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
KCultivator Q&A: Nia Richardson an architect of startup support ‘born, made and raised on Prospect’
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Experience the world, engage with community, and execute ideas to get ahead — not only in life, but in building a legacy that stands the test of time, said Nia Richardson. A product of Kansas City Public…
IoT panel to startups: Demystify emerging tech and take risks, but prepare to fail fast
Entrepreneurs often get lost in the hype of emerging technologies like the Internet of Things, failing to effectively integrate new tech into their startups, said Don Sharp. “Whether it’s the latest, greatest thing or not — it’s no different than any other tool,” said Sharp, CEO of St. Louis-based Coolfire Solutions and panelist at RUMBLE’s…
Top founder salutes Rick Vaughn: A mustached hero with a herculean task
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. The dude is amazing; the dude is a legend. He rocks a mustache and his name is Rick Vaughn. If you don’t know him, it’s too late. He’s already gone. Well, not quite gone; this isn’t an obituary. Rick is just retiring from…
Startup community organizers named to Chamber’s new Centurions class
A trio of faces familiar within the Kansas City startup community have joined the city’s oldest and premier leadership development program. The 35-member list of incoming Centurions — which includes John Coler, product owner at RFP360 and Startup Weekend organizer; Davin Gordon, business development officer at AltCap; and Courtney Windholz, COO at PROOF and former 1…