The RealtyShares Rocketship
Today, RealtyShares announced a $20 million Series B financing, led by Union Square Ventures. Menlo Ventures is thrilled to be participating in this round, and John Jarve and I look forward to working with John Buttrick, who is joining the board from USV.
Menlo led the Series A for RealtyShares in February 2015. It’s been an exciting year watching Nav Athwal, CEO, and his team execute against their plan. In 2015, the company funded 270 deals, raising $110 million-plus in debt and equity for developers across the country. The company also ended the year with over 10,000 accredited investors, making it one of the largest and most sought after real estate crowd funding platforms in the market.
The top-line numbers for RealtyShares are very impressive, but what really excites John and me are the high repeat rates or “stickiness” we are seeing with participants on the platform. Sponsors are raising capital on average 2.5x per year, and accredited investors are investing in 6+ deals per year, deploying more than $100,000 in aggregate. And both of these metrics are improving! High retention rates are the hallmark of a company that is delighting its customers, and are essential for building a highly profitable business.
John and I wish we could take more credit for the company’s success, but the truth is, we’ve just been fortunate to invest in the combination of a great founder and a terrific market and have watched with delight as this company has taken off like a rocket ship. We’ve provided help when and where needed, but for the most part we’ve enjoyed the ride. All credit goes to Nav and his team.
RealtyShares’ ambition is to be the one-stop shop for investors and sponsors in the $300 billion non-institutional real estate market. We believe the company has the potential to be the LendingClub of its industry, but perhaps larger, given the size of the opportunity. We are delighted to include RealtyShares in our fintech portfolio that includes companies like Bluevine, Betterment, Check, and Digital Insight, and we look forward to working with Nav and his team in 2016.