Multifamily Executive — Funnel Completes $36.5 Million Series B to Grow Leasing Platform
The funding, led by RET Ventures and leading multifamily operators, will help enable centralized leasing operations across portfolios..
Funnel Leasing has completed its $36.5 million Series B raise that is expected to help transform the leasing process for multifamily operators. The financing will help expand the renter-centric leasing platform’s reach in the enterprise and middle markets of leading property owners and managers.
RET Ventures, a leading proptech-focused venture capital firm and existing Funnel investor, led the preemptive round and was joined by Camden Property Trust, Morgan Properties, Wilshire Lane Capital, Trinity Ventures, and Camber Creek. Additional strategic investment was provided by RET Ventures limited partners Cortland, Essex, and MAA.
“RET’s limited partners are some of the largest and most innovative operators in multifamily real estate. They have seen Funnel’s ability to transform the entire leasing process through their initial investment years ago, and they have been an invaluable partner to us ever since,” said Funnel CEO Tyler Christiansen. “We are honored to now be the full-portfolio CRM for five of the 20 largest apartment owners in America. This financing gives us the ability to allow other forward-thinking companies to move leasing from the property level to the portfolio level.”
“We are honored to now be the full-portfolio CRM for five of the 20 largest apartment owners in America. This financing gives us the ability to allow other forward-thinking companies to move leasing from the property level to the portfolio level.” – Tyler Christiansen, CEO at Funnel
According to Funnel, the marketing, communications, and leasing platform streamlines the rental life cycle, creating efficiencies for site teams and improving the process through automations and added conveniences for renters. The software places the renter, not the property, at the center of every interaction. In addition, the technology helps to improve workstream operations across a portfolio.
Funnel was founded in 2010 as an apartment marketing platform and expanded significantly in 2018 as a full-stack platform for the entire rental process. Its products include:
- Engage, a lead management solution and customer relationship management with automations for tasks and omni-channel communications to manage the renter journey;
- Amplify, a virtual leasing agent that works across texting, email, and chat;
- Convert, a suite of online leasing tools, including instant income verification; and
- Signal, a syndication tool for major third-party internet listing services with integrations to ensure listings are accurate and richer data can be captured through inquiries.
“By providing a simple, seamless, and personalized renter journey, we help leading multifamily companies lease faster and more efficiently,” said Christiansen. “For owners and operators on legacy property management systems (PMS) feeling stuck between a bunch of disconnected point solutions or giving up their trusted accounting systems, we have great news and a better approach: We integrate deeply with the biggest PMS players and provide a modern, flexible, and complete leasing platform to help you reduce costs and compete more effectively to today’s and tomorrow’s renters.”
“By providing a simple, seamless, and personalized renter journey, we help leading multifamily companies lease faster and more efficiently.” – Tyler Christiansen, CEO at Funnel
The Series B raise caps off a banner year for Funnel Leasing, which saw 115% year-over-year revenue growth, doubled employee head count from 40 to 80, launched Amplify with Camden Property Trust, and created the 501(c)(3) H.O.M.E. to provide disadvantaged renters with access to safe and health housing.
The Series B round also marks one of the largest investments to date for RET Ventures.
“Our conversations with strategic investors have increasingly shown the need for a more streamlined leasing process that puts the prospective resident in control of the process and allows for self-touring, omni-channel communications, and online leasing so that an apartment can be leased at any hour of the day at the prospective renter’s convenience,” said RET Ventures partner John Helm. “The pandemic, resulting social distancing requirements, and limited staffing accelerated this trend. In this environment, Funnel has become one of the most valuable proptech tools, sought by both clients and tech partners because of its location at the top of the sales funnel.”
To learn more about Renter Management Software and what this means for renters and property management companies, book a demo here.
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About Funnel
Funnel’s renter-centric solutions revolutionize the antiquated process of finding a home into an enjoyable experience. We believe all renters deserve a seamless, simple and personalized journey. We provide leasing and communication tools that are intuitive and obliterate repetitive tasks — driving more efficient leasing. Join us as we help leading property management teams create tomorrow’s rental experience at funnelleasing.com.
Media Contact
Alex Howe, Vice President of Marketing
alex.howe@funnelleasing.com