Janover Ventures
About this raise
Janover Ventures, with a pre-money valuation of $45 million, is raising funds on StartEngine. The company is combining digital technology and education to provide democratized access to commercial real estate debt capital. The platform works as the matchmaker between commercial real estate lenders and investors. Janover Ventures has already launched its Intelligent Router technology and is soon expected to launch Intelligent Qualifier and Intelligent Lending Platform. Blake Janover founded Janover Ventures in November 2018. The proceeds of the current crowdfunding campaign, with a minimum raise of $10,000 and a maximum raise of $4,271,660, will be used to launch new products and grow revenues. Janover Ventures reported a 184% growth during the pandemic, and the suite of websites grew to more than 1 million unique website users last year.
Investment Overview
Invested $327,296 :
Deal Terms
Company & Team
Company
- Year Founded
- 2018
- Industry
- Real Estate & Construction
- Tech Sector
- Distribution Model
- B2B/B2C
- Margin
- High
- Capital Intensity
- Low
Financials
- Revenue +184% YoY
- $1,561,183
- Monthly Burn
- Profitable
- Cash on Hand
- $415,713
Upgrade to gain access
-
$12.50 /month
billed annually - Free portfolio tracking, data-driven ratings, AI analysis and reports
- Plan Includes:
- Everything in Free, plus
- Company specific
Kingscrowd ratings and analyst reports
- Deal explorer and side-by-side comparison
- Startup exit and failure tracking
- Startup market filters and historical industry data
- Advanced company search ( with ratings)
- Get Edge Annual
Edge
Synopsis
Like other industries, the commercial real estate market suffered a blow from COVID-19. Lockdown conditions and stay-at-home orders took a toll on the overall demand for real estate. Now that the country is slowly pulling out of the pandemic, the industry is also making its way toward recovery. This, in turn, will likely increase the demand for financing those wishing to purchase real estate.
One company dedicated to helping borrowers find the right loan is Janover Ventures. The company has more than 40 web domains that enable prospective borrowers to match with and apply for loans. It specializes in smaller loans for commercial and multi-family properties and also engages in sourcing for SBA-backed loans. Through this focus, Janover helps large vendors who have traditionally struggled with digital client acquisition.
The process that consumers follow with the company is fairly straightforward. When a user visits one of Janover Ventures’ websites, they sign up and answer a series of questions about the prospective loan they are looking to take out. They then upload all of the documentation required as part of the loans application process. Using this information, the company generates a deal summary, and the user is then matched with each applicable opportunity. From there, the vendors for those opportunities engage with each borrower they were matched with.
Janover Ventures has more than 1,000 financial institutions that have signed up for its services, including CBRE, Zions Bank, SBAComplete, and Stearns Bank. There are also many smaller financial institutions that work with them as well. Regardless of the size, the business generates revenue for itself in the form of an origination fee on the loans that are ultimately issued.
Janover Ventures’ current StartEngine raise has been rated a Neutral Deal by the KingsCrowd investment team.
Price
At this time, Janover Ventures is asking investors to accept a pre-money valuation on the business of $45 million. This is twice the $20 million valuation of the company’s raise in December 2020, but Janover has gained notable traction since then. That said, the price is quite high in comparison to other startups currently seeking funding. Thus, the price score for Janover Ventures is low.
Market
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, commercial and multi-family mortgages issued in 2019 totaled $600.6 billion. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this figure plummeted to $395 billion in 2020, illustrating just how volatile the mortgage market can be over short time periods. That said, this industry has generally grown year after year. In aggregate, the Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that the total debt outstanding in this space is $3.82 trillion. Assuming Janover Ventures adopts a market-typical origination fee of 1.5%, its potential revenue could be around $9 billion annually. Over a complete financing cycle that sees a recycling of the $3.82 trillion in outstanding debts, this figure can be around $57.3 billion over the span of a few years. Because of the sizable and stable aspects of the market, Janover scores well in the market metric.
