Millennial Home Buying Platform Lower Raises $100 Million Series A Led By Accel

NEW ALBANY, Ohio, June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lower, the millennial and Gen-Z focused home finance platform with more than 16,000 reviews averaging five-stars, has raised $100 million in its Series A Funding round, led by venture capital firm Accel. Lower, which is already profitable and growing rapidly, plans to use the funds to expand its product line and accelerate its growth.

This is one of the largest bootstrapped fintech companies to raise a Series A, having crossed several hundred million in revenue, and the largest ever Series A round raised by an Ohio company.

"My co-founders and I started this company because we saw a need in this industry to make the process easier for consumers. We're all actively involved in growing the company and knew the next stage of our journey would be accelerated by bringing in a top firm like Accel," said co-founder and CEO Dan Snyder. "More investment means faster growth and more impact. Homeownership is the greatest wealth creator for Americans and Accel's history of supporting bootstrap companies and their investment means we can help more people achieve it faster."

Accel partner John Locke is joining Lower's board of directors.

Locke said, "Dan and the Lower team have quietly created one of the most interesting fintech companies in the U.S. Lower has a unique opportunity to break down barriers to home ownership. They have an established growth trajectory, with over $300M in revenue. We are excited to partner with them as they continue this journey."

Lower's mission is to make the traditionally daunting task of buying or refinancing a home simple. Their platform is differentiated from other digital lenders by taking a holistic approach to the homeownership journey through multiple channels. Consumers can go online or download the app and find a one-stop shop experience where they can save for a home, get a great mortgage, and protect their home through its insurance marketplace. Those who prefer to work with a local realtor or builder can utilize their channel partner network and its expert advisors.

The funding announcement follows on the heels of Lower's mobile app launch featuring the new, first of its kind deposit account called "HomeFundtm." The interest bearing FDIC-insured deposit account with a generous 0.75% Annual Percentage Yield¹ is designed to help consumers make progress on their home buying journey with a dollar-for-dollar match in "HomeCashtm" rewards up to the first $1,000 saved.

Lower and the Columbus Crew also recently announced the Crew's new soccer-specific stadium is Lower.com Field after the MLS original signed a long-term partnership that includes naming rights to the downtown venue.

With more services in the pipeline and an aggressive roadmap for adding new platform features, Lower continues to challenge the status quo in home purchase and homeownership. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

The company is based in Columbus, OH and is actively hiring.

About Lower
Lower is on a mission to help people build wealth through homeownership. The fintech company, based in Columbus, Ohio, offers a home finance platform that allows customers to deposit money and save for a home, get a mortgage to buy a home, refinance an existing mortgage, and obtain insurance to protect their home. This digital one-stop shop lowers the barriers to homeownership by helping customers across the country, no matter where they are in their homeownership journey. Those who prefer to work with a local realtor or builder can utilize their channel partner network and its expert advisors. Lower is a FNMA/FHLMC/GNMA seller-servicer that has funded billions in loans and has more than 16,000 reviews averaging five-stars in less than two years. They work with more than 35 major insurance carriers nationally including Nationwide, Liberty Mutual and Allstate. Lower has been named the best place to work by Columbus CEO and a top workplace nationwide by Glassdoor and Fortune. Lower was founded by Mike Baynes, Robert Tyson, Grayson Hanes, Chris Miller and Dan Snyder. To learn more, visit www.lower.com.

¹https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/rates/ 

Lower is an Equal Housing Lender. NMLS ID #1124061. Visit nmlsconsumeraccess.org for licensing information.

Accounts are held at Evolve Bank & Trust, Member FDIC.

For more information about the HomeFund account and disclosure details please visit www.lower.com/save.

About Accel
Accel is a global venture capital firm that is the first partner to exceptional teams everywhere, from inception through all phases of private company growth. Atlassian, Braintree, Cloudera, Crowdstrike, DJI, DocuSign, Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, Freshworks, Jet, Pillpack, Qualtrics, Slack, Spotify, Supercell, Tenable, UiPath, and Venmo are among the companies Accel has backed over the past 35+ years. We help ambitious entrepreneurs build iconic global businesses. For more, visit www.accel.com or www.twitter.com/accel.

SOURCE Lower.com