AbleNook's Flat-Pack Homes Pop-Up In Just One Day

Tampa, Fla.-based startup AbleNook has created a versatile and durable modular dwelling that ships easily in flat-packed kits, and only takes one day to assemble. The company aims to create a speedy and cost-effective home solution for people whose homes were destroyed by natural disasters. The concept was developed four years ago, but just closed a $600,000 round of funding last month and is preparing to begin shipping its first units in November 2019.

While disaster relief agencies haven't yet signed on, wealthy homeowners were quick to realize the product's potential. They've been placing orders based on the prototype after the company received a lot of buzz thanks to its spot on Steve Case's Rise of the Rest roadtrip startup spotlight. Early adopters can currently get a unit for $65,000, but the price will go up to $72,000 soon.

The speed of assembly is part of the product's appeal to residential customers. More than that, though, landowners appreciate that the AbleNook build process isn't as invasive to the land as a traditional construction job is, says AbleNook founder Sean Verdecia. They can use an AbleNook as an in-law unit or luxury cabin without a construction team taking over their property for several months. The legs are adjustable, so a unit can be set up on ground that isn't level.

“We're seeing people who have land and want to keep it as pristine as possible. They want to live in them as vacation homes, so they don't have to bring in a construction crew," says Verdecia.

He describes AbleNook as turnkey, not only in the sense that “you just push in the wall panels and you're done," but also because the company supports clients through the permitting, building code research, and inspection process. Verdecia says that while a homeowner might actually be able to assemble one of the modular spaces without assistance, the inspection and permitting process presents a unique challenge in its own right. It has an extremely accelerated timeline in comparison to a traditional construction process, so while AbleNook is still taking orders one by one for now, it makes sense for the company to oversee each installation.

Verdecia says he sees AbleNook standing apart from comparable products, such as tiny houses, container houses, and Amazon's new DIY guesthouse, for various reasons. The product is more permanent than a tiny house, has more features than a DIY Amazon house, and doesn't take as much effort to transport and retrofit as a shipping container. A better comparison, he says, is that AbleNook combines the luxury of a land yacht with the easy assembly of a giant Transformers set.

“It's a LEGO-like system for space creation that has so many different avenues for potential usage," he says. “People don't know how to define it, because it's its own thing."

The current model features high-end appliances and design touches, including Smeg appliances, skylights and a covered porch area.

Office space developers also have shown significant early interest.

“We've been approached by a bunch of companies who want to do coworking spaces, popup experiences—a mishmash of different potential uses," says Verdecia. Interest from office developers makes a lot of sense to him, since the cost of building out an AbleNook is roughly the same as building a traditional office—but the timetable to build out a space, from start to finish, is just one day.

Ultimately, Verdecia's intention is to scale AbleNook production, and to apply the technology and engineering system toward the humanitarian sector. Not only does Verdecia want to supply disaster victims with easy-to-assemble, easy-to-transport replacement homes, he intends them to be permanent. Unlike the FEMA shelters currently in use, the AbleNook homes are engineered to be comfortable, temperature-regulated and durable in the face of future storms—the homes are engineered to withstand 180 mile-per-hour winds, claims the firm.

“It's over-engineered for other areas, but for Florida it's just perfect," says Verdecia.

Verdecia, a trained architect who previously worked for a Tampa firm and designed towers for the Crown Prince of Dubai before diving into startup life, designed AbleNook first as a product he wanted on his own property. Considering how hurricane seasons have seemed to escalate over the past decade, the Florida resident is motivated to create not just another luxury product, but a solution to an escalating resource issue.

“Whether the government buys it or not, it's not going to stop us," he says. “We can ultimately set up the company similar to the TOMS model, so when people buy a unit, a portion of the proceeds goes to pay for a unit for someone in need."