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
Voting now open: Startup’s stem cell scaling solution vies for ‘Coolest Thing Made in Kansas’
An Olathe biotech lab is once again growing “Coolest Thing Made in Kansas” honors with its breakthrough technology to help researchers produce stem cells at a massive scale to help fight pandemics and global diseases. T-Blocks were announced Tuesday as one of the Top 32 contenders in the Kansas Chamber’s annual Kansas-made tournament, which highlights…
KC startup releases ‘eVaccine passport’ with state registry verification, alerts for booster shots
Employers and event organizers hoping to promote safety amid the flourishing Delta variant and the threat of fraudulent CDC vaccine cards have a new tool, said Jeremy Elias, announcing a Kansas City-built solution to track and confirm individuals’ COVID-19 vaccine statuses. TrackMy Verivax empowers businesses to capture data, track compliance, report on vaccine administration and…
A Bible parable helped connect vegan foods to Made in KC cafes; here’s how two sisters planted the seed
Now served at Made in KC cafes across the metro — from the brand’s popular marketplaces to the new Outta the Blue oasis and downtown trolley cafe — vegan goods from Mattie’s Foods arrive on plates thanks to growing hunger for more healthy options, as well as the wholesome ingredients of a community-built business. Between…
Midtown ice cream shop for pups churns out treats, therapeutic ‘doggo date’ spot for pets, people
Bad days especially call for ice cream, Sherri Corwin said, recalling one of her favorite self-care rituals and the way it became her freshly creamed, Midtown-scooped startup — a venture that’s left tails across the metro wagging for waffle cones. “People really do love their pets,” said Corwin, who in February opened Mixed Mutt Creamery —…