In the high-stakes world of Silicon Valley, where billions are poured into chatbots and generative art, Apurva Shrivastava and Tyson Chen decided to look where few tech founders go: the local HVAC company. That decision has officially paid off. Their startup, 'Avoca', has reached a $1 billion valuation following a $125 million funding round led by Meritech Capital and General Catalyst, with participation from Kleiner Perkins.
The premise is rooted in a lesson Shrivastava learned while growing up in Michigan. As a first-generation Indian-American, he spent years helping his family manage phone calls for their business. He realized a brutal truth of the trades: in industries like plumbing, roofing, and electrical work, a missed call isn’t just a minor inconvenience but a lost contract.
