Participated · Series B · Feb 2022

Houwzer is a full-service, salaried-agent real estate brokerage and homeownership platform that integrates real estate, mortgage, title, and escrow services on a proprietary end-to-end technology platform. The company uses an all‑W2 compensation model and a $5,000 flat‑fee listing product that it says saves sellers an average of $15,000. Houwzer has helped clients buy and sell roughly 4,000 homes with cumulative sales volume near $2 billion and has saved home sellers about $35 million in brokerage commissions. The company reports a category‑leading Net Promoter Score of 84 and an average client rating of 4.9 from over 1,000 reviews. Houwzer plans to launch three consumer products—Cash Advantage™, Convenience Offers™, and Buy Before You Sell—to give clients a competitive edge in today’s market. The fundraising will also support deeper penetration across its six MSAs in seven states and hiring across Marketing, Product, People, and Home Services. Houwzer is an online real-estate platform that hires agents as salaried employees and charges a flat $5,000 listing fee plus a 2.5% buyer’s broker fee. The company handles business generation, marketing, and administrative tasks for agents and invests in their training and education. Since founding in 2015, Houwzer says it has saved home sellers in the mid‑Atlantic more than $13.8 million and helped buy or sell thousands of homes worth a combined $750 million. Houwzer has grown 100% year‑over‑year and is profitable in the Philadelphia area, with plans to be profitable in the D.C. area within the coming year. With 77 employees (50 agents), the company plans to double its workforce in the next 12–18 months and enter the Orlando market later this year. Houwzer intends to expand its geographic footprint across greater Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, and to broaden services beyond brokerage into mortgage, title, and insurance while doubling down on its technology. Houwzer operates a full-service real estate brokerage that aims to reimagine every aspect of the home buying and selling experience by providing homeowners full service at a fair price. The company leverages technology alongside a team-based brokerage model that uses listing agents to support sellers from consultation to closing and salaried realtors who help buyers find homes. Led by Co-Founder & CEO Mike Maher, Houwzer offers an alternative to traditional commission-driven brokerages. The company announced a $4.5M extension of its seed funding and said it will use the proceeds to continue expanding operations and its business reach. The raise reflects ongoing early-stage financing activity rather than a later-stage round. Houwzer is based in Philadelphia, Pa. Houwzer is a tech-enabled real estate brokerage founded in February 2015 by CEO Mike Maher and based in Philadelphia, PA. The company leverages listing and buyer specialists who receive salaries instead of commissions to prioritize service over sales. Houwzer has saved homeowners more than $2 million in unnecessary listing fees and has booked well over $100 million in sales volume. It currently employs 35 full-time employees with plans to reach 55 by year’s end. The company plans to use its seed funds to grow operations in Philadelphia, expand into a second major metro market in 2017, and launch a new technology platform to improve the home transaction experience for buyers and sellers. The articles report a $2.0M seed raise with $1.6M already closed and the remainder scheduled to close on June 1, 2017.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2018

SidelineSwap operates a peer-to-peer online marketplace and a trade-in platform for new and used sporting goods. Its Trade-in Platform includes pop-up events, in-store and online trade-in options for brands and retailers, plus tools for resellers to power their own trade-in experiences. The company uses proprietary resale data and marketplace technology to support a hybrid model of peer-to-peer and first-party sales. SidelineSwap says the model lets sellers choose direct resale or instant trade-in value and broadens selection for buyers. Founded in 2015, SidelineSwap reports sellers have earned more than $100 million to date through the platform. The company has been listed on Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z Top 100 marketplaces list from 2019–2022. It plans to use the investment to expand its trade-in platform and continue building the leading online marketplace in sports. SidelineSwap operates a marketplace dedicated to sporting goods, offering peer-to-peer listings alongside first-party sales and branded partner marketplaces. The company has built a Trade-in Platform that supports pop-up events, in-store and online trade-in options, and tools for resellers to run their own trade-in experiences. The Trade-in Platform is powered by SidelineSwap’s marketplace technology and proprietary resale data, and the hybrid model lets sellers choose direct resale or instant trade-in value. SidelineSwap says it was founded in 2015 and has enabled athletes to earn more than $100,000,000 to date by reselling gear. The business is positioning itself to power resale wherever athletes shop or play and to expand resale partnerships with retailers. SidelineSwap was one of the fastest growing marketplaces on Andreessen Horowitz’s A16z Top 100 marketplace list for 2020. SidelineSwap is an online marketplace that enables athletes to buy and sell new and used sports gear and equipment. The platform covers gear for sports including lacrosse, hockey, baseball, skiing, golf, soccer, softball, football, basketball and snowboarding. Founded in 2015 and led by CEO Brendan Candon, the Boston-based company has attracted more than 200,000 athletes to the platform. The company raised a $5M Series A in April 2018 and has total funding of $8.9M. It said it will use the funds to continue to expand operations. Prior to the Series A the company raised a $2.1M seed extension in fall 2017 and a $1.8M seed round in spring 2016. SidelineSwap operates an online marketplace that allows athletes of all ages to buy and sell new and used gear for sports including lacrosse, hockey, baseball, skiing, golf, soccer, softball, football, basketball and snowboarding. Founded in 2012 and led by CEO Brendan Candon, the company is based in Boston, MA. The community has more than 150,000 athletes. SidelineSwap intends to use the new funds to accelerate growth and make engineering hires to improve the buying and selling experience. Financially, the company has raised $4M to date. Prior financings include a $1.8M seed round in spring 2016 and $120K from family and friends in fall 2014.