Funding accelerates hospitality-first “PropCare” approach to integrated home services and maintenance
Birdwatch PBC is a tech and services company operating in the DC and Philadelphia metro areas. Launched in January 2022, Birdwatch has rapidly grown a membership base of busy homeowners who trust Birdwatch to be their partner in taking care of that most personal of spaces: their home.
The $3.2M seed round brings together experienced investors in the consumer, real estate and fintech ecosystems: Social Leverage, Starting Line, Berger Investments, FJ Labs, Path VC and others. These investors join the Birdwatch team in recognizing that homeowners are desperate for a reliable and delightful experience in the fragmented home services industry.
The “Uberization” of industries often commoditizes the hard work of people in service industries. Relationships and quality become an afterthought when online marketplaces focus on speed and price: everything becomes just a transaction. Birdwatch’s model flips this on its head by employing and empowering the best technicians, assigning homeowners their own personal Home Manager, and bringing it all together with a fanatical approach to customer service.
Simplicity is key, with the whole company being designed to reduce the stress of managing a property. The funding will expand the technology platform that Birdwatch has built to be ‘the easy button for your home’ and support staffing increases to accommodate the pace of member growth.
Birdwatch CEO Chris Rosenbaum points out that “a shocking 68% of homeowners report being stressed or overwhelmed about taking care of their homes. Your family’s biggest purchase should not be your biggest pain, so we’re building Birdwatch to give you confidence and control in caring for your home. We are beyond excited that such accomplished investors see the power in a model that puts people at the center of all we do.”
Gary Benitt, partner at Social Leverage, explains his motivation for the investment: “First and foremost, it’s a product I wish existed as I would definitely be a user and ardent supporter. But just as importantly, Chris has assembled a purpose-built team that is mission-driven to bring this product to market in a intelligent fashion with customer satisfaction as their north star. I’m just excited to be a part of their journey.”
Rare in the startup and home services ecosystems, Birdwatch is a public benefit corporation. By taking equal care of customers, staff and communities, the founding team believes it can unlock exceptional experiences and retention. The company is stewarding a 1% for Housing Justice program that donates 1% of net revenues to its sister foundation birdSEED, which provides no-strings-attached downpayment grants to first-time BIPOC homebuyers.
Ezra Galston, Founding Partner at Starting Line, sees the larger opportunity as such: “Maintaining an aging home in America is becoming increasingly treacherous. From the scheduling challenges of dual working home families to the unprecedented level of home improvement scams reported to the FTC, real Americans need help managing their home and finding vendors they can actually trust. Historically, those concierge property management services have been restricted only to the wealthy. Birdwatch makes that concierge experience accessible to the masses. We have known the Birdwatch team for a decade and are excited to partner with them in their support of real home owners everywhere.”