CompStak is a crowdsourced platform for commercial real estate information, with, everything that all parties involved need to know. But we mean everything. And when you have all the information landlords, brokers, lenders and even the media all need, all in one place, and it’s accurate and up to date, that’s a win. Especially when you’ve pretty much got a lock on the vertical.
Then you’ve got a big win.
CEO and Cofounder Michael Mandel tells us how they closed the deal.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Canaan Partners, DMG Information, Expansion VC, and other strategic investors participated in our Series A1.
Tell us about your service.
CompStak envisions a commercial real estate industry where accurate and more transparent data leads to better, faster deals for everyone. We gather critical information that is hard to access, then make it instantly and seamlessly available to our platform members.
We’ve partnered with thousands of brokers across the country, using a unique data exchange model to create the foremost lease-comp platform in the world. Our platform is used by landlords to compare properties, lenders to underwrite loans, hedge funds to make investments, brokers to close deals, and the media to track real estate trends.
How is it different?
We’re the only crowdsourced platform for commercial real estate information, and we provide the only comprehensive database of commercial lease information.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
The Commercial Real Estate market is $11 billion in the US alone.
What’s your business model?
We gather information via crowdsourcing from commercial real estate brokers, appraisers and researchers. As a result, we end up with a comprehensive database of commercial lease comps. We sell subscription access to this database to banks, private equity funds, REITs and other real estate investors/lenders.
What’s the hottest New York neighborhood for commercial real estate right now?
Depends how you define “hottest.” For office space in Manhattan, the market is very strong across the board. In particular, the neighborhoods in Midtown South (Chelsea, Flatiron, SoHo, etc.) have been driving New York rents to record heights.
What was the funding process like?
Every fund raise is a little different. In this case, we kept the process simple by bringing in our lead investor from our Series A, as well as strategic investors who have shown interest in investing in CompStak in the past.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
The distraction involved in fundraising.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our significant growth post Series A, combined with a much larger vision for the future.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
Significant revenue growth and product expansion across the board.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Build an MVP and get some traction so that investors see the value of what your doing. Then don’t be afraid to think VERY big about what your business can become, and sell that vision to investors. Or, just grow it organically!
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
Our “secret sauce” is our ability to gather information through crowdsourcing that, until now, has been hard to come by and difficult to compile. We plan to leverage the power of this model to new data sets, while improving the power of our product.
What’s your favorite Fall escape near NYC?
Apple picking in Warwick NY.
