St. Louis startup Clever Real Estate, which has created technology that connects home sellers and buyers to real estate agents, has raised $2 million in funding.
Clever said the added financing comes as it expands its product portfolio and is on track to reach profitability in the second half of 2023. Investors in the funding round include St. Louis-based venture capital firm Cultivation Capital; Mike DelPrete of Boulder, Colorado, who describes himself as a real estate technology strategist; and EssentVentures LLC, an investment arm of mortgage insurance firm Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT).
Clever, with the $2 million funding round, has now raised $13 million in equity financing since its founding. It previously announced an $8 million Series B funding round, led by Cultivation Capital, in December 2021.
"Clever has been a company that always exceeds expectations," said Cliff Holekamp, co-founder and managing director of Cultivation Capital, in a news release. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to support them again in this funding round.”
Founded in 2017, Clever has developed a platform that connects home sellers with local real estate agents who list the seller’s home for a 1.5% listing fee. Clever says its platform includes 19,000 real agents and includes Realtors in all 50 states. Clever has also built out an editorial arm that publishes digital content about real estate and other topics and includes digital publishers Anytime Estimate, Real Estate Witch and Home Bay.
Clever has also put a focus on business-to-business operations, providing its platform for mortgage lenders. It said its partnerships with lenders involves providing its platform for free, with Clever earning revenue from agents who pay Clever a referral fee when closing sales generated from its platform. Clever said the number of customers matched with real estate agents through its partnership channel has grown 700% year over year, measured by the number of customers matched with real estate agents, and that the company expects its partnerships to account for $750 million in real estate transaction volume in 2023.
Clever said it expects to expand its operations through a new title and escrow closing product it is bringing to market in the second quarter this year.
"Clever has built the No. 1 online education platform in real estate," Clever co-founder and CEO Luke Babich said in a statement. "In Clever's next chapter, we're using that platform as a springboard to launch new solutions for both consumers and real estate professionals. We couldn't be more excited to welcome these new partners to the table, who bring additional capital and expertise to help Clever achieve our mission.”
Clever has about 80 employees, a figure a spokesperson said includes two newly hired employees expected to begin soon with the company. It has its headquarters at 6358 Delmar Blvd. in the Delmar Loop.
Clever earlier this year was named to the Inc.’s 2023 list of fastest-growing companies in the midwest, reporting two-year revenue growth of 260% from 2019 to 2021.
