Pacaso, a property broker, is the fastest US start-up that ever reached a billion-dollar valuation.
From 0 to unicorn in one month!
The business model is simple. The company buys typically very nice homes in very nice locations and sells them to multiple investors. The buyers may just be looking for a profit opportunity or they may be looking to buy a vacation property but don not want the hassle maintaining and/or cost of owning the whole thing, just to use is for a small period of time.
Buyers get an equity share in a wonderful home all around the world. And with the ability to spend as many as 44 days in a unit, they can truly enjoy the home they invested in. Structuring the ownership stake in the form of an LLC makes the cashing-out process easier. Owners simply need to sell their stakes and not an entire home. This creates a liquid and transparent market.
Overall, this idea is not all new but new technology is driving it to higher levels.
It proves the power of the start-up market when a new company can go from 0 to $1.5 billion in a month. For early investors, the profits are huge.
Sven Franssen