A startup making it easier to invest in and operate short-term rentals, like Airbnbs, won first place and $666,000 at the University of Chicago’s 2021 New Venture Challenge.
The competition, now in its 25th year, provided $1.6 million in investment financing to 12 student startups on Thursday, the most financing ever given at the competition.
The first-place winner, Andes STR, makes a platform for users to buy real estate intended to be solely used for short-term rentals. The company, based in Toronto, was founded in 2019 by Kristina Flathers, Matias Duhart, Jiamin Yan and Sebastian Rivas, an MBA candidate at UChicago’s Booth School of Business.
“It doesn’t feel real,” Rivas said. “Everybody on the team is shocked and super excited.”
Andes STR charges users management fees to find profitable rental properties, facilitates the purchase and manages them as rentals going forward. Once up and running, the properties are listed on sites like Airbnb and Booking.com, then Andes STR handles communicating with guests, and maintaining and cleaning rentals in between bookings.
“We make investing in short-term rentals very easy,” Rivas said. “We are the one-stop shop that makes the whole process a very simple, turn-key solution.”
Andes STR says it has more than 50 clients now, mainly concentrated in Florida and Texas. While most are using Andes STR to purchase single-family homes or individual condominium units, Rivas said some clients have purchased entire multi-unit buildings.
“We have an ability to buy good investments that yield consistently good returns,” Rivas said.
Andes STR will use the new funding to invest in its technology and algorithms, and onboard new clients.
Phlaxis, a biotech startup making peanut butter and food allergy vaccines, came in second place, winning $278,000, and Vetted, a pet insurance product, came in third place and won $198,000.
The NVC, which began in 1997 with just $20,000 in prizes, is now ranked as one of the top accelerator programs in the U.S. Its winners have included top Chicago companies like SimpleMills, Grubhub, Braintree, InContext Solutions and Tovala.
The prize pool is made up of funds from the college and various investors. The pool in this year’s competition was originally smaller, but during deliberations, several judges added to it, like they have in previous years, making it the highest cash prize pool ever given at the challenge.
Last year, Pippin Title, an online real estate land title platform, won first place and $450,000 at the NVC.
In addition to the New Venture Challenge, UChicago also hosted its Social New Venture Challenge earlier this week, which gave out $150,000 to student companies. SAEF Legal Aid, a startup connecting low-income Chicagoans to free and affordable family legal services, won first place and $75,000.
