Investors back downsizers as start-up Blockbuilder nabs new money

A start-up which uses equity in your home to purchase off-the-plan penthouses has raised $2m, while another which creates personalised recipes with AI has bagged $4.15m.

(L-R) Downsizer co-founder Damian Morgan, Deposit Power general manager Brent Davidson, Downsizer co-founders Mark Macduffie and Michael Kelly and Correlation Australia Holdings director Lance Warner. Picture: Stephen Cooper

A start-up capitalising on empty nesters downsizing has tapped investors for $2m as part of a two-part raising to expand its business in the UK and US.

Blockbuilder’s Downsizer.com, a platform which allows buyers to use the existing equity in their homes as a deposit on off-the-plan apartments, townhouses and penthouses has raised the capital as part of a new $4m round it looks to close by January next year.

The first $2m came from existing investor Correlation Australia Holdings, which led a $3.75m raise The Australian in April.

The start-up was founded by Mark Macduffie, Damian Morgan and Michael Kelly in March last year.

Mr Macduffie said in the current economic environment “the product we’re offering is more efficient than saving a cash deposit”.

The average price of properties purchased by customers, of which there are now over 1700 registered on the platform, was $2.6m. Assets owned by those customers were valued at $3bn, Mr Macduffie said.

Downsizer makes a commission from developers who pay the bond fee, as well as a commission on the sale of the customer’s home. Average revenue per transaction was $18,000, Mr Macduffie said.

The new capital would go toward expansion into new markets, growing the staff headcount and building out the company’s technology.

The start-up was selected as a high-potential tech export by Austrade and has been working on UK launch which should be operational by May next year, Mr Macduffie said.

“We want to do a pilot phase that’s fairly controlled where the goal is to have no more than 10 developers during the launch, but those developers will have a national footprint,” he said.

Part of it would also be put toward a new project called boatdeposits.com, which offered the same equity deposit model for the purchase of boats.

In another big tech capital raising this week, a start-up founded by two former Canva staff tapped investors for $4.15m seed round as it looks to use AI to create recipes.

Clove was founded by former Canva head of content Anna Guerrero and former Canva head of marketplace engineering Sam Killin.

The raise arrives amid rising interest in the food and recipe space, with many big tech companies showing an interest.

Earlier this year Korean tech giant Samsung unveiled Samsung Food, a new food and recipe app at IFA in Berlin.

The company signalled the new app could later link to cameras it has been installing in fridges and ovens.

Clove founders Sam Killin and Anna Guerrero.

Clove will be two-sided with a social media-like approach to recipes, where creators can publish video or text recipes.

While the platform is free to use, there will be a subscription tier for those looking to use its AI engine to create personal recipes or create meal plans.

Ms Guerrero said the platform would help customers save hours spent on finding the perfect recipe and help stop food from going to waste.

“Cooking is one of the few things we all need to do, but few of us are taught to do it well,” she said.

“Rather than spending hours scrolling through recipes or figuring out how to make the most of what’s in your fridge, we’re incredibly excited to make cooking something millions of people feel confident about and look forward to.”

Blackbird Partner Niki Scevak added: “They both have a deep understanding of what it takes to build a generational company with community at the heart, and we are proud and excited to back them.”

Originally published as Investors back downsizers as start-up Blockbuilder nabs new money