Avenue 8, the mobile-first residential real estate brokerage, announced $14 million in Series A funding, co-led by Threshold Ventures and Craft Ventures. The new funding will fuel Avenue 8’s growth as it continues to expand into major markets after its roll-out in San Francisco and the greater Southern California market last year. Craft Ventures General Partner Jeff Fluhr will join the company’s board of directors.
Co-founded by Justin Fichelson, a top 1% national residential real estate agent, and Michael Martin, former managing partner at Code and Theory, Avenue 8 has seen 25% compounded monthly agent growth and 96% customer retention since launching in March 2020. Avenue 8’s subscription-based model gives agents end-to-end support, consistently introducing platform upgrades and new service offerings such as performance marketing automation. The platform produces four times more effective marketing ROI than industry benchmarks, the company claimed, saving agents hundreds of hours and unlocking millions of dollars in potential commission.
New co-lead investor Threshold Ventures, the early-stage venture firm behind Livongo, BetterUp, Divvy and other disruptive market leaders, was joined by existing investors Craft Ventures, Zigg Capital and Good Friends in this round. The new funding follows Avenue 8’s December 2020 $4 million seed round, and will drive expansion into major markets, like New York City and Miami later this year, in addition to enhancing product development.
“By giving agents the latest tools and services they need to be more effective at their jobs, Avenue 8 has validated strong demand with the current and next generation of realtors and consumers,” said Chirag Chotalia, partner at Threshold Ventures. “Justin and Michael are founders with the innate ability to recruit next-level operators, enabling the company to gain traction and capitalize on the clear market gap between a high-value brand experience and an agent-aligned business model.”
