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For a small company, Alexandria-based real estate startup RCKRBX sure does have big ambitions.
RCKRBX is an analytics platform that helps developers hone plans for multifamily projects based on rigorous polling data from existing and prospective renters. The company, with just seven employees, launched its subscription tool in the D.C. region in early 2023, but over the next 12 months it plans to roll it out in dozens more markets across the country, said Michael Broder, its founder and CEO.
Founded in 2020, RCKRBX descended from a research company called Brightline Strategies that Broder led for more than 20 years, advising political campaigns and other clients using similar advanced statistical methods. Its name is derived from a 19th-century mining tool — a “rockerbox” — used to sift out gold.
Broder started RCKRBX because he believes real estate developers, agents and managers are not getting accurate information about what tenants actually want in terms of amenities, or what, say, the demand is for one- or two-bedroom units versus studios. RCKRBX’s cloud-based platform helps eliminate some of that uncertainty, delivering real-time, data-driven insights on the behaviors and preferences of renters.
“Commercial real estate has been historically slow to adopt technology, yet in a down economy, it is crucial to lean on the technology and data that empower better-informed decisions,” Broder said.
The company has pulled in $4 million to date, including $375,000 it raised in July as part of a targeted $1.7 million funding round. Broder said it has about 50 clients in Greater Washington, including such powerhouses as JBG Smith Properties, McWilliams Ballard and American Real Estate Partners. And the company recently made its first foray outside of the region, pushing into the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
Florida and North Carolina are up next and by this time next year Broder said he expects RCKRBX to be in “50-plus” markets nationally.
Broder is also looking into developing a similar analytics tool for the office market.
RCKRBX
- CEO: Michael Broder
- Headquarters: Alexandria
- Funding to date: $4.125 million
- Full-time employees: 7
- 2023 revenue: Not disclosed
