Perch Raises $30 Million in Financing Led by FirstMark Capital
Investment Will Fuel Development of Home Buying & Selling Marketplace
NEW YORK, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Perch today announced it has raised $30M in new financing. The Series A investment was led by FirstMark Capital, with Juxtapose and Accomplice also participating in the round. The capital will be used for scaling the company's home buying marketplace and product development as Perch revolutionizes the antiquated process of buying and selling a home. As part of their investment, FirstMark Capital Founder and Managing Director, Rick Heitzmann, will join the Perch board of directors.
In this age of digital transformation, the world of real estate is stubbornly resistant to change. In the past 10 years technology has massively disrupted retail, transportation, and currency markets - yet the single biggest financial transaction that most Americans will make has not fundamentally changed. In 2017, serial New York entrepreneur Court Cunningham founded Perch to build a marketplace that transforms the home purchase and selling experience.
By harnessing the power of data science, technology, and human-centered design, Perch's platform provides a seller experience that delivers a market price offer for an individual's home in 24 hours with the ability to close at a time of one's choosing. No home showings, no repairs to do, no contingent offers, no fear of the offer falling through before closing. It's the way a home sale always should have worked.
"Innovating on the home sale process is where we are starting, but it's not where we finish," said Court Cunningham, Perch CEO. "We believe that the way to truly transform residential real estate is by building a superior selling and buying experience - by becoming a marketplace for homes. For home sellers, we provide a seamless sale experience by removing the uncertainty and inconvenience. For buyers, we're pioneering a new category of homes: Certified Pre-Owned; all Perch homes are move-in ready and include a warranty. This investment will be used to accelerate our product development around automating access to the related transactions that touch a home closing, including mortgage, title, and inspection. Perch will be the simple and easy way to find, purchase, and close on your home."
"Real estate is one of the last massive industries that has yet to be meaningfully changed through technology. The Perch team is uniquely focused on serving both home buyers and sellers by building a true marketplace. We have known and respected Court for several years. The leadership team Perch assembled was one of the strongest we've seen at an early-stage company, with deep experience in technology, marketing, and real estate," said Rick Heitzmann, Managing Director at FirstMark Capital.
Perch's leadership team brings deep experience in creating digital products, building delightful consumer experiences, and real estate investment. Court Cunningham, CEO, brings 20+ years experience in building online software businesses, beginning with his experience at DoubleClick where he built DARTmail into a leading email marketing solution that was ultimately sold to Epsilon. Most recently, he was CEO of Yodle where he scaled the business from 15 people to 1,500 and sold to Web.com for $340M in 2016. Phil DeGisi, Head of Growth, brings 15 years experience in consumer marketing across startups and large-scale companies, including Quidsi (sold to Amazon) and Walmart.com. Most recently, he served as CMO at CommonBond, the consumer lender, where he helped scale the business to over $1B in loans. Aaron Altom, Head of Real Estate, brings a deep expertise in residential real estate acquisition, having purchased over 5,000 homes in his career at Waypoint and American Homes for Rent.
Perch has launched its services in San Antonio, TX and plans to expand to new cities over the coming year.
About Perch
Perch is the marketplace for buying and selling homes. Perch helps customers sell their home on their schedule without the hassles, at market price. For home buyers, Perch enables them to choose from an inventory of Certified Pre-Owned houses, making it easy to discover and close on a move-in ready, quality home. For the average American, the home purchase and sale process takes months, creates anxiety and is filled with uncertainty and hassle. Perch offers a modern alternative, making one of life's biggest decisions - the sale and purchase of a home - less intimidating.
Perch's services are currently offered in San Antonio, TX. The company is headquartered in New York with offices in Texas.
About FirstMark Capital
FirstMark Capital is an early stage venture capital firm based in New York City. Our mission is to partner with exceptional entrepreneurs who are changing the world by solving meaningful problems. We have built a deeply engaged community among the extraordinary teams in our network to spread ideas and opportunities. We are privileged to work alongside the founders of remarkable businesses like Pinterest, Shopify, Riot Games, InVision, Airbnb, and dozens more. Visit us in New York City or online at firstmarkcap.com and @firstmarkcap.
Perch PR Contact:
Melissa Klein
[email protected]
415-246-9311
SOURCE Perch
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