Vancouver-based FinTech startup Parvis Invest has closed an all equity $2.6 million CAD seed funding round by way of private placement, and led by Gravitas Securities.
“Investors are increasingly looking to find refuge from inflationary pressures in the economy in solid real estate investment opportunities.”
– Drew Green
Parvis noted that it also secured a multi-year partnership with Gravitas to help propel the former’s strategic growth as it gears up for launch this summer.
Founded last year by David Michaud (CEO), Jas Bagry (CFO), Conan Graham (COO), and chairman Drew Green, Parvis will provide a blockchain-enabled platform for real estate investing.
Parvis works with property developers across North America to bring curated residential real estate projects to their digital platform. Parvis positions itself as different from real estate investment trusts (REITs), by claiming that its platform will enable investors to choose specific properties, instead of investing in a blind pool of real estate offerings. It also claims to offer investors lower fees than REITS, but has not disclosed what those fees are.
Once launched, the platform will be open to accredited investors, which includes financial institutions, registered advisors or dealers, pension funds, and individuals who have at least $1 million in financial assets or $5 million in net assets. The startup noted that it plans to offer investments that aim to raise anywhere from $500,000 to $250 million.
With the aim to become the go-to digital marketplace for global real estate investors, Parvis wants to provide users with the ability to pursue vetted institutional-level real estate opportunities, while also being able to unlock liquidity through its secondary market.
“Access to high quality projects is often reserved for select groups of people, creating limited options for larger groups of investors,” said Michaud. “Parvis aims to break down the barriers to entry … enabling access to an exciting, growing asset class and increased transparency for investors.”
Michaud also said that Parvis’ latest capital raise will be used to fuel the company’s investment in its technology, and help create the platform and secondary marketplace.
Parvis’ exempt market dealer application is currently being processed by the British Columbia Securities Commission, according to the company, and expects to receive an approval along with its official launch in the coming weeks.
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“The timing of our launch is perfect,” said Green. “Investors are increasingly looking to find refuge from inflationary pressures in the economy in solid real estate investment opportunities that combine liquidity and diversification.”
Parvis is one of a number of companies that Green chairs. Apart from being the CEO and president of custom apparel company Indochino, Green is also the chairman and founder of Riverdale Rentals, Emerge Commerce, Apollo Insurance, Pineapple, &OR Collective, Yourika, Brush, and others.
Green was also the founding CEO of Shop.ca from 2009 to 2015. In those years, Shop.ca was able to raise $51.5 million in funding. Just a year after Green departed from the company in 2015, Shop.ca filed for bankruptcy.
Now working with Parvis, which operates in the intersection of FinTech and proptech, Green said: “These are fast-changing times in PropTech, and with Parvis, we are on the leading edge of the transformation.”
Featured image from Parvis Invest’s website.