Freestyle Ventures sponsored a US $5.8 million seed round on 3rd March 2022, for MyPlace, a social network that allows people to share their private residences. Entrepreneurs Zach Bell and Rameet Chawla first launched the platform in 2019 as a method for them to share their private houses with their friends. Since then, the site has evolved into a social network with millions of users in 86 countries.
MyPlace intends to use the fresh cash to take the product out of beta and publish an iOS app in time for the summer travel season. Haystack, Oceans, and OnDeck were among the investors in the round, as were angel investors from Tesla, Facebook, SpaceX, and PayPal.
What the founders have to say:
Zach Bell -CEO of MyPlace-
“We let our friends know when our houses were available and told them to let us know when they wanted to stay there. One thing led to another, and a friend asked if they could add their house. Someone else then mentioned that a buddy was seeking a place to stay and asked if they might be added to the list. We never intended to do this as a business or start a corporation together, but it just happened that way. We simply wanted to share houses at first.”
Myplace’s founder, Rameet Chawla, stated that the platform currently has two demographics. The first is folks who have extra space and want to share it with a friend while they’re on vacation rather than having it sit empty. The second group is users who want a trusted source to stay in their home while they’re gone, possibly to care for their pets or housesit.
About MyPlace:
MyPlace.co, which launched in 2019, is amid a “rapidly growing” private beta for its worldwide community, which presently has over 3,000 members and a waitlist of over 7,500 people. Potential members must fill out an application and go through a rigorous vetting process, which the company believes sets it apart from its competitors.
Before applicants participate in a virtual discussion with co-founders Zach Bell and Rameet Chawla to discover how they may contribute to the community’s growth and success, MyPlace relies on referrals to allow new members.
The members-only concept effectively circles around trust – accepted members are able to let their friends and family stay in their space/s for free/ reduced rate in exchange for referrals, allowing hosts to earn additional revenue while enhancing the community’s trust aspect. This will appeal to property owners who have been hesitant to post their properties publicly on platforms like Airbnb due to security and visitor verification issues.
According to Zach Bell, around a third of stays follow the home-swapping or conventional “couch surfing” model that propelled Airbnb in its early days. On the other hand, Paid stays generated US $2.5 million in gross transactions among members last year.
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