ShowDigs Avoids Closure

ShowDigs burst onto the leasing scene in 2018 with a platform for property managers to hire on-demand showing agents and coordinate showings.

They raised $3M of seed funding from venture capitalists in that year and took a further $7.4M of additional funding in 2022 (led by MetaProp). They used that funding to build scheduling software, expand their agent network, and offer third-party condition reports.

Their network of on-demand agents covers cities like Denver, Seattle, St. Louis and Phoenix. You can hire one of their 3rd party contractor agents to show your rental properties (current pricing is approximately $45/showing, with the agent keeping about $30)

ShowDigs' on-demand agent coverage

Trouble Brews

But word spread amongst the property management community in late 2024 that ShowDigs would be closing down at the end of the year.

They had raised a large amount of money from investors ($10.4 million), but were likely trapped by their "liquidation preference".

Venture capitalists demand a "liquidation preference", meaning that if the company sells for less than the amount raised, the investors get paid first - before any employees or founders.

That meant they had two choices - raise more money from other investors or close down.

Staying Afloat

Fortunately, it sounds like they were able to strike a deal to "recapitalize" the company. Their investors might have taken a haircut, but ShowDigs is now owned by six of its employees.

Their CEO and founder, Kobi Bensimmon, stepped down during this transition. The former Head of Sales and Customer Success, Barak Shamir, has now taken over as CEO.

New CEO at the helm of ShowDigs

Check out the excellent reporting from Peter Lohmann's property management blog:

Although the company grew by 50% in customer count last year, a tough leasing environment meant their VC backers were ready to throw in the towel. They cut off additional funding.
Instead of shutting down, a few key team members organized and were able to negotiate a deal to save the company. Six employees now own the company and are optimistic about the future.
I spoke with Barak Shamir, [former] Head of Sales & Customer Success, about the transition. "What started as a challenging situation has evolved into an incredible opportunity. Our transition to employee ownership means that the same passionate team our customers trust will now be directly invested in Showdigs' future success. It's the best possible outcome we could have hoped for."
With no debt and a highly motivated ownership group, Showdigs is looking to expand their agent network across the US and add additional metro areas to their service area (currently serving about a dozen cities) in the coming year.

To learn more about ShowDigs, you can visit them at showdigs.com

And to see alternatives to ShowDigs, check out this side-by-side comparison of leasing platforms

ShowDigs Avoids Closure

Trouble Brews

Staying Afloat

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ShowDigs Avoids Closure

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