions about SMS Assist
SMS Assist was founded in 2003 and raised its 1st funding round 8 years after it was founded.
SMS Assist is headquartered in Chicago, United States. It is registered at Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Jay McKee is the CEO of SMS Assist, as recorded in our data.
SMS Assist is a funded company, having raised a total of $255M across 4 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $15M, raised on Jun 2011.
SMS Assist has 432 employees.
Founded in 2003 and based in Chicago, United States, SMS Assist operates in the facility management sector. SaaS platforms are utilized to integrate clients, affiliates, and employees within an online system. Services encompass vendor management, facility management, work order management, call center management, quality assurance, and asset management. Training and education programs are also delivered to technicians.
SMS Assist offers Lessen Marketplace, Lessen360™, and Lessen Copilot.
SMS Assist has made 1 acquisition, including Olympic Support.
SMS Assist has 11 investors. Key investors include Goldman Sachs, Lessen, Insight Partners, Pritzker Group, and Goldman Sachs Investment Partners.
The valuation of SMS Assist is $124M as of Feb 2017.
SMS Assist operates through Sms Assist, L.L.C..