Flexible rent provider Till raises $8 million in Seed funding

Washington, DC-based Till announced an $8 million Seed funding round led by Route 66 Ventures, MetaProp and NextGen Venture Partners. This latest round brings the total funding raised to over $11 million.

Founded in 2017, the startup is a team of ~27 people and its flagship product is a Flexible Rent platform that allows renters to create a customized payment schedule.

The platform was first introduced in April 2020 and according to the company, is expected to cut evictions by as much as 50%. So far, it has been rolled out to 170 properties comprising 30,000 units in 14 states and has been adopted by up to 30% of renters at some of these properties.

Also, for those renters who are short on rent, Till may offer a rental loan.

“Every year, millions of renters and families are evicted from their homes, due in part to rent servicing strategies that have failed to evolve to the ways people earn and spend money in the 21st century. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the country, mass unemployment and other economic fallout is threatening to push those numbers even higher. At Till, our mission is to enable renters to thrive in their homes by radically transforming rent into a positive and personalized financial experience. We partner with institutional landlords to help them bridge the often challenging landlord-renter relationship. With the backing of Route 66 Ventures and other investors, we are now in prime position to expand our platform and fully reimagine the way Americans rent their housing.” – Till Founder and CEO David Sullivan.

“Since we first learned about Till, we have been extremely impressed by its ability to bridge the gap between the increasingly volatile income and expense patterns of renters and the more rigid financial realities of landlords. As the uncertainty wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic fallout continues with no clear end in sight, it’s more important than ever that landlords find new, mutually beneficial, ways to work with renters to reduce late fees, minimize evictions and foster renters’ long-term financial health. Till provides a perfect solution that helps solve these challenges for both sides of the market, and we are proud to back them as they enter the next phase of their growth.” – Zak Schwarzman, General Partner at MetaProp.

The company has formed partnerships with numerous leading real estate owners and property management companies, including First Communities, TM Associates, Redwood Capital Group, ACRE, and Landmark Property Services.

“Till has completely altered the way we approach rent collection, but more importantly, it has improved our fundamental relationship with our residents. By taking a more personalized approach with each of our units, we’ve been able to significantly reduce turnover at our buildings and get a more comprehensive, accurate view of our revenue stream. We’ve also been able to avoid imposing penalties on our renters, putting them in better financial health and ensuring better long-term stability to our business.” – Les Menkes, managing partner of ACRE.

Bottom Line: Jetty , the New York City-based alternative to security deposits, is possibly eyeing this space – “Our first product is a security deposit replacement that helps lower the upfront cost for renters and helps landlords drive occupancy in their buildings. Our second product is a flexible payment product and we are looking to hire a GM to own this entire business – building it from initial ideation to a significant and meaningful part of Jetty’s overall offering.”