Less than a year after closing a $4 million seed round, the cash-back-for-renters platform Stake announced the close of its Series A totaling $12 million, and a $52 million valuation, a valuation being reported exclusively here. The round was led by RET Ventures who included Stake as one of the first investments for their new ESG Fund. Existing investors Shadow Ventures and Olive Tree Ventures participated in the round as did Enterprise Community Partners, Blue Field Capital, Hometeam Ventures, Operator Stack, and Second Century Ventures (the investment arm of NAR). Stake is available in over 12,000 homes in Georgia and 8,000 in Texas, as well as smaller footprints in other markets where they plan to expand as a result of the new raise.
Stake’s cofounder Rowland Hobbs’ previous work in the finance industry showed him how little attention was given to the rental population, estimated to be about 45-48 million people or 36% of U.S. residences, and how hard it was to deliver any programs for the population at scale.
“For the first 18 months of Stake we were testing different solutions in New York. I showed hundreds of apartments as a broker, running up and down stairs in hot August weather,” said Hobbs. After showing prospective renters different solutions similar to reward points models, it wasn’t until one frustrated and angry renter looked at Hobbs and said, “It’s the money, Stupid.” that led Stake to pivot to a cash back model.
Source: Forbes.com
