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SALT LAKE CITY — A Silicon Valley startup will soon expand into the Silicon Slopes of Utah thanks to a recent $40 million funding round, and they'll bring 100 new job opportunities to the area, the company announced Tuesday.
Belong, founded in 2018, is a home rental platform aimed at trying to make long-term renting an easier experience for both tenants and landlords — although the company prefers the terms "homeowners" and "resident."
Currently, the startup offers its services in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, with plans to expand into other California markets and widen its reach in their existing services this year.
In 2020, despite the pandemic-caused changing rental market in California, the company saw huge growth at about 500%, according to CEO Ale Resnik.
"We're eager to hire the best talent Utah has to offer," Resnik said in a statement. "There are many reasons Utah made sense as our HQ2, but we've been especially impressed by the deep emphasis on community culture, and the state's incredible talent offering, and its startup-friendly business policies."
The company won't be offering services in Utah yet, but expansion to other states might be in the plans for the future, according to Erin Anderson, head of experience and expansion at Belong.
"We connect homeowners, primarily in the single-family home marketplace. And these homeowners usually are what we call an accidental landlord," she explained.
An accidental landlord can come from a number of situations, she said. For example, someone who bought a home, raised their kids in it, and now are downsizing and retiring; or someone who inherited a home from a family member. In both cases, they no longer want to live in the home, "but they still have a sentimental attachment to this home, so, they want to find someone who's going to love and care for it as much as they have," Anderson said.
In the COVID-19 pandemic, there's been a larger demand for residents wanting to move into a single-family home but unable to afford to buy one, she noted. Research has also shown younger generations are renting for longer due to the rising house prices and short supply — like what's been seen in Utah's housing market and resulting crisis.
"We want to create an experience that makes someone feel at home and make you feel like you belong, even if you're not an owner," Anderson said. "What we're looking at here, we're connecting these homes that people really care about with residents who are looking."
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Belong is still in a hybrid remote working and in-office environment but has plans to set up an office in Lehi or the greater Salt Lake City area later this year.
The startup has been backed by several top investors, including Laurence Tosi, former CFO of Airbnb; Sarah Frier, CEO of Nextdoor; and Utah native Austen Allred, CEO of Lambda School.
"I invested in Belong because I knew the home rental experience was ripe for a change, and the company's team and technology are already delivering on that promise," Allred said in a statement. "Now I'm excited to see how this infusion of Utah tech talent will both accelerate the company's success and provide another great opportunity for Utah job-seekers."
