NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Companies / Construction

Online building products business ArchiPro inks $35m capital raise, backers include New York fund managers Tiger Global

Tamsyn Parker
By Tamsyn Parker
Business Editor·NZ Herald·
10 Mar, 2022 04:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

ArchiPro co-founder Milot Zeqiri and Brittany Gribben. Photo / Supplied

ArchiPro co-founder Milot Zeqiri and Brittany Gribben. Photo / Supplied

When Milot Zeqiri came to New Zealand as a 17-year to escape the Kosovo war he couldn't speak English and had to rebuild his life.

But now he and Kiwi wife Brittany Gribben have just raised $35 million from local and overseas-based investors to grow their online business, which helps connect people wanting to build or renovate with those selling products and their services.

ArchiPro was launched in 2014 by the couple, who came up with the idea while renovating one of their properties.

"Very quickly we realised how fragmented the industry was. In addition to that, I was working for a company selling products to architects and I knew how difficult it was to get products in front of consumers who were building and architects that are looking to identify products," Zeqiri said.

"We quit our jobs and moved into a two-bedroom unit and set out to transform the industry - not just in New Zealand but globally."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The couple self-funded the business for the first four years by selling their property, then raised an initial $2m through crowd-funding platform Snowball Effect.

They then received a further $10m from two Melbourne-based entrepreneurs: Ruslan Kogan, of Kogan.com, and Hezi Leibovich - known for founding multiple Australian online marketplaces including Catch.com, Menulog and Scoopon (now Luxury Escapes).

A funding round has been led by New York-based investment managers Tiger Global with support from Icehouse Ventures and Queenstown-based Liger Trading.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Archipro currently employs 140 people mostly in New Zealand and launched in Australia six months ago.

Zeqiri said it would use the money raised to double its workforce and expand its products.

"We are looking to double the workforce in the next 12 to 16 months. If we are able to hire fast enough, we are going to be over 300 team members."

Its head office is in Auckland's Parnell and there are Australian offices in Sydney and Melbourne. There are plans to expand to Queensland by the end of the year.

"We are expanding fast and the traction over there has been incredible."

"We have had to reforecast numbers three times in the last three months to keep up with demand."

But he said the past few years had not been without its challenges because of Covid-19 forcing building work to stop and start, a shortage of workers and supply chain issues getting products into the country.

"The fluctuating construction costs and supplier shortages seen during the pandemic show a heightened need for the industry to work more closely together to keep projects on track.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"ArchiPro brings all of the verticals involved with the wider industry together under
one roof, so that users can find, source, and budget for everything they need within one place, from the architects, landscapers and interior designers, to the construction materials and home furnishing products."

The business earns money through service providers paying a one-off membership fee while product suppliers paid a subscription fee.

It has more than 400,000 active users, 4000 live building projects and more than 40,000 products across Australia and New Zealand.

Zeqiri said a public share market listing was in the plan for the company which also plans to expand to North America and Europe.

"The plan is that we will most likely IPO. It's not on the books right now, but we will deal with it at the time.

"Our focus at the moment is to keep simplifying the end-to-end building experience for people building. That is our main focus."

The company isn't yet profitable and Zeqiri said its focus was growth at the moment.

He said coming to New Zealand after fleeing the war in Kosovo had been hard.

"I can relate to what is happening in Ukraine at the moment as well. Coming here it took us a while to get used to how friendly everyone was and seeing police on the streets and knowing they are there to help you not kill you - it was quite a transition for anyone."

But he said coming here he saw the opportunities and wasn't going to take anything for granted.

"I started working really hard and trying to learn English while having different jobs and at the age of 22 I was able to purchase my first house in St Heliers.

"It was a lot easier back then the prices weren't as high as they were now. I had a lot of determination and I think having seen what I have seen back home I think when I came here I wanted to make a difference, give back to New Zealand, and I feel what we are doing right now - having the ability to employ over 140 staff, it really does give me that sense of pride in what we have been able to achieve."

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Construction

Property

$10m-plus supreme Master Builders' commercial prize to LT McGuinness

16 May 05:00 PM
Premium
Business|economy

'Wave of opportunity' – 120 new jobs, some require no experience

15 May 03:00 AM
Premium
Property

Fast-tracking $200m film hub planned for Ayrburn

14 May 04:00 AM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Construction

$10m-plus supreme Master Builders' commercial prize to LT McGuinness

$10m-plus supreme Master Builders' commercial prize to LT McGuinness

16 May 05:00 PM

Construction business erected one of NZ's most complex buildings at the university campus.

Premium
'Wave of opportunity' – 120 new jobs, some require no experience

'Wave of opportunity' – 120 new jobs, some require no experience

15 May 03:00 AM
Premium
Fast-tracking $200m film hub planned for Ayrburn

Fast-tracking $200m film hub planned for Ayrburn

14 May 04:00 AM
Premium
First look at controversial Bay of Islands marina plans

First look at controversial Bay of Islands marina plans

13 May 09:30 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP