For Scott Trench, it all started with a park bench, someone else’s dog, and a stranger.
Trench was in his first few years out of college, wondering what to do with his life. And late one morning over a decade ago, he found the answer: While walking his friend’s dog, Trench sat next to someone he’d never met before, and after the two talked investing, the stranger invited the twenty-something to a weekly peer-to-peer real estate mastermind group. Trench accepted the invitation, and soon after met Josh Dorkin, founder of the then-new real estate education platform BiggerPockets. Trench was already a fan.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, you’re Josh Dorkin and I love the BiggerPockets podcast,'” Trench said. “Now I think he remembers it differently, but I think he said ‘go away, boy’ three or four times. So I kept probing.”
Trench would become BiggerPockets’ third employee. Today, the company employs over 90 people – and Trench is now the company’s CEO. Dorkin retired from BiggerPockets in 2018, but the company has continued to grow since then: BiggerPockets offers podcasts, digital tools, events and bootcamps. The company now has over three million members and The Chernin Group (TCG) has taken a majority stake in the platform. Assets can exclusively report. TCG now owns more than 50% of the company’s shares, but the company declined to provide further details. BiggerPockets is also launching new tools such as Market Finder and Deal Finder in conjunction with the news.
I’m the daughter of a Florida real estate investor, so I approached BiggerPockets with skepticism and joy. Joy because real estate is weird sometimes: talk to any real estate investor and they’ll tell you a crazy story about a tenant or property manager that’s Hunter S. Thompson’s story. Skepticism because a platform that helps regular people invest in real estate has a serious responsibility to communicate the risks.
“I try to approach real estate with a healthy fear,” Trench said. “I’ve been doing this for 10 years, but I’m afraid of the market. But I’m also afraid of the opportunity cost of not investing in real estate for the long term, because it’s a powerful wealth builder.”
A key part of the company’s value proposition – and prospects for success – is that it provides education that is accessible to everyone. It’s also a time when there’s evidence that more people are investing in real estate than ever before. BiggerPockets’ YouTube channel has 1.2 million subscribers and the company says 350,000 people interact with its content daily through one of its channels.
“It’s work, but it’s not complicated,” said Dave Meyer, director of real estate investing at BiggerPockets and podcast host. “We’re not building AI here. We’re collecting rent and trying to control our expenses. We’re trying to make regular people realize they can do this.”
Maureen Sullivan, a partner at TCG, has spent much of her career thinking about organically grown online communities. She believes BiggerPockets has what it takes to succeed where many have failed, and says the company’s subscription business resonates well with consumers. (As of July 2024, BiggerPockets’ membership business had 97% subscriber retention, according to the company.)
“I just think the potential of a company is much greater when a whole bunch of people are interested in it, beyond the company’s employees,” she said. “That’s more awesome than just an internal group of employees saying, ‘We’re going to get this done and take it out into the world.’ But if you can basically get fans and loyalists, your runway for innovating your products and services is much longer.”
Unlike venture capital (where I currently spend most of my time), the real estate sector is incredibly sensitive to macroeconomic fluctuations. And in a week marked by headline-grabbing market volatility that has since subsided, it was still worth asking: What would a theoretical recession mean for BiggerPockets and its users?
“I would say the crash has already happened in commercial real estate, where assets are down 30% from 2021 to 2024,” Trench said. “The single-family market is much more protected from these price fluctuations because of the 30-year fixed rate… But once you don’t respect the market, you could be in big trouble.”
See you in the morning,
Allie Garfinkle
Twitter: @agarfinks
E-mail: [email protected]
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Nina Ajemian curated the “Offers” section of today’s newsletter.
VENTURE OFFERS
– Mechanical Orcharda San Francisco, California-based modernization technology company, has raised $50 million in its second round of funding. AGM led the round and others joined him.
– Seeqa Seattle, Washington-based industry analytics service, has raised $50 million in Series D funding. Growth on Sixth Street led the round and was supported by existing investors Insight Partner, Altira Group, Second Avenue Partnerand other.
– H3Xa Louisville, Colorado-based electric motor manufacturer, has raised $20 million in its Series A funding round. Infinite capital led the round and was led by existing investor Lockheed Martin Ventures.
– Andrenaa New York City-based internet service provider, has raised $18 million in funding. dragon-fly led the round and was accompanied by CMT Digital, Castle Island Ventures, Wintermute Venturesand other.
– Aurascape AIa Santa Clara, California-based AI cybersecurity company, has raised $12.8 million in seed funding. Mayfield Fund led the round and others joined him.
– curiositya San Francisco, California-based game studio and developer, has raised $5.7 million in funding. Bain Capital Crypto And SevenX Ventures led the round and was accompanied by OKX Ventures.
– Cala Systemsa Somerville, Massachusetts-based manufacturer of heat pump water heaters, has raised $5.6 million in seed funding. Massachusetts Center for Clean Energy And Clean Energy Venture Group led the round and was accompanied by Burnt Island Ventures, Leap Forward Ventures, CapeVista Capitaland other.
– Chaizan Austin, Texas-based marketplace for extended auto warranties, has raised $3.7 million in seed funding. ResilienceVC led the round and was accompanied by Anchor Capital, Automotive companies, Activities everywhereand other.
– Terrantica Seattle, Washington-based data analytics platform for the food delivery industry, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding. Offer modification capital led the round and was accompanied by York, IE, Revive VCand existing investor Array Ventures.
– Growlinka Denver, Colorado-based developer of agriculture automation technology, raised $2 million in seed funding led by Green House.
– MixRifta Dublin, Ireland-based mixed reality gaming company, received $1.6 million in pre-funding from Oversized ventures, Highlight Ventures, SOSVand other.
Private equity
– Bernhard Capital Partners acquired New Mexico Gas Companyan Albuquerque, NM-based natural gas utility, for $1.25 billion.
– a360incsupported by Nonantum Capital Partners And Knox Capitalacquired ProVesta Tampa, Florida-based provider of litigation and dispute information services. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Analytical Technologies Groupa portfolio company of Reynola shareshas acquired Tritech field service technologyan Edgewater, Maryland-based supplier of laboratory equipment. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Flotilla partnersa portfolio company of Capital of Osceolaacquired Florida Water Treatment Technologiesa Longwood, Florida-based water treatment services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Palmdale Oilsupported by First Reserveacquired Maassen Oil Company, an Arcadia, Florida-based refined fuel, lubricants and propane distributor. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– Platinum shares acquired ASP Globala medical supplies provider based in Atlanta, Georgia. Financial terms were not disclosed.
OUTPUTS
– S&S Activewear agreed to acquire alphabrodera Trevose, Pennsylvania-based supplier of printable products, Littlejohn & Co. Financial details were not disclosed.
OTHER
– Subscribe to has acquired Tinybioa New York City-based provider of AI-integrated scientific tools. Financial terms were not disclosed.
FUNDS + FUNDS OF UMBRELLAS
– Stone peaka New York City-based investment firm, has raised $3.15 billion for its infrastructure and real asset-focused Opportunity Fund.
PEOPLE
– Autotech Venturesa venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California, added Logan Green as a partner. Previously Green was at Lyft.
– JMI sharesa growth capital firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, promoted Jack Duane to the headmaster, Jack King as Vice President and Bryan Jangro to Vice President.
– Rally activitiesa venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California, added Lukas Zaientz as an operational partner. Previously Zaientz was at Reigning Champions.
