Milwaukee's travel accommodation rental startup Frontdesk Inc. has raised another $7 million for a total of $18 million to date, according to a Thursday announcement.
The round was led by San Francisco-based Stormbreaker Ventures. Milwaukee's Golden Angels Investors and several other unnamed investors also participated, Frontdesk co-founder and CEO Kyle Weatherly said.
As Frontdesk has grown — it currently has around 250 employees and is on track to have about 300 by the end of 2021 — its need for office space has not. The company is based at 1845 N. Farwell Ave. in Milwaukee but most of its employees work remotely, Weatherly said.
Rather than let the extra space go unused, Frontdesk is offering it to local entrepreneurs through a partnership with WorkAround, a Milwaukee startup building an app that connects remote workers with unique locations to co-work alongside others.
"We just want to give back to the local tech and entrepreneurship community that was so gracious to us," said Frontdesk co-founder and chief product officer Jesse DePinto.
Around a dozen local startup founders have worked out of Frontdesk's office, which is dog friendly — a feature that many founders appreciate, said WorkAround co-founder Nick O'Brien. WorkAround also has partnerships with Wantable Cafe at 123 E. Walker St. and No Studios at 1037 W. McKinley Ave.
Founded in 2017, Frontdesk has previously raised funds from investors including Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, who invested $250,000 in 2018, and Milwaukee's La Macchia Holdings, which participated in Frontdesk's $2.75 million round in 2019. In 2020, Frontdesk raised $6.8 million from existing investors as well as Chicago's Motivate Venture Capital, Weatherly said.
Frontdesk operates nearly 700 short-term apartment rental units in more than 30 cities across the U.S., Weatherly said. It plans to expand to around 1,200 units by the end of the year and has a $27 million annual run rate, he said.
