Belong Co-Founders

Editor in Chief

Co-Founder & Head of Product

Journalist

Today is a special day for Belong. We are announcing an $80M Series C Financing led by Dan Wenhold at Fifth Wall. All our major investors (Battery Ventures, GGV Capital, and a16z) are doubling, tripling, and quadrupling down on our dream. 

Belong Announces $80M Series C Capital Expansion

We are announcing an $80M Series C Financing led by Dan Wenhold at Fifth Wall. All our major investors (Battery Ventures, GGV Capital, and a16z) are doubling, tripling, and quadrupling down on our dream. 

We founded Belong as first-generation immigrants to the United States. As immigrants, we had to redefine what Home meant to us in numerous ways multiple times. 

The mission of Belong is to create authentic belonging experiences, empowering residents to become homeowners and homeowners to become financially free. 

In simple words, we are on a mission to make the terms landlords and tenants obsolete. Replacing them with a more caring, empowering, and human-centric system. Putting people first.

This mission is of cultural and pragmatic relevance to the future of the United States and the world.

The last 40 years saw a combination of stagnant wages and a restricted housing supply due to local and federal policies. As a result, home prices have increased dramatically to unsustainable levels, creating two entire generations of perpetual renters. The average worker with an average salary is priced out of the average home. 

In addition, the last ten years saw a significant concentration in ownership of the housing supply. As a result, individual homeowners and renters now compete with prominent hedge funds to access homes to live in and build long-term wealth.

Belong is the counterforce to this grim future, where giant corporations own a majority of homes.

We have made owning a rental home easy and stress-free enabling more individuals to build equity in, and generate cash flow from, their homes - ultimately building towards financial freedom. We do this by offering a one-stop-shop home management platform for homeowners so they never have to be a landlord, get financial tools to manage their investment, guaranteed rent, and have their home be taken care of by high-quality residents and our in-home maintenance team. As a result, our homeowners can now become small-scale investors using Belong’s system.

We have created a new system, one made with love, that enables residents to receive extraordinary service while they build towards homeownership with each on-time rent payment, helping them break the perpetual renting cycle.

Belong’s version of the housing market is one where homes are in the hands of regular people. 

For that, we work day and night to make renting a home delightful and financially sound. The way it should always have been.

Our rapidly growing community agrees! We have thousands of homeowners and residents in Belong Homes. Our customer satisfaction is several orders of magnitude higher than the industry average. Our members rave about the Belong system in our public reviews. 

This journey hasn’t been easy. And it won’t be going forward. It will be challenging and fraught with unexpected surprises. It will also be fun and rewarding. 

One thing, we can promise: the best is yet to come!

Thank you to all Belong team members past and present! These are the heroes that brought Belong to where it is today. 

