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After an incredible year of growth, Tripalink, which is a technology-driven residential brand specializing in standard apartment and coliving rentals, raised $30 million in its Series B+ funding from a combination of both equity and debt. The round is co-led by new investors Altos Ventures and Conductive Ventures with participation from Assurant Ventures. Other investors include K2VC, Tekton Ventures, Calin SJG Fund, and Preferred Bank. This brings the total funding to nearly $50 million.
In addition to technological advancements, this influx will also be used to fund geographic expansion to cities with young professional populations including New York City.
Tripalink Increases Revenue During The Pandemic
2021 was a wild year for the real estate industry. During this time, Tripalink grew rapidly, nearly tripling its total beds managed to 6000, keeping a notably high occupancy rate of 98.6 percent.
“Our coliving products are very competitive in the local market and we pivoted fast, so the pandemic was a true growth opportunity for Tripalink. We responded to the market change early and pivoted our strategy towards local students and young professionals,” said Li. “At that time, every lead that came in was very valuable. So we took a lot of initiatives to optimize our conversion rate, one of which was developing our own AI messages system to be as responsive as possible to each lead. When the whole market was slow and most companies were unable to maintain high occupancy rates, it was an incredible opportunity for us on a variety of levels. Many developers and landlords contacted us to help improve the occupancy rate leading to an influx of new business.”
Some are even comparing Tripalink’s technology to major tech companies including Airbnb. “Similar to what Airbnb has done for short-term rentals, Tripalink is applying their technology to offer the best searching, leasing, and living experience for long-term rentals,” said Paul Yeh, Managing Director of Conductive Ventures. “I was extremely impressed by the growth that the Tripalink team has achieved over the past several years. And, they’ve done it with amazing capital efficiency.”
A Solution To A Common Problem
Li came up with the idea for Tripalink after experiencing the stress of the rental process, when he was an international student at the University of Southern California. He realized there was a hole in the market and wanted to build a real estate brand that leveraged technology. “A simple rental process, high quality yet affordable rooms, and a sense of community are universal needs of renters, and Tripalink provides all three,” said Li. “We are able to achieve that by building technologies that focus on solving all the pain points a renter could encounter. By using our Tripalink App, the renter can easily search and visualize their apartment via virtual tours, submit applications and sign agreements online, purchase renters insurance, pay their monthly rent, unlock their doors with smart locks, call for maintenance, as well as sign up for community activities.”
After some initial research, Tripalink learned that the most important feature to renters in the target demographic is a private bedroom and bathroom. The second most important feature was affordability. This is because while many apartments have a traditional two-bedroom, two-bathroom layout, the price is often too high for the average student’s budget. Based on this data, Tripalink began developing accessibly-priced co-living spaces in 2018 with en-suite bathrooms and multi-functional shared common areas.
Since its beginning, Tripalink has continually evolved its business model in a variety of ways, renovating its co-living spaces based on tenants’ feedback. The company also works with property developers on various aspects of design and property management to generate higher ROI for developer partners.
“Tripalink has been able to grow with high occupancy in its local markets by achieving best-in-class operating efficiencies and having a deep understanding of market dynamics,” said Curtis Feeny, board member of Tripalink and CBRE, “From site selection to attractive architectural design and superior construction, Tripalink brings all of the key elements together to drive great success. This will play well as Tripalink expands into new markets.”
Co-Living In The Post Pandemic World
As we head into the post-pandemic world, Li expects Triaplink’s co-living model to thrive in this new era. “Being able to work/study at home makes people want a more functional bedroom and a home office/study area at home. Tripalink’s coliving properties are very popular because it provides private bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and very functional common areas where people can socialize, study, work, and entertain.”
But perhaps even more so, Li understands how important a sense of community is to Tripalink’s target demographic. “We consistently host different community events and the feedback has been incredible. Renters have told us they specifically looked to live in a Tripalink property because our communities are fun and a great way to connect with new people.”
About Tripalink
Tripalink is a technology-driven residential brand that was founded in 2016, which specializes in co-living and standard apartment rentals tailored for working professionals as well as students. It delivers a high-quality, affordable, and modernized living experience through attentive services and an all-in-one technology platform that centers around the customer. The company currently manages nearly 6000 beds in San Francisco, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Irvine, Philadelphia, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Tucson, and Austin.
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