Lula builds $28M round with bicoastal investor; plans deep expansion into new markets

February 3, 2025  |  Nikki Overfelt Chifalu

Lula leadership: Lance Burton, Bo Lais, Will Parrish and Laxman Degala

Securing Lula’s Series A funding round is not only validation for the Kansas City proptech startup, Bo Lais said; the $28 million in capital means a greater opportunity to enhance the ecosystem for all of his company’s stakeholders, he added.

The funding will allow Lula — a leading platform for streamlined property maintenance solutions and one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2022 — to expand from 42 markets into 60 in 2025, said Lais, founder and CEO, noting plans to heavily invest into further product innovation through AI and automation, and to hire some key roles, including heads of finance, marketing, and partnerships. 

“For the customers, we want to improve upon the services and expand our offering,” he explained. “For the residents, it allows us to provide better property maintenance, leading to higher resident satisfaction. For our Lula Pros, we want to increase opportunities for work and growth for them.”

“Then we also want to continue investment in innovation and culture for our employees and shareholders,” Lais added.

The round announced Monday — which will allow Lula to continue to transform property maintenance, the founder said — is led by New York and Silicon Valley-based PeakSpan Capital with participation from existing investor Park City, Utah-based RET Ventures.

A significant portion of the funding will be used to develop and commercialize a new SaaS product called Foresight — a cutting-edge AI-powered work order management SaaS platform — which is engineered to seamlessly integrate in-house maintenance teams, third-party contractors, and Lula Pros into a unified, comprehensive maintenance management system.

“Since meeting Bo and the Lula team a few years ago, PeakSpan has been impressed with Lula’s ability to elegantly address the increasing complexity of residential maintenance management through both differentiated technology and an expansive contractor network,” said Kyle Reitinger, vice president at PeakSpan, in a news release. “The Lula team has demonstrated a clear ability to drive capital-efficient growth and innovate with new product offerings, including the company’s recent Foresight release.”

Investors see incredible opportunity for Lula to further optimize the maintenance workflow across the residential ecosystem, added Reitinger, expressing eagerness to support the team in its next phase of company development.

“This investment marks a pivotal moment for Lula and the property maintenance industry,” Lais noted in a statement. “With PeakSpan’s support and the continued backing of our early investor

RET Ventures, we are set to accelerate our growth, expand our pro network, and deliver even greater value to our customers. Our vision is to make property maintenance seamless, efficient, and stress-free for property managers and residents nationwide.”

RET Ventures initially backed Lula with a $3 million investment in early 2022.

“As owners and operators continue to navigate an uncertain economic environment, streamlining labor-intensive processes such as property maintenance is a top priority,” explained Aaron Ru, a principal at RET Ventures. “We made our initial investment in 2022 because of Lula’s incredible product-market fit and traction, and we’ve been continually impressed by the company’s growth and execution over the past three years.”

Lula’s team during a recent 2025 kickoff event for the company

Since its founding in 2017 by Lais and childhood friend Will Parrish (and with the help of Lance Burton, another childhood friend), Lula has experienced rapid growth, now providing maintenance across 42 markets nationwide, according to the company. With a vetted network of more than 6,000 Lula Pros — including skilled handymen, plumbers, electricians, and HVAC contractors — the company has become a trusted partner for property managers and investors seeking efficient, reliable maintenance solutions.

The Lula team now has grown to more than 80 employees.

Bo Lais, Lula

In 2024, Lula’s proprietary platform processed more than 100,000 work order requests from more than 125 property management customers, demonstrating the company’s robust capabilities and growing market presence.

A member of the inaugural Pitch Perfect class at ECJC (Enterprise Center in Johnson County) in 2017, as well as a 2020 Pipeline Entrepreneurs fellow, Lais credits such programs and leaders like Pipeline’s Melissa Vincent with support that helped get his company to market and beyond.

Lula’s continued success, he noted, will hopefully help to pave the way for the next generation of entrepreneurs in Kansas City. 

“We’re really excited about building a fast-growing proptech startup here in Kansas City,” he said. “For one, I love the city. But it also has provided a lot of support for me personally along the way.”

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

Tagged , , ,
Featured Business
    Featured Founder

      2025 Startups to Watch

        stats here

        Related Posts on Startland News

        Clyde McQueen

        Tips for overcoming experience gap, building a diverse workforce

        By Tommy Felts | September 13, 2017

        When Ariel Banks graduated from the University of Missouri at Rolla in 2014 with a chemical engineering degree, she felt qualified and eager to jump into her career. Unfortunately, Banks spent nearly two years without any luck in finding a job. She found herself being asked time and time again, the dreaded question: “What is…

        Chris Goode, Ruby Jean's Kitchen and Juicery

        Wonder no more: Ruby Jean’s taking juice to Troost

        By Tommy Felts | September 13, 2017

        Thirty years after Chris Goode’s grandmother helped drop him off for daycare at Operation Breakthrough on Troost Avenue, the entrepreneur is expanding the juicery that bears her name — Ruby Jean’s — to a site less than a block away. “It’s crazy how life comes full circle,” said Goode, Ruby Jean’s Juicery founder. “I’m 33 now…

        5 startups enjoy growth, connections with KCMO innovation partnership

        By Tommy Felts | September 12, 2017

        Although the government may be pegged as resistant to change, Kansas City Mayor Sly James wants to flip the script. “On a city level, we aren’t having much help from the state and federal governments sometimes,” James said at the Innovation Partnership Program demo day on Monday at WeWork Corrigan Station. “But, we still have…

        With fund now slashed, LaunchKC alumni say MTC vital to early success

        By Tommy Felts | September 12, 2017

        PopBookings probably wouldn’t be in business today without the early support — and more critically the investment dollars — of the Missouri Technology Corporation, Erika Klotz said. “It really allowed us to do more quicker,” the PopBookings co-founder and CEO said. “For any startup, speed is everything. It allowed us to get credibility right out…