Abner, Adalia, Adam, Adrian, Adriana, Adriano, Agustin, Ahmad, Akash, Alejandro, Alejandro M., Alex, Alexander, Alexandra Lux, Alfiero, Alyanna Marie, Alyssa, Amanda C., Amanda F., Amber, Amy T., Amy X., Anders, Andrea F., Andrea G., Andrew S., Andrew Q., Angela, Ann, Anna Marie, Anthony L., Anthony R., Arlie Mae, Arnie, Arsalan, Arthur, Aumi, Austin, Benjamin, Bhagwant, Breanna, Brian H., Brian S., Britt, Brittany R., Brittany W., Brooke, Bruce, Brynn, Caleb, Cameron, Candace, Cara, Carlo, Carlos, Carolyn Mae, Caryn Marie, Casey, Cassidy, Catherine, Celeste, Cesar G., Cesar B., Charles C., Charles H., Chelsea, Cherdy, Chris Y., Chris D., Christian, Christopher G., Christopher W., Claudio, Clayton, Colton O., Colton R., Corinne, Daisy Jane, Damian, Daniel D., Daniel P., Daniel K., Daniel W., Darely, David S., David C., Deborah Mailén, DeJon, Diego M., Diego B., Dionisius, Divine Grace, Douglas S., Douglas H., Edward L., Edward G., Eileen, Einar, Eleanor, Elglenn John, Eli, Elise, Ella, Emiliano, Emily, Emma P., Emma H., Emmanuel, Eric, Erica M., Erica F., Erin, Esteban, Evan, Ezequiel, Fedelyn, Federico, Felicia, Fernando, Flora, Francesca, Francisco P., Francisco F., Francisco O., Gabriel, Gareth, Garrett, Gerson, Giankarlo, Gilbert, Gonzalo, Grace, Gregory T., Gregory A., Haman, Hannah, Haris, Hector, Hernan G., Hernán C., Hugo, Hyuk, Ignacio M., Ignacio S., Iishe, Inci, Ivan C., Iván P., Jack, Jackson, Jaclyn, Jamie James, Jan Ronniebert, Janet, Jarl Anthon, Jason, Javier, Jawad, Jay-R C., Jay-R V., Jeffrey Q., Jeffrey V., Jeremias, Jerry, Jesse, Jessica M., Jessica B., Jocelyn, Joel, John A., John C., John P., John K., John G., John U., Jonathan M., Jonathan Y., Jordan T., Jordan B., Jordan E., Jordan D., Jorge, Jose R., Jose Re., Jose Marie, Joseph F., Joseph H., Joseph C., Juan O., Juan R., Jubie, Julian, Julio, Kar, Kareen, Karen, Katerina, Katherine, Kathleen, Katy, Kayla, Keith, Kelly W., Kelly D., Kelly E., Kevin, Khymberly , Kimberly, Kirsten, Larry, Laura, Laurence Jake, Laurie Mari, Lee, Lily, Lip, Lucinda, Luis, Ma. Therese Anne, Madelaine, Madeline M., Madeline S., Madyson, Mahli Carmela, Manuel, Marc, Marcos, Marcus, Maria An, Maria Lina, Maria Nica, Maribel, Mario R., Mario L., Mario C., Marisol, Mark, Marlene, Martin L., Martin P., Marvin, Mary Ann, Matias A., Matias B., Matias P., Matías O., Matthew Y., Matthew H., Matthew J., Matthew N., Meldenne Joy, Melisa, Michael P., Michael G., Michael M., Michelle D., Michelle M., Michelle Joy, Miguel A., Miguel R., Milan, Mirasol, Montana, Murugesh, Namrata, Nancy, Naomi, Naomi Lynn, Natalia, Nate, Nica, Nicholas R., Nicholas C., Nicholas I., Nicolas G., Nicolas A., Nicolas G., Nicolás M., Nicole, Noemi, Otgondavaa, Pablo, Paul, Pierre, Pradeep, Priscila, Pryncess Juvy Jane, Randy, Rachel,, Rebecca, Rey, Richard E., Richard H., Ricky, Robert R., Robert K., Robert V., Robert N., Romeo, Ronald, Ronson, Ruben M., Ruben A., Ryan F., Ryan W., Rylie, Sajni, Saliq, Sanjana, Sarah A., Sarah W., Sarkis, Scott, Sean, Sebastian, Shad, Shawn, Shelby, Shyla May, Sonia, Sparsh, Spencer, Stephan, Stephane, Stephanie X., Stephanie R., Stephanie M., Steve, Steven, Sydney, Temitope, Thomas C., Thomas L., Thomas S., Thomas P., Tien, Timothy M., Timothy I., Tom, Tomas, Travis, Treavor, Trisha Erika, Tyler R., Tyler L., Tyler D., Venancio III, Victoria M., Victoria R., Victoria C., Warren, William L., William B., Xavier, Yungun

Announcing an $80M Series C led by Dan Wenhold at Fifth Wall. All major investors (Battery Ventures, GGV Capital, and a16z) are quadrupling down on our dream.

We are announcing a $5M Series Seed led by Jeff Jordan at a16z, a $10M Series A led by Jeff Richards at GGV Capital

Announcing Belong's $5M Series Seed, $10M Series A and $40M Series B from a16z, GGV and Battery Ventures

Today is an important day for Belong and all of us personally.

We are announcing a $5M Series Seed led by Jeff Jordan at a16z, a $10M Series A led by Jeff Richards at GGV Capital, and a $40M Series B led by Roger Lee at Battery Ventures, with Comerica providing credit support.

