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Why We Invested: The Startups Cutting Above the Noise

Oct 9, 2025
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XX Min Read

Today’s real estate technology market is highly saturated, and many startups must compete for attention. Through our deep industry experience and strong relationships with leading owners and operators, we cut through the noise to back solutions that address real operational pain points and deliver immediate, measurable impact.

Here are a few of our recent investments that are transforming the real estate industry:

  • Billee: An AI-driven utility management platform purpose-built for multifamily operators and property managers, overhauling outdated manual processes, improving billing accuracy, and unlocking significant cost savings.
    • Why RET Invested: RET Ventures backed Billee because we believe the utility billing sector is ripe for disruption and Billee’s agile, AI-first solution is perfectly positioned to succeed. Their experienced management team, with a strong track record of building and scaling successful tech solutions, is focused on top-tier customer service and building a product that solves property managers' problems through automation, transparency, and accuracy.
    • Billee in Action: Early adopters of the platform have experienced up to 52% in cost savings and avoidance. In one early deployment, Billee proactively identified a critical billing error that resulted in over $200,000 of incremental recovery.
  • Crew: A home services platform designed to simplify property management by providing trash-can-to-curb services and on-demand trash removal for short-term rental owners and operators. The company, born out of founder Cameron Lam’s personal frustrations as a short-term rental owner, combines professional services with the flexibility of gig work.
    • Why RET Invested: RET Ventures recognized the immense operational value Crew was already delivering to short-term rental owners. The startup’s early traction is remarkable, and the platform has the potential to become a foundational service across a range of property types, including multifamily.
    • Crew in Action: Crew, which served just 100 properties at this time last year, now services thousands of short-term rental units nationwide. The platform currently has a strong presence in 240 cities across 30 key metro areas.
  • Property Shield: An AI-enabled platform that empowers multifamily and SFR owners and operators to prevent fraud and protect their assets. Helping detect fraudulent activity from fake listings to incidents like squatting or vandalism, Property Shield provides portfolio-wide risk scoring to help owners prioritize resources, reduce losses, and build brand trust.
    • Why RET Invested: Cybercrime in real estate is on the rise and poses a significant threat to owners and operators. RET Ventures backed Property Shield because of its ability to turn data into actionable, portfolio-wide insights and the measurable impact it delivers in preventing fraud and reducing risks for owners.
    • Property Shield in Action: Property Shield has helped clients save over $1 billion for U.S. renters and homebuyers.