Leading property tech (proptech) startup Poplar Homes announced today that the company has just raised $53 million in Series B funding. While this capital will largely go towards growth through strategic acquisitions, the Silicon Valley-based startup is also investing heavily in key hires in the Philippines. With a robust operations team based out of Davao, leadership describes this branch office as the company’s “beating heart”.
Founded in 2014 by Santa Clara University classmates Greg Toschi, Chuck Hattemer, and Rico Mok, Poplar Homes was originally conceived as an easier way for students to secure off-campus housing from individual property owners. As the company evolved, the team recognized that the need for better ways to manage rental properties went far beyond student housing.
Following the global pandemic, the market for single family rentals (SFR) surged. Consumers were drawn to a housing option that combines the freedom of single-family living, with the convenience of maintenance-free leased living. In the United States, the number of built-to-rent, single-family homes increased by 30% from 2019 to 2020.
While the market is led in large part by commercial institutions managing scores of built-to-rent homes, the majority of single family homes available for rent are actually owned by individual property owners. These “mom and pop” investors have historically been do-it-yourself landlords, managing their rentals without any of the tech platforms used by their corporate counterparts. Poplar aims to remedy that with a two-sided platform catering to both homeowners and renters. According to Poplar, 67% of their customers previously self-managed their properties. Now, they benefit from a full suite of support services ranging from leasing and maintenance to legal issues and accounting.
“Single-family rentals are an increasingly valuable asset, and Poplar is at the forefront of bringing institutional operating power to main street real estate investors,” said Greg Toschi, co-founder and CEO. “We’re well positioned with 7,500 doors and growing to help everyday property owners nationwide improve their margins on their rentals while also adding real-time transparency into the day-to-day operations, robust financial reporting, and guaranteed rent payouts.”
On the other side of the market, renters can use Poplar’s platform to browse homes, access virtual tours, get approved, and rent instantly. Once in the home, renters can address maintenance issues with Poplar’s automated troubleshooting, which leverages 3D imaging and machine learning to resolve 65% of all maintenance issues remotely. And through their StreetCred program, Poplar addresses the challenges that long-term renting poses towards young families looking to build wealth. As home ownership continues to be the top wealth builder, renters using this StreetCred program get a percentage of their monthly rent payments back as credits that they can later earn as cash towards buying a home.
Poplar’s recent $53 million Series B was led by LL Funds, with participation from new and existing investors including Crescent Cove Advisors, AGNC, as well as Google’s Head of Artificial Intelligence Jeff Dean and proptech venture capitalist Zain Jaffer.
“With the continued growth of the large single family rental market, coupled with a highly fragmented service provider network, Poplar Homes provides a cohesive, technology-driven platform and digital first solution,” said Jim Morrissey, partner at LL Funds and new Poplar Homes board member. “We’re thrilled to partner with and be part of the journey with the Poplar Homes team to transform the property management experience for landlords and their tenants.”
To fuel this mission, Poplar has announced a series of strategic hires, doubling the size of the team and bringing on key executives. These include Travis Buchanan as chief operating officer (formerly of American Homes 4 Rent), Scott Breon as chief strategy officer (formerly of Vacasa), Carolyn Landis as executive vice president of corporate development, and Justin Lieberknecht as vice president of marketing (formerly of American Homes for Rent). Also joining their executive team is Manila-based Keenan Ugarte, who now serves as Poplar’s director of M&A.
Poplar, like many Silicon Valley ventures, has a long history of investing in Philippines-based talent. But with a robust presence in Davao, Poplar is increasingly turning to their Filipino workforce to not only power, but lead the charge in their growth strategy in the coming years.
“We consider Davao a branch office instead of outsourcing, which I think is noteworthy,” said Chuck Hattemer, Poplar co-founder and CMO. “In a time when you can actually have a global united workforce, we’re not engaged with any BPOs or agencies. This is the beating heart. Our team in Davao is building products and services, testing ideas with customers daily. Staff with tenure and seniority can actually have a stake in Poplar as well. Ownership is key in our value system.”
In growing their team in the Philippines, Hattemer says the team looked specifically at Davao, as opposed to Manila. “Though Manila has plenty of highly-qualified talent as well, it’s a crowded and transient market,” he said. “We’re building a lifelong brand and company—we expect those that join to be in it for the long-haul to see us grow to one million doors under management and play a key role in that journey. When we first were exploring locations, we had the best results in Davao in terms of positive customer feedback and highly motivated talent across engineering, product, sales, operations, and marketing.”
“[The city] has a growing entrepreneurial community and an untapped talent pool for technology-enabled service companies,” he said. “There’s a paradigm shift happening in the Davao workforce as they seek a more inclusive and dynamic work environment.”
Today, Poplar Homes manages 244 employees globally—and the team is constantly growing. According to Rico Mok, co-founder and CTO, their latest fundraising round has only emboldened their commitment to championing talent as the startup’s true growth engine. “Our philosophy is human first,” he said. “We only build products that will help unlock an employee or customer’s capabilities so they can focus more of their time on the human parts of life.”
Editor’s Note: Keenan Ugarte, who recently joined Poplar Homes as its Director of Mergers and Acquisitions, is a part-owner of The Independent Investor. The Independent Investor’s editorial team operates independently of its board.