A local home-services marketplace startup that's less than two-years-old has secured millions more in fresh capital to help it meet growing demand. StreetFair raised an additional $5.1 million in its seed funding round, bringing its total capital to $6.8 million. The Charlotte-based startup closed a $1.7 million seed round early last year.
Its latest fundraise was led by Craft Ventures of San Francisco, which headed its seed round in 2022. Craft is overseen by big-name investors, such as David Sacks, formerly of PayPal and Yammer, and Jeff Fluhr, formerly of StubHub. Other additional investors in StreetFair's recent funding round included 1984 Ventures, 1Sharpe Ventures and Charlotte Fund.
"We got fairly lucky that our existing investors were really excited by the feedback from the community and our growth," said Teddy Fitzgibbons, co-founder at StreetFair. "So, they actually approached us to go ahead and raise a seed round now, and we were able to raise the entire round from our existing investors."
StreetFair, founded in 2021, is an online service that seeks to more efficiently connect home-service providers with neighborhoods. Fitzgibbons said the company aims to use the new funds to keep pace with demand and grow its platform to be available in more neighborhoods across Charlotte.
He said the startup also aims to use the capital to enhance its product for local businesses and residents.
Fitzgibbons and co-founder Mike Kerr, both formerly with Charlotte's Passport, created StreetFair due to poor personal experiences — including the process of vetting service providers and obtaining multiple quotes.
StreetFair benefits not only residents but the home-service providers. Services are based on route density, with companies calculating the labor and gas costs to provide those services. Customers in the same neighborhood would significantly cut those costs. Fitzgibbons estimated inefficiencies in route density cost businesses hundreds of millions of dollars a year in Charlotte alone, CBJ previously reported.
Roughly 300 local home service companies utilize StreetFair. Fitzgibbons said the startup is adding 10 to 15 new businesses per week. Its home-services marketplace is currently available in 95 neighborhoods across the Charlotte region. StreetFair can also enter new neighborhoods upon requests through its website.
The startup operates out of Hygge Coworking's West Hill Street location. It also plans to use the new capital to grow its team, which currently has eight members.
"Since launching last year, we've been overwhelmed by the response from residents, neighborhoods, and the local businesses that serve them," he said. "We're excited to continue investing in the mission and bring our solution to every neighborhood in Charlotte."