Joining a16z, GGV, and Battery Ventures, we are welcoming individual investors Eric Wu (CEO of OpenDoor), Sarah Friar (CEO of Nextdoor), Austen Allred  (CEO of Lambda School), Kevin Hartz (Founder of Eventbrite), Elliot Cohen and TJ Parker (Founders of PillPack), Manish Chandra (CEO of Poshmark), Laurence Tosi (CFO Blackstone / Airbnb), Sam Corcos (CEO of Levels), Dave Vasen (CEO of Brightwheel), Brett Rotchkind (Former MD General Atlantic), William Barnes (leading the Uber Alumni Syndicate), and Larry Summers (former Secretary of the Treasury)! 

We are a company started by immigrants. As immigrants, we had to redefine, multiple times and in numerous ways, what Home meant to us. 

Is Home the walls around you and the ceiling above you?

With time, we discovered that Home isn't a place. Home is a feeling. Home is where our heart is.

We love building products that make people happy. More specifically, we love surprising people with something they never thought could make them happy. 

So we chose an industry that hadn't changed in centuries and offered no elements of delight to those it was meant to serve. The rental journey is a universally shared experience that’s severely dysfunctional. Whether you’re on that journey as a renter or a homeowner, it is filled with stress, anxiety, headache, and often, ill will. 

That's precisely the type of experience we feel compelled to go tackle. We’ve set about changing every aspect of renting. It’s certainly not the easy route, but we're obsessed with eradicating everything that was once bad, and replacing it with something truly great.

If you’re a homeowner, Belong will handle everything for you. For starters, we’re going to treat your home exceptionally well. Our in-house, full-time team of Pros will take care of all maintenance and reconditioning on your home, showing up on time and doing work correctly the first time around. We'll find really great Residents that love your home, almost as much as you do. And we’re going to treat them exceptionally well too, so that they stay longer, further reducing vacancy. And because we’re building for the future, everything is handled right through your phone, from rent and Pro Services, to communications with your dedicated Concierge. 

We're proud to be building the feeling of Home every human deserves.

Want to learn more about the magic of Belong? HOW IT WORKS

Building something from nothing is incredibly hard. 

So, why do we do it? More importantly, why did we choose to do it again?

We continuously remind each other of this secret: building something the world values is a hack that enables you to choose who to work with.

Case in point, several of the Belong team members have been working together for eight years and plan to continue for many, many more.

Another secret is that you also get to 'hire' your investors when you’re off to a good start. The people you admire the most from your field. We get to learn from these people in a seamless, natural way. In the Jeffs and Roger, we've found extraordinary operators, turned even better investors, that we are proud to call our partners. We don't take that for granted and we are extraordinarily grateful.

But, we couldn't do any of this without our team members, The Belongers, past, and present. All incredibly dedicated, talented, warm-hearted people that make and will continue to make Belong special. 

This announcement is dedicated to each one of you:

Adam, Ahmad, Akash, Alejandro, Alex, Alex, Alex, Alfie, Amy, An, Andy, Anthony, Aprilynne, Ariane, Arlie, Ben, Brandon, Brittany, Bruce, Caleb, Cameron, Carlo, Catherine, Cesar, Chelsea, Chenell, Chris, Christian, Corinne, Cynthia, David, Daniel, DeJon, Diego, Diego, Dion, Divine, Dolores, Doug, Eileen, Ellie, Erin, Erin, Fedelyn, Fernando, Flora, Frankie, Francisco, Freddy, Garrett, Gabriel, Glenn, Haris, Hyuk, Jake, Jane, Jason, Javier, Jerry, Jiffy, Joel, John, John, Jonathan, Jordan, Jordan, Jorge, Joseph, Julio, Kalin, Kar, Katie, Kathryn, Kayla, Khym, Landon, Lara, Leah, Liam, Lupe, Mario, Mark, Mary Bernadette, Mati, Matt, Matthew, Mary, Maxx, Michael, Michael, Michelle, Milan, Montana, Murugesh, Namrata, Noemi, Nica, Nick, Nico, Nimesh, Nitesh, Oggi, Pablo, Pradeep, Priscila, Randy, Ronson, Ruben, Ryan, Sadara, Sajni, Saliq, Sam, Sam, Shawn, Stephan, Sydney, Tanner, Thomas, Tom, Tomek, Travis, Troy, Tyler, Vic, Yanna, and Zeni!

