New Hope real estate technology firm Cecilian Partners has raised an $11 million Series A after tripling its revenue.
The funding round was led by Baltimore-based Resolve Growth Partners. Founded in 2019, Cecilian Partners was creates software platforms and other technology for homebuilders and homebuyers. CEO John Cecilian Jr. said that the fresh capital will be invested into software development, an "aggressive strategic marketing campaign" and hiring.
The company has grown quickly in a short amount of time and Cecilian said the company raised capital to "mirror that growth." It tripled annual revenue in 2022 and is on track again to do the same this year. Cecilian declined to disclose current specific revenue figures, but said his goal is to reach $10 million in annual recurring revenue in the next two to three years.
Headcount has tracked that progress as well. The plan is to increase headcount by about 50% in the next year from 32 people currently to 45 to 50 by next September, Cecilian said. Cecilian Partners has 13 people working out of its 4,500-square-foot Bucks County office, with plans to be at 17 by the end of the calendar year, Cecilian said. In the past 12 months, Cecilian Partners has also increased its client base 65% to 150 current customers.
As headcount and revenue grow, so too will footprint. Cecilian is looking to open a "formal satellite" office in Dallas-Fort Worth that would house a handful of employees. Dallas-Fort Worth, along with Houston and Austin represent about a third of Cecilian Partners' customer base currently.
"We know we need to raise a brand flag out there and really give ourselves a physical presence," Cecilian said.
The company has its technology in markets across the country, but has been able to leverage markets that boomed during the pandemic. Cecilian mentioned the Carolinas, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Utah and Colorado as drivers of growth. He also wants to increase the four-year-old company's brand presence in California.
Cecilian Partners hasn't been dragged down by an uncertain residential real estate market. Instead, much of its technology platforms are meant to be used in the new homebuilding process, an industry that has been strong in the face of high mortgage rates.
One emerging product that has gained traction for Cecilian Partners is their mobile app, Customer Blueprint. The resident loyalty app allows residents in a planned community to do things like schedule tee times, pay homeowner's association fees, schedule lawn maintenance, with a loyalty dynamic too it. Cecilian said the goal with Customer Blueprint is to create an "ecosystem of inclusion with residents and other merchants that allows there to be this wonderful ecosystem of how residents live and breathe in these places." The capital raise will help the company develop newer versions of the app, Cecilian said.
With the $11 million funding, Resolve co-founder Chris Rhodes and principal Rocco Natalicchio will both join the Cecilian Partners board. The new capital brings Cecilian's total funding to over $17 million.
