Having a second property on the beach or in the countryside to call your own or reach out to hotels and vacation rental platforms each time you want to take a break? The new venture of the former CEO of Webjet (Brazil‘s first low-cost airline bought by GOL in 2011) and GJP Hotels, Fabio Godinho, is a middle ground between the two ideas. MyDoor, in operation since mid-May, offers high-end leisure properties in Brazil that can be purchased collectively. By acquiring 1/8 of the property, the buyer would be able to combine the investment in a property with the comfort of a concierge service, generating a much more personalized experience than any hotel or digital travel platform can offer.
The launch of the startup took place on the heels of its first external funding: a round of BRL 8 million led by RTSC Holding (the parent group of R Capital, which acquired GJP Hotels last year) and followed by Apex Partners, which valued the company at BRL 50 million. In the same round, the leading investor put another BRL 200 million to pay for the purchase of the startup‘s first properties and the buyers’ financing of these properties.
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Inspired by Pacaso — one of the startups to quickly reach unicorn status in the United States in 2021 —, what MyDoor offers, in practice, is a co-participation in a second property, with quotas starting at BRL 350,000 (around $73,000). Each property can have from two to eight owners (each can buy up to four shares per house).
The “bonus” offered by MyDoor in this operation is the offer of financing and general management services, decoration, and maintenance of the residence. Via online scheduling, it is possible to access services such as concierge, housekeeper, cleaning, maintenance, and conservation of the property, among others.
To offer all this, MyDoor is also looking for employees who know each location well (or regional hub). That’s why the startup is also expanding its operation gradually. While the concierge service is online, each property has a housekeeper, and every eight to ten houses a hostess.
MyDoor started offering properties on the North and South coast of Sao Paulo (Maresias, Riviera de São Lourenço, Praia de Juquehy, Praia da Baleia, Barra do Una and Guarujá) and in the interior of Sao Paulo (Terras de São José/Itu, Avaré , Campos do Jordão). “We want to consolidate our services in these regions; we’ll probably open other operational hubs only next year.”
According to MyDoor’s legal model, the owners are partners of the houses and can use the properties for up to 44 days a year. Owners are also entitled to at least one special date within this schedule, such as Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or Carnival.
The startup‘s target audience is families with monthly household income above BRL 30,000 (around $6,200). “Together with Ace [Studio, an accelerator], we estimate an addressable market of BRL 500 billion in Brazil.” The average ticket of fractions of properties available is BRL 700,000.
But we know that nobody has this amount easily available, so one of the advantages of our business model is to offer access to financing, with a 30% down payment and the rest in up to ten years
Fabio Godinho, CEO at MyDoor.
The financing is subject to IPCA (Brazil‘s official inflation index) plus an interest rate ranging from 8% to 12% per year, depending on the property and the buyer’s credit rating. “The funding cost is not the same as that of a bank, of course. On the other hand, everything is much easier and more agile.”
He explains that the entire bureaucratic part of buying the property is also faster than usual and can be done digitally. “The owner of the house is a company, so even the purchase registration in a notary’s office and all the financing procedures can be done digitally.”
