Lessen, a Scottsdale startup that connects institutional landlords to service providers, opened for business in January 2020 and now, less than two years later, is worth more than $1 billion.
The unicorn valuation comes in the wake of Lessen’s latest round of fundraising. The company announced on Tuesday that it has raised $170 million in series B funding led by Fifth Wall, with additional participation from Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst and Navitas Capital.
These big named investors, most of which are based in California, also invested in Lessen’s $35 million series A funding which closed in June. Fifth Wall previously invested in Scottsdale-based SmartRent, which went public in a SPAC merger with a Fifth Wall Acquisition Corp. in August.
In June, after the series A announcement, Lessen’s founder and CEO Jay McKee said the company was valued at $146 million. Now, just five months later, Lessen’s value increased more than 6.8 times to breach $1 billion, though the company did not give a more specific figure.
All told, Lessen has now raised $214 million in outside capital investment.
Lessen is an online marketplace for property owners to find service professionals like cleaning crews, plumbers, electricians and more. There are currently 2,000 service providers signed up on the Lessen platform.
"This funding round gives us the rocket fuel we need to continue to scale the business in many ways,” said Lessen founder and CEO Jay McKee in a statement. “We are being acknowledged as the only company that is delivering technology-enabled service fulfillment in a way that specifically targets our clients' needs."
McKee previously founded Colony American Homes in Scottsdale, a residential real estate company that went on to own thousands of single-family homes across the country. Colony merged with Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust in 2015 before another merger with Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH) in 2017.
Lessen’s headcount has grown dramatically in 2021, from 150 employees in 15 states back in June, to more than 450 today spread across more than 30 markets. The company said it plans on hiring up to 1,000 more people next year.
