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Starting today, U.S. real estate technology firms can apply to be part of the 2024 cohort for the National Association of Realtors‘ tech accelerator, REACH.
Applications are due by Jan. 31. NAR’s for-profit investment subsidiary, Second Century Ventures, runs the program, which welcomes both startups and established companies.
REACH 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 nearly 1.6 million members.
SCV has REACH programs on five continents. The U.S. program focuses on products for residential real estate, including innovations from related industries such as banking, finance, home services, title, mortgage and insurance, NAR said in an announcement Wednesday.
“The support and developmental opportunities that REACH provides to the proptech sector are unmatched,” said Ashley Stinton, REACH’s executive director and a managing partner, in a statement.
Ashley Stinton
“Our goal is to turn the industry’s significant challenges into opportunities for creative solutions and advanced development, offering substantial advantages for the participating companies in terms of innovation, market positioning and economic impact.”
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 the startup is serving; what is the company’s competitive advantage; what problem it is trying to solve; how much funding it has received so far; and what is its business model.
In the past, startups that enrolled in REACH paid a marketing fee of up to $25,000 to Second Century Ventures and handed over equity stakes ranging from 1.75 to 5 percent. NAR hasn’t disclosed the cost of enrollment for more recent classes.
According to an Inman Intel review conducted this past spring, since REACH’s inception, a total of 80 companies have gone through the U.S. program. More than three-quarters of them (62 out of 80) were still in operation in May and more than one-fifth (17 out of 80) had been acquired. About one-sixth (13 out of 80) were entirely defunct while one-sixteenth (5 out of 80) were acquired and then absorbed into their parent companies.
Dave Garland
“As real estate technology continues its rapid evolution, the startups we welcome into the REACH program this year will play a key, central role in our industry’s future,” said Dave Garland, a SCV managing partner, in a statement.
“Participation in REACH offers these companies a unique platform and access to a variety of diverse resources and professional expertise, providing these entrepreneurs support as they work to expand their networks and grow their enterprises.”
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