Profitable and passive real estate, is it possible? Interesting, too? That's what we think of the STR platform Techvestor making it easier than ever to invest in Airbnbs. As the company enters its second fund, the goal is to ensure more and more investors are able to tap into this asset class through Techvestor's institutional grade, proprietary rental platform that allows busy professionals to passively invest in 'Airbnbs.'

Techvestor, co-founded by COO Sabrina Guler and CEO Sief Khafagi, offers some pretty exciting benefits for potential investors: cash flow every quarter, tax benefits, and instant diversification of a portfolio. 'Real estate is one of the smartest ways to make your money work for you,' says Guler. 'An STR is a vehicle that pays for daily expenses via cash flow and builds equity.'

Techvestor is able to underwrite over 100,000 properties every month and has already raised over $37 million from investors. With its ability to analyze over 18 million data points each month, this unique platform identifies the hottest properties and serves as an investment platform, property acquirer, designer, and property manager all in one, allowing investors to simply invest, sit back, and stay passive.

Technology Meets STR Investment

Techvestor's story started when Guler and Khafagi were independently investing in assets like short-term rentals for their own portfolios, all while building their engineering and leadership careers at Apple and Facebook.

Prior to Techvestor, Guler developed her business and technology acumen as an Engineering Project Manager at Apple, where she grew its AirPods product line into a multibillion-dollar revenue stream.

'I liked my job at Apple, of course, but I had a lucrative hobby on the side: I invested in single-family homes and transformed them into Airbnb rental properties,' Guler explains. 'Many of my friends were intrigued by the potential of these investments but hesitated to get started. It could be complicated and overwhelming to identify the right property, redesign it, furnish the space, and then make it generate revenue. These hurdles meant that people were locked out of potential income for themselves.'

The Software, Strategy, and Know-How Behind Techvestor

'Finding the right property to invest in, in the best market and operating it, is hard to do at scale,' says Guler. She and Khafagi knew that they needed two key components for the success of Techvestor: people and software.

'We examined the best way to identify, manage, and exit our short-term rental portfolios,' she states. 'We designed a 16-point strategy for analyzing the potential of both a property and its location.' Guler adds that she and Khafagi took into account each property's uniqueness, seasonality, tax benefits, diversification, and whether it's located in an STR-friendly state, along with other crucial factors. 'All in all,' she says, 'we look at millions of data points and 250+ markets monthly.'

Techvestor is also vertically integrated, meaning that it takes direct ownership of each stage of property development and design, rather than outsourcing. 'Keeping each aspect in-house streamlines the entire process,' says Guler. 'We handle everything from acquisition and interior design to property management and revenue management.'

Then there's the people aspect and the way this team was constructed. According to Khafagi, the people at Techvestor, the folks managing the assets and putting it together, are 'one of its largest competitive advantages.'

Another big draw of STR investment with Techvestor is Owner Stays. Investors have the ability to stay at any Techvestor property at any time for up to 30% off normal rates at exclusive locations across the country.

The Company's Growth & Expansion

With over $37MM from hundreds of investors and 75+ properties across 10+ markets, Techvestor is accomplishing the goals that Guler and Khafagi have set for it. The company has successfully exited eight times, with an average IRR of 42%.

Their goal is for Techvestor to become one of the largest institutional STR operators in the world. Since the pandemic, the rise of flexible, remote living and Airbnbs have skyrocketed. We are now focused on 2023 and on helping more individuals to discover passive investments in the world of short-term rentals.