99.co

99.co
Private
Industry Real Estate
Founded 2014
Headquarters Singapore, Singapore
Area served
 Singapore
Key people
 Darius Cheung (CEO)
Anuj Bheda
Conor McLaughlin
Dominic Ee
Website 99.co

99.co is a map-based real estate portal founded in 2014 by Darius Cheung, Anuj Bheda, Conor McLaughlin, and Dominic Ee. Headquartered in Singapore, it is currently operational only in Singapore, though there are plans to expand into Southeast Asia in the near future. In 2015, it was named by the Singapore Business Review as one of the hottest startups in Singapore to watch out for, while CEO Darius Cheung was named by the Singapore Computer Society as the 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year.

As of January 2015, it has raised a total of SGD$2.7 million (US$2 million). Its investors include Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, Sequoia Capital, 500 Startups, Golden Gate Ventures, East Ventures, Fenox Venture Capital, QuestVC, and Kathrein Ventures.

History

The inspiration for creating 99.co came when Cheung needed to look for an apartment of his own for the first time after his roommate moved out. He cited the frustrating lack of a user-friendly, comprehensive medium for searching authentic, high-quality listings in Singapore as a catalyst for creating a better alternative to the existing web and mobile tools.

The beta site for 99.co was launched in November 2014, while the official launch took place in January 2015. By May 2015, it had over 100,000 listings - a more than 1000% growth from the 11,000 listings in November.

Operations

Searching by travel time on 99.co

As a property search tool, 99.co allows filtering according to parameters such as district, proximity to MRT stations, travel time to specific geolocations, and user-defined key words. It claims to distinguish itself from rivals by prioritizing user-friendly experience and relevant search results.

As of May 2015, 99.co has yet to undertake any active monetization models, instead offering a free subscription for all property agencies until December 31, 2015, after which property agents will be charged a flat subscription rate to ensure that listings will not be given preferential treatment for factors other than posting quality and relevance.

The company has also started offering free photo and video services for property agents to encourage high-quality listings in May 2015.

Funding

In May 2014, 99.co announced securing SGD$700,000 (US$560,000) from 500 Startups, Golden Gate Ventures, East Ventures, and Fenox Venture Capital.

In January 2015, 99.co announced securing US1.6 million from Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Sequoia Capital, bringing its total funding to $2.7 million and putting the company at a valuation of $8 million.

See also

The 99.co team also runs homie.co, a website for renters seeking roommates and/or housemates.

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.