For landowners looking to make some extra money on their unused acreage, a new Chicago startup is building a platform to let them rent their space to outdoor enthusiasts looking for places to hunt, fish and camp.
PrivateAcre, which launched in September, is like Airbnb for finding private land where you can pursue your outdoor passions. From kayaking and mountain biking, to drone flying and bird watching, the startup tries to cater to a broader audience than just hunters and anglers, said PrivateAcre’s Founder and President Erik Johnson.
“We connect land-owners who want to make extra money on their land with outdoor enthusiasts who want to access the outdoors for short-term experiences,” said Johnson, who previously worked in the innovation division at Capital One for three years.
Some of the listings on the platform are just land, while others include homes. Landowners choose their own rates and lengths for listings, and can put up any amount of land—even if it’s just one acre, Johnson said. PrivateAcre, which works out of 1871, keeps about 16% of each transaction made on their platform.
Though PrivateAcre is based in Chicago, its platform doesn’t have any Illinois listings yet. Listings are mainly concentrated in Ohio, but there are also a few that span as far as Wyoming and California. The startup currently has about 30 listings and 250 users, Johnson said.
To find more landowners and renters willing to join the platform, Johnson says he has been hanging out at gun shows.
“I didn’t expect that in my 30s I’d be going to gun shows,” Johnson said. “At first, I thought it was crazy and then I embraced it.”
And it paid off because those shows connected Johnson to his next marketing opportunity: Cabela's. The outdoor gear retailer and PrivateAcre now have an agreement in which the startup can advertise and connect with customers inside Cabela's stores.
“It’s the perfect place for us to spread our brand,” Johnson said. “We definitely see a large portion of our audience going to this store.”
One of the most popular listings on PrivateAcre is Morgan's Hemlock Home & Reserve in Morrow, Ohio. The four-bedroom home sits on 111 acres and offers a range of outdoor activities, such as hunting, fishing, birdwatching and canoeing.
PrivateAcre’s competitors include Airbnb Experiences, which the hospitality company launched in 2016. Airbnb offers a range of activities, but they are generally group experiences.
“We see ourselves different than Airbnb because they’re public experiences and we’re private,” Johnson said.
Additionally, Hipcamp, based in San Francisco, has a similar concept to PrivateAcre as it allows people to book private land specifically for camping. And depending on the property and policies set by landowners, Hipcamp users can bring firearms with them for hunting.
Another similar startup is Richmond, Virginia-based startup called Outdoor Access, which has raised $1 million in venture capital funding, according to Crunchbase. Their platform allows users to browse listings of privately owned land to hunt, fish and camp on.
To grow and stay competitive, Johnson said he is looking to raise a seed round for under $1 million for PrivateAcre.
“Our plan is to expand into the Midwest,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of opportunity here.”
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story stated that Hipcamp doesn't allow users to bring firearms with them to properties. It has been corrected to state that depending on the property and policies set by landowners, Hipcamp users can bring firearms.
