While StoryBuilt works to overcome a financial meltdown, some of its former leaders have started a new company.
Homer Agency, led by former executives of the Austin-based firm, will collaborate with developers to oversee branding, marketing property sales, the Austin-American Statesman reported.
“When things started to look like they were going in the direction they were going with StoryBuilt, my immediate objective was to keep the sales and marketing team intact and continue working on the projects we’re already invested in,” Homer co-founder Roka Music, who served as chief marketing officer at StoryBuilt, told the outlet.
Homer Agency launched less than a month after StoryBuilt CEO Anthony Siela sent a letter to investors, informing them of leadership changes and its plans to furlough employees.
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The firm, which has been instrumental in the redevelopment of South First Street, had laid off at least 137 employees, and it requested $10 million in rescue capital from its investors. StoryBuilt has also gone into voluntary receivership to remedy its messy financial situation.
Homer is overseeing StoryBuilt’s South Austin mixed-use project at 900 South First Street, where its headquarters are located.
Homer and StoryBuilt will collaborate on future developments, and the new firm will be paid by StoryBuilt’s joint venture partners, not the company itself, Music told the outlet.
—Quinn Donoghue