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Last week I wrote about the launch of Fractional, a startup that wants to make it easier for friends (and strangers) to own real estate together. Co-founders, Stella Han and Carlos Treviño, bonded over their shared background of growing up in real estate families while working at Affirm, the giant who buys now and pays later. However, Affirm’s “Pay at Your Own Pace” mission clashed with the duo’s first-hand experience that the time and high costs of owning property are taxed. a contrast that finally gave rise to the idea for Fractional.
I’ll go into more of the ins and outs of Fractional’s product and its recent fundraiser in my story, but today I want to focus on a little bit of my interview with Han, the co-founder, that stuck with me. During our call, we talked about how the future of alternative investing is based on people entering a long-exclusive asset class. we see it in private equity, art ownership, and now real estate too. While check size is important to get started – it’s one of Fractional’s catches – so is the social aspect. Can you sensibly train a cohort of people to understand the value they will get by investing money in a home versus an index fund? Can you “disturb” the hesitation to do business with friends? Can you plan the unplanned twists and turns of life and someone in your investment group who would rather be liquidated sooner rather than later? All of these questions are much more interesting and sensitive than the logistical argument of making home ownership accessible. Hopefully Fractional will make it collaborative too.
The way Fractional has prepared for the unexpected so far looks like a classic curation. Han explained that they build investment communities around specific properties with the aim of bringing like-minded people together. “It doesn’t make sense for someone thinking about flipping a property in a year versus someone looking to hold it for five years,” she said. By eliminating key key differences upfront and engaging lawyers, the startup begins to allay early concerns. Still, like any company that promises to gain access to a new asset, the startup’s biggest boost will be governance and the transparent setting of expectations.
Fractions aren’t an answer enough when it comes to resolving divisions, and that’s a lesson for both startups and the pumpkin pie lovers among us. In the remainder of this newsletter, we’ll be addressing some gift guides and, ahem, estate administration. As always, you can follow me on Twitter @nmasc_ or on Instagram @natashathereporter.
Credit: Fraction
Tools to improve your work-from-home setup or just your home
TechCrunch begins launching our annual gift guide! For those who are new to it, we traditionally publish niche and niche wish lists each year to help gift givers make decisions. It can range from gadgets to enhance your work-from-home setup or gifts to make you less lonely.
Here’s what you should know: So far, we’ve published gift guides for the work-from-home office, video calling setup, and cohort of homeowners looking to upgrade their home to a smart home. Oh, and we’ve also published a wishlist for plant lovers and kids who love STEM toys. Can you say we’ve all been inside for way too long?
Speaking of hardware:
- Subscribe to Actuator, Brian Heater’s upcoming weekly newsletter about robotics.
- For my gift guide I need you to tell me via DM who your favorite solo entrepreneur is (I know, mysterious, but how else do we build tension‽)
And the start of the week is …
Credit: New culture
New culture! Anyone who listens to the podcast knows that I absolutely love a cheesy startup, both figuratively and literally. This week, New Culture raised $ 25 million in seed money to commercialize its cheesy vegan mozzarella. Maybe it will be in the grocery stores soon!
Here’s what you should know: The alternative cheese maker claims it’s far better for the environment than milk-based cheese, which takes 56 gallons of water to make just one ounce. New Culture also promoted progress in land use.
Recognitions:
In order not to be gloomy, but …
Credit: RiverNorthPhotography / Getty Images
Let’s talk about estate planning (partly because the topic is at the heart of the latest season of Unsure, and partly because it feels like one of those areas that understandably no one wants to plan for). In a column for TechCrunch +, Gentreo CEO and founder Renee Fry gave founders some basic tips on estate planning for both high net worth individuals and simple startup owners.
Here’s what you should know: Fry argues that estate plans should be constantly adjusted throughout a person’s life, especially if they are running a thriving business. The success of a company is exciting in real time, but it can also present challenges in succession planning.
You have to decide who to trust with your company if something happens to you. It’s not just about having an estate plan that expresses your desires – it’s almost as important to communicate that with a written succession plan. – Renee Fry
And there is always a successor angle:
All about TC
Listen to our latest TechCrunch podcast, Found. Found by Darrell Etherington and Jordan Crook is about how founders do what they do, with twists and turns being preferred.
Over the week
Seen on TechCrunch
Tidal invests in direct artist payments, a step towards fairer streaming payouts
Paytm’s rock debut is getting rockier
Small creators are big businesses
Klarna offers the option “Pay Now” in the USA, Klarna Card is coming soon
Seaya Ventures and Cathay Innovation launch $ 125 million fund for Latin American startups
Seen on TechCrunch +
$ 10 billion is the new $ 1 billion, and we need a new framework for startup evaluations
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao talks about the platform’s regulation and activities in Africa
In the Amazon scramble, the loss of Visa Affirms could be profit
Growth Marketer Survey: How Would You Spend a Budget of $ 25,000 in the First Quarter of 2022?
5 must-have board slides for SaaS sales and revenue leaders
– N
