Austin-based Ender Raises $7M Seed To Streamline The Property Rental Game
Summary
Ender, a new Austin-based real estate company with a platform aimed at streamlining the rental property management process, has raised $7 million in a seed round of funding. The group aims to help modernize an industry that is “stuck in the dark ages.” Jason Mirra, co-founder and CTO of Ender, says he hasn’t seen “an industry so backward since govtech.” The company’s goal is to help owners of rental homes more efficiently (i.e. digitally) handle day-to-day operations of property management such as maintenance requests, collect rent, show their properties and manage leasing applications. Basically, as co-founder and CEO Jon Lonsdale describes it, Ender aims to be “a cohesive platform [that] benefits property investors, tenants, and vendors by simplifying leasing, payments, accounting, and communication” in one place. Ender is also working on integrating smart home technology into all the rental units its platform helps manage. This is in addition to its existing “Smart Leasing” service, which essentially schedules self-showings, sends applications online and processes credit and background checks.