Transactly, a St. Charles-based real estate technology startup, is expanding the scope of its business through a recent acquisition.
The startup has established a new business segment called Connect, which focuses on providing homebuyers with a streamlined way to set up home utilities and services. The launch of Connect stems from Transactly's September acquisition of Dallas-based home connection services company Cake. Financial terms of the acquisition, announced this month, were not disclosed.
Founded in 2017, Transactly provides agents and brokerages with tech-enabled transaction coordinators and services to assist in processing and closing real estate transactions. It says its technology and staff help agents save up to 16 hours of time per real estate transaction. The startup was born out of founder and CEO Bryan Bowles’ experience as the founder of local real estate firm Worth Clark Realty.
Bowles said Transactly’s foray into providing home connection services will enhance its ability to assist agents and homebuyers as part of its effort to offer a "fully-connected home-buying experience." In the past, Transactly has referred agents and homebuyers to outside companies to assist them with setting up utilities at a newly purchased home.
“In looking for partners to refer this work, we came across (Cake), which was relatively young, and they lined up very well with what we were doing from a vision standpoint,” Bowles said.
As part of the acquisition, Cake's six employees have joined Transactly.
“Joining Transactly has given us the ability to grow our service exponentially. We could not have asked for a more dynamic leadership team to take our mission to the next level or a better support team to execute on it," said Tony Neely, operations manager of Connect. Neely previously held the same role with Cake.
Bowles said Transactly will maintain Cake's office in Dallas. Transactly has its headquarters at the OPO Startups campus, located on St. Charles’ historic Main Street.
The launch of Transactly's Connect brand comes as the company experiences rapid growth. It says its revenue more than tripled year over year in 2021. The company did not disclose specific revenue figures. Since its founding, Transactly has raised $13 million, including a $4 million Series A funding round in October 2021.
The deal for Cake is one of several acquisitions Transactly completed last year. It also purchased Flagler Beach, Florida-based SoMo Transactions and Bellevue, Washington-based Moncord Real Estate Professional Services. Transactly's headcount includes 79 employees and 138 transaction coordinators who are independent contractors.
