Neighborly

Neighborly was a San Francisco–based financial technology startup focused on financing and deploying fiber-optic broadband infrastructure in communities around the U.S. The company aimed to deliver critical fiber broadband infrastructure to communities, and opportunities to investors interested in closing the digital divide.

This article is about the former financial company. For a definition of the term "neighborly", see the Wiktionary entry neighborly.
Neighborly
TypePrivate
IndustryPublic infrastructure, impact investing
Founded2012 (2012)
FounderJase Wilson
Defunct2019
FateBankrupted
Headquarters
San Francisco, CA (2015–2019)
Kansas City, MO (2012–2015)
ProductsFiber-optic broadband networks

Previous to their broadband endeavors, Neighborly facilitated municipal bond investments to finance community infrastructure, including schools, libraries, bike paths, and parks. Investors included Emerson Collective, 8VC and Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures.

History

Neighborly was founded in July 2012 in Kansas City, Missouri by Jase Wilson, a civic technologist trained in urban planning at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,.[1]

During the company's first two years of operation, Neighborly facilitated donations for 55 community projects that collectively raised over $2,500,000.[2]

In July 2013, Neighborly received a $175,000 grant from the Knight Foundation.[3]

In April 2014, Neighborly won the 14th Annual Global Technology Symposium, held at Draper University in San Mateo, beating 8 other companies from 7 different countries.[4] In October 2014, Neighborly completed the 500 Startups Accelerator.[5][6]

In July 2015, Neighborly introduced the concept of ‘civic microbonds’ to lower the minimum denomination required to invest in municipal bonds.[7]

In an effort to better raise seed funding, Neighborly's operations were moved from Kansas City to San Francisco in 2015. The move paid off when, in August 2015, Neighborly secured $5.5M seed financing led by Joe Lonsdale's Formation 8 and Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures.[8][9]

In May 2017 Neighborly announced it raised a $25 million Series A round. The investment was led by Joe Lonsdale at 8VC, Laurene Powell Jobs at Emerson Collective, with follow-on participation from Ashton Kutcher at Sound Ventures, Maven Ventures, Bee Partners, and Stanford University. New investors were: Govtech Fund, Abstract.vc, and Fintech Collective.

In October 2019, the company defaulted after failing to secure funding.[10][11][12][13][14][15]

References
  1. Blanding, Michael. "Visible hand". MIT News. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  2. Cortese, Amy (10 July 2015). "Putting the Public Back in Public Finance". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  3. Scott, Ryan (7 January 2016). "Addressing Poverty Through Digital and Financial Literacy". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  4. "Neighbor.ly's Jase Wilson wins Silicon Valley pitch competition - Silicon Prairie News". Silicon Prairie News. 9 April 2014.
  5. "Neighborly". 500.co. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  6. Kyle Russell. "Our Four Favorite Companies From The 500 Startups Demo Day". TechCrunch.
  7. Culpepper, Kristi (18 September 2015). "Will Neighborly Disrupt the Municipal Bond Market? (No.)". Medium.com.
  8. Kim-Mai Cutler. "Neighborly Raises $5.5M From Joe Lonsdale's Formation 8, Ashton Kutcher To Transform The Municipal Debt Market". TechCrunch.
  9. "Visible hand".
  10. "Ashton Kutcher-Backed Startup Tells Employees It Can't Make Payroll". Bloomberg.com. October 7, 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  11. "Muni Bonds Remain Undisrupted". Bloomberg.com. 2019-10-17.
  12. "The Fall of the Muni Startup That Wanted to Upend Wall Street". Bloomberg. 2019-10-16.
  13. "Problem With Bringing Muni Bonds to the Masses". Bloomberg. 2019-10-21.
  14. "S.F. fintech backed by Ashton Kutcher runs out of cash to pay employees". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  15. Genovese, Daniella (2019-10-08). "Ashton Kutcher-backed startup can't pay employees: Report". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
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