Thank you for your hard work. You've made it possible to get this far.

Would you like to explore careers at Belong? We have lots to do and learn. 

Please send any press inquiries to press@belonghome.com.

Belong's $40M Capital Expansion with Series Seed, A and B Funding

Belong is doing away with traditional terms like landlord and tenant. Here are the humane terms we prefer.

Don’t Call Me Landlord: The Belong Glossary

Belong is not a traditional property management company, we think differently. We also use different terminology to reflect this, often doing away with traditional terms like landlord and tenant. This is our very own glossary to show you just what we mean. 

We got the name Belong from our mission: To create authentic belonging experiences for those who own much-loved homes, and those longing for that feeling. The question then becomes, how do you make someone feel like they belong in a home that actually belongs to someone else? How do you give someone a sense of ownership when they aren’t the owners?  

The answer to those questions: shift the paradigm. 

In order to accomplish that Herculean task we had to start talking about the subject of renting differently. How we speak changes how we behave. 

Belong’s founders said it best when they said “Home isn't a place. Home is a feeling. Home is where our heart is.” You can't put a fence around a feeling. Nor can you own a feeling. That’s why the word ‘property’ can never convey the kind of emotion we’re talking about 

On the other hand, you can make a home anywhere, so long as you love where you live and the people who live with you. We are in the home business, not the property business.

Learn more: Long-term renting, made lovable 

Not everyone who has a home on the rental market is a professional investor. Many lived for years in the home they’re putting up for rent. They raised their family there. Celebrated birthdays, graduations, promotions.  They welcomed children into the world there. They’re regular, normal people -- not “landlords.”

Landlords think of the houses they own as fungible assets, not as unique or special or endowed with a personality. 

Belong calls the people on its platform homeowners because they have that kind of emotional connection to their houses. Our homeowners care about who resides in their homes and want someone stable and trustworthy to live there. 

And our mission is to bring them together.

Learn More: Why a Property Manager Who Considers You a Landlord Should Be a Non-Starter

Renters are associated with transience — as are tenants. Here today, gone as soon as the lease ends. 

The word ‘resident’, on the other hand, captures a sense of permanence. A resident loves where they live and plans on staying there for as long as possible. They think of it as a home, and not simply a place where they’re laying their head for a year or two.  

That’s why Belong prefers the word resident to tenant and renter.  They might not end up living in that home forever, but they behave like they want to. It’s that kind of love of home that Belong tries to engender in its users.

Learn More: Why You Should Run the Other Way From a Property Manager who Talks Calls People "Tenants."

We know it, with Marketing Pricing Automation.

Property management companies use guesswork to establish the market pricing for your home. Belong on the other hand uses Market Pricing Automation, our own technology that identifies the sweet spot, the exact amount you should be renting your home for.  Which means your home will be occupied by a new resident sooner rather than later, cutting down on vacancies.

We're launching the world's first residential network.  

Belong is flipping the script on traditional property management services. We have developed the world's first residential network to ditch the outdated ways of property management services to modernize your entire rental experience. 

Belong does exactly that, combining industry-busting technology with human smarts to make renting lovable for both homeowners and their residents.

Our smarter, future-ready services include:

Guaranteed rent every month, regardless of if or when your residents pay

Optimized rental pricing that uses technology and real-time demand to price your home with accuracy

The Belong app that gives you and your residents access to everything you need

Innovative financial products including the option to spread maintenance payments over the term of your lease agreement

Access to dedicated landlords insurance to protect your asset (as well as coverage for your residents)

Integration with the most popular rental platforms to get your home loved faster

Instant access to an expansive vendor network of over 10,000 professionals that can handle everything from routine repairs to home upgrades

…and we’re just getting started! Belong is simplifying the rental experience and helping more homeowners reach their financial goals through real estate. Visit our homeowner's page to find out more about services in places like Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Oakland, Miami and many, many more.

Belong is not a traditional property management company, doing away with traditional terms like landlord and tenant. Here are the humane terms we prefer.

Ale, Owen & Tyler Founders

Adam Hanft

Tyler Infelise

Harrison Kelly

Jordan Newsom

Natalie McNeal

Adam Hanft

Tyler Infelise

Harrison Kelly

Jordan Newsom

Natalie McNeal