Belong raises $40 million

California-based Belong, which features a three-sided marketplace for the sake of reinventing and modernizing the traditional home and apartment rental experience, is announcing a $40 million Series B round from a variety of investors including A16z, GGV Capital, Battery Ventures, Austen Allred, CEO of Lambda School, Kevin and Julia Hartz, founders of Eventbrite, Sarah Frier, CEO of Nextdoor, Eric Wu, CEO of OpenDoor, Uber Alumni Syndicate, Laurence Tosi, former CFO of Airbnb and Blackstone, and a few others.

Founded in 2018, Belong looks to improve the interactions between homeowners, renters, and service professionals. For homeowners, the startup offers a property management solution that helps with finding long-term renters while taking care of every aspect from background checks to collecting rent payments. Belong also highlights an up to $1M protection plan that may cover resident-caused damage not covered by landlord insurance. For renters, Belong helps with finding a home backed with a 30-day to “feel at home guarantee” that allows them to move out if they don’t. Belong also helps renters with finding a mover and paying rent online among other things. The last part of the equation are service pros – the company offers a range of construction and pro services from its in-house team backed by a quality guarantee.

“Belong seeks to inject humanity and personality into the home rental market. The company targets homeowners who love and care about their homes, and it seeks residents who will treat the home as if they own it. This strategy appears to be working: 40 percent of new homeowners already come to Belong through word-of-mouth and organic referrals.” – Andreessen Horowitz blog.