FinTech News
FinTech Real Estate Platform Backflip Raises $15 Million
A real estate FinTech has revealed its latest funding round.
About the round:
This week, Backflip announced that it raised $15 million. The Series A was led by FirstMark Capital, while previous investors Vertical Venture Partners, LiveOak Venture Partners, Revel Partners, ECMC, Crow Holdings, and various angel investors also participated. To date, Backflip has raised $95 million in combined equity and debt, including an $8 million seed round in 2022.
About Backflip:
Backflip is a real estate platform aimed at entrepreneurs. Using the service, investors can procure short-term loans to acquire and renovate single family homes. In the Backflip app, users can gather real-time data on potential investments.
The platform has helped fund more than 900 homes to date, with members grossing an average profit of $82,000 per property. These members also typically repay their loans within six months.
According to the company, it recently surpassed $10 million in revenue run rate and has increased this metric five fold year over year. As a result, Backflip reports that it’s nearly profitable.
What they’re saying:
Discussing the company’s success so far, Backflip CEO Josh Ernst said, “Backflip is not just about flipping houses; it’s about flipping the script on the why, how and what it means to be a real estate entrepreneur. Over 400,000 homes are flipped every year in the U.S. and growing. Our mission is to help everyone access the funding and tools they need to participate.”
Ernst continued “We put information, support, and capital products designed for entrepreneurs in the hands of more individuals in an industry that has historically had too many barriers to successfully starting and scaling. In doing so, we’re empowering our members to rejuvenate communities one modernized home at a time.”
As for what attracted FirstMark to the FinTech, the firm’s managing director Adam Nelson said, “We are thrilled to lead Backflip’s Series A to continue the work of building the financial operating system for this integral but overlooked part of the real estate value chaiin. The Backflip team has combined deep product empathy, technology, and capital formation to build a 10x better product for their members.”
My thoughts:
The concept of Backflip does sound intriguing for those interested in flipping homes. Apparently, the market for that is larger than I would have thought given the platform’s success so far. Moreover, the fact that Backflip managed to grow so significantly despite housing market challenges speaks volumes about the service’s viability. So, while $15 million may not be a huge Series A, it’s a solid round for a growing FinTech.