Buying furniture is often the most expensive and cumbersome aspect of moving to a new place. Purchasing a new couch or bed can set you back thousands of dollars on top of all the other up-front expenses required in a new move.
But new Chicago startup Inhabitr wants to let you rent furniture instead of buying. And it will handle the delivery and assembly, while also giving you the option to eventually purchase the piece or swap it out for something different.
Inhabitr announced Wednesday that it raised a $4 million Series A round led by Great North Labs, a Minneapolis-based VC firm. It's the first outside funding the startup has raised since it launched in April 2018.
Since its launch, Inhabitr says it has placed furniture in over 2,000 homes across 10 cities in the U.S. Co-founder Ankur Agrawal said the company is growing revenue more than 20% month-over-month, and has a team of more than 50 people.
Inhabitr's subscription service allows customers to rent furniture packages or one-off items. Furniture sets start at $69 a month for things like living room and dining packages, and individual sofas range from $36 a month to more than $100 a month.
The idea is to provide customers with an affordable and flexible way to furnish their home. The startup also offers free design consultations and white-glove delivery.
Inhabitr says it keeps the costs down by offering a mix of new and refurbished furniture that's directly sourced from manufacturers, and works with local furniture stores to handle the delivery.
Inhabitr isn't the only startup tackling furniture delivery. Fernish, Feather, CasaOne and Oliver Space are all VC-backed startups offering furniture rentals. Even Ikea is testing a furniture rental service.
Along with Chicago, Inhabitr is also in Austin, Baltimore, Dallas, Washington, DC, Detroit, Indianapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, Phoenix and Seattle. Inhabitr said it will use the funding to continue its expansion across the country.