Team
Janover Ventures has no fewer than seven individuals who are classified as either engineers or developers as well as other business development personnel. The company is run by founder and CEO Blake Janover. Prior to founding the company, Janover was the founder and CEO of B. Elliot Companies, where he worked for 17 years. At that firm, he focused on providing a full suite of real estate banking and brokerage services to clients. He has also served as an entrepreneur in residence at Florida Atlantic University. Plus, he has worked as an official member of the Forbes Real Estate Council. Given this extensive experience in the real estate market, the team score for Janover Ventures is quite strong.
Differentiators
While Janover Ventures owns a slew of web domains, its overall business model is fairly generic. Not only that, the company also has much competition. In addition to the individual lenders who engage in the services it offers, other players exist in the space, including other startups like StackSource. With little defensibility and a standard product offering, Janover Ventures scores poorly in the differentiators metric.
Performance
Janover owns several websites that are currently active and generate revenue. The business is no longer in the early stage of development but is instead in the expansion phase. Along the way, the enterprise has posted some impressive results. Through the end of 2020, for instance, the company saw $223 million worth of loans closed through its sites. Around $100 million worth of loan inquiries take place through its websites every day. In addition, the company is seeing impressive financial growth. Revenue in 2019 was $549,325 and grew to $1.56 million in 2020. The business also saw its net profit grow from $104,131 in 2019 to $319,025 in 2020, and operating cash flow grew from $132,464 to $362,806 over this time frame. Seeing positive earnings and cash flow for such an early-stage business is incredibly rare. In addition, according to management, in the six months ending in 2021, the business saw growth of 138% relative to the same timeframe a year earlier. Due to its profitability and continued growth, the performance score for Janover Ventures is its highest across all five metrics.
Risks
Fortunately for investors, the risk profile of Janover Ventures is at the low end of the scale. In fact, the only risk category that was elevated involved the company’s team. Though highly qualified, the team centers around just one key individual, its founder. A single-founder firm is inherently riskier than a multi-founder firm because losing that individual could be fatal to the enterprise. Because of this, the team risk rating was well above average.
Bearish Outlook
Investors should take note of the fact that Janover Ventures is asking for a high valuation. It is hard to see, even with recent growth, a scenario where a more-than-doubling in valuation is warranted over such a short period of time. In addition, the revenue opportunity for the business is limited by the market being at the small end of the scale. On top of that, its product is not particularly unique and has significant competition. Last, the company’s future could be determined by the welfare of its single founder.
Bullish Outlook
While Janover Ventures does operate in a small market, it is incredibly stable and should only grow overtime. The company’s financial performance has been impeccable, and the qualifications of its founder look robust. Overall, the risk profile for the enterprise is very low as well.
Executive Summary
Janover Ventures is offering a way to connect those seeking loans to the lender who could best suit their needs. The company’s financial performance has been promising so far, and the market is steady and growing. In addition to its low risk profile, Janover can also boast an experienced founder. However, having a single founder is a risk in itself. The market is still small at the moment, and Janover Ventures faces plenty of competition. Finally, the company is asking investors to accept a high valuation. Because of this, Janover Ventures is a Neutral Deal for the time being.
For questions regarding the KingsCrowd staff pick or ratings for this company, please reach out to [email protected].
Analysis written by Daniel Jones.
Company Funding & Growth
Funding history
Offering Name | Close Date | Platform | Valuation | Total Raised | Security Type | Status | Reg Type |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Janover (previously Janover Ventures) | 07/25/2023 | Self Managed | $49,440,000 | - | Equity - Common | Funded | S-1 |
Janover Ventures | 04/30/2022 | Dalmore Group | $45,338,111 | $141,396 | Equity - Common | Funded | RegCF |
Janover Ventures | 09/14/2021 | StartEngine | $45,000,000 | $327,296 | Equity - Common | Funded | RegCF |
Janover Ventures | 12/27/2020 | Republic | $20,000,000 | $826,627 | SAFE | Funded | RegCF |
Growth Charts
Revenue History
Note: Revenue data points reflect the latest of either the most recent fiscal year's financials, or updated revenues directly from the founder, at each raise's close date.
Valuation History
Price per Share History
Note: Share prices shown in earlier rounds may not be indicative of any stock splits.