A Scrappy ‘Boring’ Real Estate Startup Becomes A Unicorn
We live in a world where young Stanford dropouts can raise millions of dollars on nothing but hype. But another, humbler, more sustainable world of entrepreneurship exists. SMS Assist, which helps property managers interact with third-party vendors, closed $150M in a Series D round led by a Goldman Sachs team known for making bets on Uber, Facebook and Spotify. The funding round values the company at $1B.
Michael Rothman started Chicago-based SMS Assist 13 years ago with very little external financing, according to the New York Times. He grew the company with investments from his friends and started to accept outside cash after achieving sustained profitability.
As investors grow leery of high promises and low profitability, Rothman shows how a disciplined approach sustained over a long time can make for a substantial business. Sound like someone you know? [NYT]
