Cottage announced on Wednesday it closed on $15 million in a Series A funding round. According to the press release, Fifth Wall led the round, and among the investors, there were 1Sharpe Ventures, DivcoWest, Susa Ventures, and Base10 Partners.
Cottage is a San Francisco-based startup that unites homeowners and contractors to build ADUs – accessory dwelling units located on the same lot as a stand-alone house. ADUs can be internal – converted partitions of existing homes – or externally attached or stand-alone.
The construction of ADUs is subject to residential policies and regulations. However, many counties and cities across the USA adopted zoning regulations that permit ADUs in low-density residential areas. Especially in California, new state regulations allow nearly all residential properties (both single-family and multifamily) to build ADUs. This gives Cottage the opportunity to grow and expand its marketplace.
Cottage is a software platform and marketplace that saves homeowners who want to build an ADU time and money by digitizing the end-to-end process.
“Anyone who’s taken on a home improvement project will tell you there has to be a better way, and now there is. By applying technology to the outdated, manual processes commonplace in the industry, Cottage is empowering homeowners and contractors to build more and build better,” said Alex Czarnecki, Founder & CEO of Cottage.
With Cottage, homeowners can:
- identify the right location for an ADU on their land;
- schedule a consultation with a Cottage expert to assess required utilities and budget;
- and design a custom ADU digitally by developing a floor plan, selecting the finishes, and finally visualizing the plans in 3D.
Then, Cottage consultants will handle the complete architectural sets for city permitting, site surveying, and engineering. During the entire process, homeowners can track the progress via Cottage’s online portal.
The platform also offers contractors advantages, as they can access projects and time-saving tools and focus on customer service.
“What’s so exciting about Cottage is that its offering is mutually beneficial to both homeowners and builders,” said Dan Wenhold, partner at Fifth Wall. “Streamlining the process for designing and delivering ADUs enables homeowners to add value to their property with more transparency and less headache. We are pleased to be investing in and joining the board of Cottage and look forward to the company’s continued growth.”
Cottage launched in 2020 and served the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. With this new Series A round, the company plans to expand to other areas across the US.