GROUNDFLOOR, a crowdfunding lending platform, raises $4.2M in funding

Real estate lending platform GROUNDFLOOR recently raised an extra $4.2 million in funding, bring its total amount raised $6.2 million in the last two years.

GROUNDFLOOR is different from regular loan providers in that it raises the funds for its loans exclusively from crowdfunding from the public. The company has acquired these funds from 2,304 individual investors, bringing its total fundraising earnings to $13.8 million.

Based in Atlanta, GROUNDFLOOR has mostly relied on venture capital funding to finance itself, and earlier this year it was reportedly interested in going public via an initial public offering. However, it has since decided to postpone the IPO plans, turning to non-accredited investors for its latest round.

GROUNDFLOOR launched what it called an “online public offering” in an attempt to raise $7 million from public investors. The initiative saw it offer 530,000 shares of common stock in the company priced at $10 per share. In order to attract more investors, the rules of the offering stipulated that investors are not required to pay fees for the life of their investment, and can receive access to regular shareholder-only loan offerings and other benefits.

Founded in 2013 by Brian Dally and Nick Bhargava, GROUNDFLOOR opens private capital markets to a broader base of both investors and real estate entrepreneurs. GROUNDFLOOR was the first company qualified by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission to offer direct real estate debt investments via Regulation A for non-accredited and accredited investors alike. Today, it remains the only product offering a customizable real estate debt portfolio for short-term, high-yield returns. For real estate entrepreneurs, GROUNDFLOOR currently serves the residential fix-and-flip market, offering borrower friendly loan terms like a deferred payment option to give developers more control over their cash flow.

"We launched GROUNDFLOOR five years ago to level the playing field in capital markets for the benefit of individual investors and independent real estate entrepreneurs," GROUNDFLOOR Co-Founder and CEO Brian Dally said in a statement. "This new round of operating capital is already accelerating our growth by enabling us to continue reaching more borrowers and broadening investors' opportunities to diversify.”

The company is currently experiencing significant growth, to date, investors have funded more than $75 million in GROUNDFLOOR real estate projects, fueling a 64% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Notably, this has resulted in the relocation of 45 member team to a new office in Atlanta's Bank of America Plaza.