During a SXSW panel on startups in smaller metropolitan areas, I spent some time talking about how venture capital was a bit more difficult to come by in towns like Portland. But I’ll be darned if some awesome Portland startups—like Urban Airship, ShopIgniter, and ActiveTrak—aren’t working to prove me wrong. And now? Another Portland startup has joined the list.
This week, Second Porch announced that they have secured $1 million in investment led by the Oregon Angel Fund.
The commitment for the funding was announced in late 2009. At the time, the Oregon Angel Fund had committed to invest $650,000 in Second Porch, given that Second Porch met certain requirements. Being able to fill out the round to a $1 million, therefore, is good news all around. Mike Rogoway at The Oregonian‘s Silicon Forest blog mentions that the additional funds come from private investors.
What’s Second Porch, you ask? Well, basically, it lets you use Facebook and your social connections to help make sure that your vacation rental stays rented—and rented by people you trust. Or as Second Porch puts it:
“Second Porch tackles the unsolved piece of the marketing opportunity for vacation homeowners by bringing an easy to use system to effectively and tastefully market to the best possible source of guests: people you already know and with whom you have some degree of trust,” said Brent Hieggelke, CEO of Second Porch, in a press release. “The typical Facebook personal network comprised of ‘friends of friends’ reaches almost 17,000 people, all of whom can be vouched for by a friend in common. For a homeowner, this is an obvious opportunity to find prospective guests to rent to with a higher level of comfort and peace of mind. Second Porch also complements sites like HomeAway and VRBO, by giving homeowners the controls to integrate their existing calendars and even link back to their listings on those sites.”
For more information or to try it for yourself, visit Second Porch.
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[…] week, Cami Kaos and I cover Second Porch securing $1 million in funding, Urban Airship launching AirMail, City of Portland wooing Google Fiber, PRTLND, Google and China, […]
Increasingly good news on local companies getting funded! Just wanted to add my excitement and support. Congratulations!
Congratulations, Brent and all at Second Porch – well done.
Could not happen to a better guy then Brent. Congrats to him and the rest of the Second Porch team.
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Major congratulations! Nicely done!
This announcement is especially interesting. The other recent funding examples are B2B focused. Consumer focused startup fundings are rare in Portland. Great to see it.