Two years after top KC startup’s sale, Zego (and its new owner) acquired for nearly $1B
June 18, 2021 | Startland News Staff
The company that acquired Kansas City-based Zego in 2019 — and liked the real estate tech startup’s brand so much it changed its own identity to match — has itself now been purchased by a global “powerhouse” in an all-cash transaction valued at $925 million.
Zego delivers its full value stack through a cloud native SaaS platform to enable seamless property management and best-in-class resident engagement and commerce experiences.
The company has significant scale with over 7,000 property management customers representing more than 11 million residential units in the United States utilizing its comprehensive real estate technology platform.
Through its integrated payments offering, Zego facilitates approximately $30 billion in payments annually in a market with a volume opportunity that exceeds $1 trillion.
Zego — formerly PayLease — announced the acquisition by Global Payments, a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions, June 10. (The 18-year-old San Diego company had rebranded to “Zego” about nine months after absorbing the exiting Kansas City startup, which was originally built in Kansas City by co-founders Adam Blake and Clay Coffman as a solution in the smart apartment space.)
“Today marks a monumental moment in Zego (Powered by PayLease) history as we embark on our next exciting chapter,” Zego representatives said in a press release after this month’s acquisition. “This transaction extends Global Payments’ leadership in software into the real estate vertical.”
Global Payments is headquartered in Georgia with nearly 24,000 employees worldwide.
The deal is not expected to disrupt services for current customers or residents, the company said, noting it pushes Zego closer to international expansion.
As a co-founder, Blake shifted into an advisor role with PayLease until December 2019 before taking time off to spend with his family and serve a handful of early stage companies in advisory roles.
Coffman served as director of product management for Zego (Powered by PayLease) until July 2020, moving into an advisor position with the company until December 2020.
“I think we did a good job showing outside investors there are venture-backable companies in KC,” Blake told Startland News in 2019. “We had a handful that invested in Kansas City for the first time.”
An inaugural Techstars Kansas City graduate founded as “CasaiQ,” the Kansas City-built Zego’s early investors ran the spectrum of the local and national investment scene: The KCRise Fund, Techstars Ventures, Zoloz CEO Toby Rush, and ShotTracker co-founder Davyeon Ross.
Featured Business
2021 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
New VP, investments among strategic scale-up efforts at Overland Park healthcare startup
ModRN Health has dramatically accelerated over the past year, said CaRessa Hutchinson, detailing moves that include more patients, new funding and the addition of an on-call expert in fast-growing startups. With more than 80 clinicians (nurses and doctors) on its team, the Overland Park-based virtual primary care solutions company is now providing family healthcare, plan…
Best in the US: ‘Market days are work days,’ but all are welcome at OP’s award-winning farmers’ market
More than 7,000 farmers’ markets across the United States competed for the title of “America’s Favorite Market” — but voters ultimately picked Overland Park’s community of vendors and entrepreneurs as the cream of the crop. “The Overland Park Farmers’ Market is the heart of this vibrant and diverse neighborhood where all are welcome,” said Kristina…
Alchemy Sandbox winners lean into challenge of live pitches as Porter House KC awards third-round checks
A third round of Alchemy Sandbox winners each walked away with more than a $5,000 check this week after an intense live pitch experience for the entrepreneurs behind three Kansas City Main Street ventures and two support organizations for Black businesses. “It was interesting to see how I had all this information in my head,…
Tech piloted in KC classrooms went viral, now Boddle has raised $3M in seed funding
TULSA — Funding for its rapidly scaling education gaming platform is expected to fuel Boddle Learning’s nationwide growth, as well as help the startup expand its product offerings outside of math and develop new interactive multiplayer experiences. “It’s always been one of our goals to inspire learning anywhere,” said Edna Martinson, co-founder of Boddle, describing…