setting the scene
- it’s time to buy your first home, so you hop on Zillow to browse listings in your desired neighborhood 🏘
- you take a break to look at a few homes “a little” above your price range 💰
- hours have passed by, and you can’t imagine a future without that 6-bedroom Malibu waterfront property with a wine cellar and heated toilet seat 🚽
- dream house-hunting has become a form of entertainment, and this week’s company is building a product to capitalize on this trend📱
in a sentence
Playhouse is a real estate discovery platform that lets users scroll through listings, gain insights, and engage with brokers
- scroll: similar to TikTok or Instagram Reels, videos and photos appear in a feed
- insights: explore neighborhood listings and property details using a map interface
- brokers: message agents and keep up with their content
bulleted version: picture your Instagram feed having a reel estate section; Playhouse combines a social media interface with a database like Zillow 🎥
the basics
- industry: proptech, mobile real estate app
- headquarters: San Francisco, CA 🌁
- year founded: 2020
- company size: < 10 employees 💼
- investors: Agya Ventures, Gaingels, Goodwater Capital, NOMO Ventures, PKO Investments, Y Combinator, Third Round Analytics Capital, Zentani Capital
- amount raised: $2.93m
- stage: seed 🌱
due diligence
what we like
- 👀 engagement: Zillow surfing has proven that users love exploring real estate online, whether or not they’re in the market for a new home
- 🎥 broker tool: Playhouse gives brokers a new, engaging way to connect with buyers
- 📚gamification: a price guessing game educates users on housing markets and keeps them on the app
potential risks
-
🤳young audience: the TikTok-esque interface may appeal to a younger audience, most of whom aren’t ready to purchase a home
- if Playhouse hopes to connect buyers and agents, they’ll need to cater to current homebuyers
- 👮♂️content moderation: as the platform scales and users are able to post their own content, Playhouse will have to monitor for relevancy
- 👩🏻💼selling to brokers: agents will only join if Playhouse’s tools are tailored to growing their audiences and deal flow
founder profiles
- Alex Perelman (prev. @ PeerStreet, Weilos)
- Nathan Shinder (prev. @ PeerStreet, EZ Texting)
comps
why Playhouse: Playhouse has designed an engaging video-first platform that puts a contemporary twist on the digital home buying and browsing experience…we’re sold🪧
