The application window for the National Association of Realtors’ U.S. tech accelerator is now open.
The accelerator, REACH, also has a new executive director, NAR veteran Ashley Stinton.
NAR’s venture capital arm and for-profit subsidiary Second Century Ventures runs REACH, which debuted in 2012 and has invested in more than 200 real estate-related startups. The program helps its participants tailor their products to best fit the real estate industry, provides networking opportunities with industry experts and offers exposure to NAR’s members.
Bob Goldberg
“Real estate technology continues to undergo a significant transformation, and the startups selected for the REACH program will play a critical role in helping to drive that change,” said NAR CEO and SCV President Bob Goldberg in a statement.
“REACH companies get access to resources and expertise to help expand their network and accelerate their growth. Their ideas and ingenuity will help ensure that Realtors continue to have access to the latest technology and remain in the best possible position to serve consumers here in the U.S. and across the world.”
SCV began expanding the accelerator beyond the U.S. in 2019, and it operates in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and most recently, Latin America.
The application window for REACH and its commercial real estate counterpart, REACH Commercial, began Tuesday and ends on Jan. 31, 2023.
The program’s application form asks for basic information about the company and its founders, including how many are female, minority and/or LGBTQ+; what market and customers is the startup serving; what is the startup’s competitive advantage; what problem is it trying to solve; how much funding has it received so far; and what is its business model.
In the past, startups that enrolled in REACH paid a marketing fee of $25,000 to Second Century Ventures and handed over equity stakes ranging from 2 to 5 percent. NAR hasn’t disclosed the cost of enrollment for more recent classes.
This week SCV also appointed Stinton as the new executive director of the U.S. NAR REACH program. Stinton has served as SCV and REACH’s head of marketing since December 2018. Before that, she’d worked in marketing at NAR since April 2015, following stints at the Coca-Cola Company and 3M. Stinton is the daughter of former SCV president and former NAR CEO Dale Stinton.
Ashley Stinton
“Ashley has been instrumental to the growth of the REACH brand and in the expansion of our flagship program across geographies and verticals,” said Dave Garland, managing partner at Second Century Ventures, in a statement.
“She has worked closely with our global team and portfolio, helping accelerate more than 100 companies during her tenure and time spent previously as a REACH mentor. We have immense confidence in Ashley’s ability to lead the NAR REACH program through the next decade of innovation and to further amplify the depth of transformative technology REACH helps cultivate.”
In a statement, Stinton said NAR REACH would continue to elevate the role of tech in real estate.
“As we look to the year ahead, we will embrace the market’s most pressing challenges as an opportunity to source new ideas and evolve existing solutions to benefit consumers, real estate professionals and the economy as a whole,” she said.
Stinton replaces Kia Nejatian, who was REACH’s executive director until he started as head of corporate development at pre-sale renovation company Revive Real Estate in September.
