Proptech Around, the “Netflix of real-estate”, raised a $3.8 million seed round led by LEAP Global Partners, with participation of Latitud Ventures, Ganas Ventures, Gaingels, Unpopular Ventures, August Hill and a16z scout fund to expand from Mexico to the rest of Latin America.
Several top proptech founders and operators also joined the round, including Jonathan Wasserstrum, co-founder of SquareFoot (leading U.S. proptech); Jerónima Uribe, co-founder of La Haus; Jonathan McNulty, former vice president of product at Trulia and Zillow (both iconic U.S. proptech firms); Lucas Vargas, former CEO of VivaReal; and Conor Welsh, former global director for tax/legal operations at Airbnb; among others.
Based in Mexico City, Around converts vacant real estate into fully serviced office space with no exposure to fixed rents. The contract is generated by a monthly subscription.
“Like Netflix: it can be canceled at any time and there are no deposits. Companies choose the date of entry and it starts running under monthly installments,” says CEO Martin Haiek.
Since launching during the peak of the pandemic in late 2020, Around has managed to reach $2.5 million in annualized revenue, projecting 5x growth for next year due to the steady increase in demand.
Around’s co-founders are Argentinean Martín Haiek and Mexicans Gerardo Vallarta and Alfonso Tinoco. Today, the proptech has a team of 21 people. In just one year they went from five clients to 100, with more than 120 locations in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
According to CEO Martin Haiek, the company plans to expand to major Latin American cities, starting in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Later on, the goal will be to reach Buenos Aires, Santiago and Lima. Around’s current client portfolio includes some of the region’s leading startups and venture capital firms, such as Tribal, Flink, Fondeadora, Investo and Monashees.
“Around is redefining office space for startups and SMEs in a post-pandemic world. Young companies want to remain as flexible and hybrid as possible, but they also know how important it is for their teams to have a place to meet, socialize and work. Unfortunately, once they outgrow the capacity of coworking spaces, their only option is a long-term lease with a large upfront investment.”
Haiek to Forbes Argentina