At KingsCrowd, we like to keep an eye on trends in new startups. Whenever we spot a trend, we research its beginnings and how it evolved over the years. The goal is to provide investors with a better understanding of the market and the innovative new models introduced by entrepreneurs. In this post, we will be looking at the Tiny Homes trend.
A look at Google Trends shows how interest in tiny homes has quadrupled since 2014 and peaked in July 2020. Driven by this demand, many home developers started offering tiny home models. Here is a list of 10 models and their developers.
In addition, many startups raised capital to productize tiny homes and streamline the process of designing, building, and installing them.
There are many popular startups riding this wave. Module creates a tiny house that grows with your family. Blockable provides vertically integrated modular solutions to create housing at scale. And Rent the Backyard builds a tiny house in your backyard for you to rent to visitors. Even IKEA has gotten into the tiny houses trend by partnering with Vox and ESCAPE to design and sell a 187-square-foot home.
On KingsCrowd, we captured five tiny home companies utilizing crowdfunding to raise capital. Below is an overview on each of them ordered by the time they started raising.
Based in Alabama, Tiny In A Box designs and builds modular structures from recycled materials. It provides structures for tiny homes, small business solutions, pools, mobile farms, and more. On the company’s photo gallery page you can explore its amazing designs and watch videos of its exceptional shipping container transformations.
Tiny In A Box is a seed stage company that tried to raise $107,000 at a $720,000 valuation. Unfortunately it didn’t reach the minimum goal, so the raise was not successful.
Based in southern California, Back Porch Homes provides 3 models to choose from. This company’s houses look more traditional and are designed as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) which means they can be added to your backyard as an extension to your existing house. Once you buy any of the models, the company contracts third-party installers to deliver your home to any location. Back Porch Homes is also working on a plan to create a short-term leasing division for occupants that need prompt delivery and short-term occupancy. Back Porch Homes successfully raised $158k at a $10 million valuation back in 2019.
Based in Colorado, Life Size Tiny Communities develops tiny house communities, not just houses. The company is working with cities, counties, and industry leaders in an effort to normalize mobile tiny houses as permanent single-family type living structures.
Life Size Tiny Communities is currently raising $107,000 for its premier pilot community in Colorado: “Bonsai Village.” The campaign started in December 2020 and will close in September 2021.
Wilderwise provides portable, two-story, off-the-grid tiny homes to take on the road. Using lightweight materials and a proprietary construction design, Wilderwise homes weigh close to 7,000 lb and can be towed by most full size SUVs and half-ton trucks.
Wilderwise is currently raising up to $1 million at a $24 million valuation. So far, 172 investors have already invested around $133,000. The campaign will end in May 2021.
The latest newcomer in the tiny homes startup scene is Roombus — and my personal favorite! I like to summarize it by modern stunning designs meet tiny homes meet smart homes! With three modular designs, you can mix and match to construct a size that fits your needs, and you can go vertical or horizontal.
The house comes with an operating system and can be securely controlled via your phone. You can also set multiple user profiles to save preferences such as light settings, climate, and window privacy so you can switch it all up or down in just one tap. The house is also solar powered, earthquake-resistant, fire-resistant, and hurricane-proof.
The company is also innovating in its business model by offering a buy or rent option starting at $550/month. For buying, prices go from $59,000-to-$89,000 for the basic models. Rhombus is currently raising up to $1 million at a $7.5 million valuation. So far 130 investors have already invested around $196,000. The campaign will end in April 2021.
