A Chicago startup that’s helping apartment searchers find homes by connecting with current tenants just raised its first round of venture capital funding.
Rentgrata announced Wednesday that it raised $1 million from Chicago-based VC firm M25, Syndicate Fund, Right Side Capital Management and Nelnet. Additionally, individual investors like Package Concierge Founder Georgianna W. Oliver and ApartmentJet Co-Founder Eric Broughton also participated in the round.
Including angel investments Rentgrata has received in the past, the startup has raised nearly $1.5 million to date.
The startup, founded in 2016 by Ben Margolit, Sam McArtor and Zach Sloan, operates a referral reward platform that connects prospective renters with current residents of apartment communities. Rentgrata’s app allows users to find an apartment, chat with residents and earn referral rewards for free. Rentgrata then sells that renter data to property owners, which helps them better tend to renter needs and increase retention.
Rentgrata is betting there’s a strong and growing user base for its product because of millennials and Generation Z-ers, who make up most of the rental market right now.
“The younger generation of renters value a dynamic experience in all aspects of their lives, and that includes learning from the collective insights from their peers to improve upon their situations,” Margolit said in a statement. “For this reason, it's critical that management companies provide renters the ability to connect, learn, and in the process, become part of a community.”
Rentgrata said it works with 12 of the National Multifamily Housing Council’s top 50 largest property management companies, supporting nearly 60,000 apartment units. The startup says it's growing 258 percent year-over-year and currently employs seven full-time employees. By mid-2020, it plans to grow its team to 12 employees.
Rentgrata also announced Wednesday that Benjamin Burns of apartment management company The Bozzuto Group joined Rentgrata’s advisory board.
