Dallas-Based Nada Closes $8.1M Seed Round to Make Real Estate Investments More Accessible to All » Dallas Innovates

July 27, 2022July 27, 2022 Admin

John Green, Nada co-founder and CEO. [Photo: Nada]

With the aim of “democratizing access” to real estate investments, Dallas startup Nada has raised new funds.

Adding to seed funding that it’s been raising since at least 2020, the real estate-focused fintech—which provides an investment, finance, and banking platform—has closed an $8.1 million funding round led by Austin’s LiveOak Venture Partners. The announcement comes as Nada has seen recent growth through new product offerings.

“Real estate as an asset, that’s always been our focus—how can we make real estate as an asset more accessible and more powerful to the everyday person,” John Green, Nada co-founder and CEO, told Dallas Innovates.

Helping users sell their home for ‘nada’

Launched in 2019, Nada began as an integrated service, removing the traditional commission structure when selling a home by delivering all real estate services—from realty and mortgage to insurance and escrow—for a flat fee paid at close. In markets where the service is offered, the fee is reimbursed to the seller when they purchase another home on the platform, meaning that they sold their home for free, or “nada.” Those who use Nada simply to buy a home are rewarded with closing cost credits that help lower the money needed to close and become a homeowner.

‘Providing financial freedom’ with Cityfunds

Following a crowdfunding raise on the investment platform Republic that saw Nada hit its fundraising goal in less than a week, Nada teamed up with the company’s real estate arm to launch its Cityfunds product last year. Acting as a city-specific, index-like product, Cityfunds allow both accredited and non-accredited investors to invest in single-family rental homes, and fractionally invest in owner-occupied homes.

Currently, Nada has Cityfunds in Dallas, Austin, and Miami. Green said his startup will be looking to launch Cityfunds in six new cities across the country over the next 12 months, with plans to raise up to $75 million for the funds.

“We fundamentally believe that we can make a material difference to people’s lives by making real estate as an asset more accessible,” Green said. “Real estate has historically been a very safe and proven asset class. We believe it’s impactful to really providing financial freedom.”

More products planned

Nada’s new funding was joined by Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Capital Factory, 7BC Venture Capital, Sweater Ventures, LFG Ventures, Badra Capital, and Stonks Fund. As part of the round’s close, LiveOak Founding Partner Krishna Srinivasan and Jesse Stein, co-founder of metaverse-focused investment and development company Everyreal, will join Nada’s board of directors.

In addition to scaling its Cityfunds offering, the new funds will help Nada expand other investment products. Green said the company plans to launch a mobile app by the end of next month. After that, he said Nada aims to launch a debit card that will allow homeowners who’ve purchased through Nada’s platform to access the equity in their homes without taking on debt, and allow Cityfunds users to receive dividends from their investments.

Growing Nada’s team

To support the buildout of its offerings, the company also plans to use the funding to grow its team. Currently with a full-time staff of about 20, Nada moved into new Dallas offices in Oak Lawn that saw the company more than double its physical footprint. With that new space, Green said Nada seeks to grow its headcount to around 60 in the “near-term.” New hires will be “across the board,” ranging from marketing and product management to engineering and legal compliance.

“We’re scaling the company. We’ve been so immersed in building infrastructure and really building a framework that’s highly compliant,” Green said. “Now we’re going to scale those products and we’re going to accelerate.”