Though she understood the process in theory, she had no clue how it actually worked.
“Homebuying is something so pervasive and common, and yet I had no idea how the process even starts,” Carow said.
She and co-founder Matt Canzoneri wanted to lift the fog by creating DwellWell Inc., a platform that explains and guides first-time buyers through the steps of buying their first home.
Founded in 2020, the Culver City-based platform offers homebuyers education, access to resources and connections to real estate experts. To connect buyers with agents and experts, DwellWell partners with local brokerages.
The platform launched to the public Oct. 21, and its buyer waitlist is available in California markets including L.A. County, the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego.
Carow, who serves as the company’s chief technology officer, called DwellWell “TurboTax for homebuying.”
“We’re building a guided step-by-step process that takes you from the very first step all the way up until the close of your home,” she said.
Along with its launch, the company raised $1.5 million in its seed funding round. The investment was led by the Female Innovators Lab by Barclays and Anthemis Group, with angel investors from companies such as Twitter Inc., Reddit Inc., Credit Karma, Kickstarter, HubSpot Inc. and Tribe Capital.
“From day one, we’ve been impressed with co-founders (Carow and Canzoneri) and their ability to rapidly execute, as well as their leadership in creating such a strong company culture from the onset,” Katie Palencsar, managing director of Anthemis, said in a statement. “This has been evidenced not only by their traction but the recruitment of top-tier talent perfectly suited to demystify homebuying.”
Carow said DwellWell used the funding to staff the team. The company employs nine people at its Culver City headquarters.
In order to reach its target demographic of millennial homebuyers, DwellWell eventually aims to launch in markets such as Nashville, Tenn.; Miami; Austin, Texas; and Seattle. That’s part of Carow’s long-term goal for DwellWell to “destroy the information asymmetry” that exists in the process of purchasing a home.
“Right now, all of the vendors that a homebuyer works with have way more information, and therefore power, in the process,” Carow said. “As a first-time homebuyer, you can get very overwhelmed. The long-term vision is for everyone to come to the table and be an equal partner in the exchange.”
