Hempitecture Founder Mattie Mead on Building a Sustainable Future

Hempitecture is a sustainable materials company. We are focused on the building materials sector because our built environment is responsible for nearly 40% of our carbon footprint and 40% of our energy consumption in the US. High-performing, sustainable, healthy materials are a solution to this problem.

Hempitecture was initially founded out of a thesis study while I was an undergraduate student at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. While studying architecture and environmental sciences, I looked at ways we could make our built environment more sustainable and healthy. My research led me to the applicability of earthen and plant-based building materials. From this concept, Hempitecture was created. Hempitecture was formally incorporated in 2018, four years after the initial thesis study. In between the original founding of the concept and the formal incorporation, I worked in architecture and hands-on custom construction and built a number of unique earthen buildings using hemp as a building material.

In 2018, when Hempitecture became an incorporated public benefit corporation, I brought on my highschool classmate, Tommy Gibbons, as a co-founder. We bring different backgrounds and skill sets to the table as a co-founding team, ultimately coming together after Tommy was gaining interest in the building industry and attending conferences on home construction. The topic of sustainable hemp-based materials came up at one of these conferences, and Tommy noticed how the attendees were enamored with the concept. He was aware that I was working on launching Hempitecture, and we came together to add our complementary skill sets and forward the concept of the company.

Hempitecture is transforming the building materials industry by providing products that are the first of their kind in the United States. Our plant-based building material approach is resulting in products that compare to conventional building materials in their performance attributes while also resulting in end products that are highly sustainable, non-toxic, and healthy.

The building materials landscape is crowded and is primarily occupied by multinational players who have entrenched interests in perpetuating outdated, unsustainable products. While these players put twists on their existing products to make them more sustainable as an appeal to changing consumer sentiments, Hempitecture’s offerings are truly sustainable. We don’t need to greenwash our products, as sustainability is at the core of our business model.

We will be using the proceeds from our round primarily for commissioning a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Jerome, Idaho. Additionally, we will use the remaining proceeds to accelerate marketing, expand headcount, and apply toward growth.

Hempitecture has worked to create a transparent and open process by listing our business on Wefunder for our seed round. Here, you can see the financial inner workings of our business and our strategy for moving forward. Hempitecture is dedicated to growing the market share of sustainable building materials, and we look forward to providing value to our investors, who have given us their vote of confidence at this early stage in our business.

Hempitecture believes that there is an active acquisition landscape that would benefit Hempitecture and our investors in the future by way of direct acquisition. Alternatively, an initial public offering could be a different avenue to pursue for an exit. With that being said, we have no interest in exiting at this time and will strive to make Hempitecture a household name when it comes to building materials in the United States.