Cribspot has landed some more seed capital, enabling the Michigan-based startup to start taking its software platform national.
The downtown Ann Arbor-based company (it also has an office in downtown Detroit) recently landed a $50,000 investment from the Michigan Pre-Seed Fund 2.0, a fund capitalized by the Michigan Economic Development Corp to invest in early stage tech startups. That investment brings Cribspots total seed capital raise to $680,000, which includes investments from Ann Arbor-based Huron River Ventures and a number of angel investors.
"It (early stage investments from local funds like the Michigan Pre-Seed Fund 2.0) is extremely important," says Jason Okrasinski, CEO of
Cribspot. "The access to state funding, grants, and debt is one big advantage and differentiator from San Francisco."
Cribspot and its team of seven people is creating a centralized online portal for college students looking for off-campus housing. The co-founders, mostly University of Michigan students, were inspired to start the company after struggling with their own searches for off-campus housing that usually entailed Craiglist ads and looking for landlord signs in the sides of buildings.
Cribspot is a product of the
Bizdom accelerator program in downtown Detroit. It also won $100,000 when it took second place at last year's
Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. Shortly after that win Cribspot started to spread its presence across the U.S.
"We currently have a presence at 175 campuses," Okrasinski says
Source: Jason Okrasinski, CEO of Cribspot
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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