Lula builds $28M round with bicoastal investor; plans deep expansion into new markets
February 3, 2025 | Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
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 p
roperty 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.”
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.
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.”

2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
SpraySeeMo returns to Crossroads, painting a shared space for graffiti artists, businesses (Photos)
An annual transformation of the Crossroads Arts District, SpraySeeMO paints more than graffiti-like murals, explained Lexi Walz. It creates energetic and collaborative opportunities for area businesses and talented artists. “Essentially, we’re a group of architects and designers all consumed with creating experiences and emotions through design,” said Walz, marketing and content manager at Generator Studio…
Hyperloop One on display in KC: Imagine being first-ever passenger to ride its 600 mph pod (Photos)
While not a single passenger has yet stepped foot aboard Virgin’s Hyperloop One, that doesn’t mean the technology isn’t more realistic than ever before, explained Jay Walder. “People can’t really imagine what it would feel like to go 600 miles an hour,” said Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One — which pulled onto the track…
Social Side Effect: Ex-KC influencer lands commercial with Patrick Mahomes (but building an Instagram brand isn’t magic)
Editor’s note: Social Side Effect is an ongoing profile series that identifies the intersection between social influencing and entrepreneurship People follow Ian Merzwinski on Instagram because they like him, the social influencer said as he explained the importance of personal brand building. “The best thing that you can do is just be consistent,” Merzwinski, founder…
Replica’s $11M round: Alphabet-owned urban planning tool hits the streets as KC-based spinout
Kansas City is suddenly home to a new, heavy-hitter-backed startup with a built-in $11 million in Series A funding, Nick Bowden announced Thursday. Replica — a next-generation urban planning tool by Sidewalk Labs (itself a smart city firm owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google) — has been spun out into its own standalone…


