3 Questions With The CEO Of Unison After Its Series B

Unison, a home equity investing provider, announced this week a $40 million Series B investment round of led by F-Prime Capital. Joining in on the round were Citi Ventures and Royal Bank of Canada. F-Prime's David Jegen will also join Unison's board of directors.

Through its HomeBuyer Program, Unsion provides added capital for potential homeowners to make a down payment in return for equity in the home. Their HomeOwner program also provides cash for current homeowners to pay off debt. 

According to Unison, the average size of its investments in a home is $100k. 

Benzinga exchanged emails with Thomas Sponholtz, CEO of Unison, about the deal.

You've been around for over a decade. Why this group of investors and why raise capital now?

We are going to use this capital to fuel growth in new and existing markets, build brand awareness, expand business operations, acquire new talent and to further advance our technology platform. This group of investors shares in our mission to provide home buyers and homeowners with financing options that will liberate them from debt only options.

I zeroed in on the "1,000 percent increase in Q1 2018 YoY growth" line in the press release. What's driven that growth?

Our marketing, partner and support initiatives played a critical role in growing our customer base as we expanded into 22 states. The introduction of a 5% down program with an 80 percent LTV mortgage with Valley National Bank also increased interest in our HomeBuyer program.

Is the eventual goal to expand Unison to all 50 states?

We want to make our programs available to as many consumers as possible, especially in states and urban areas where housing affordability continues to decrease.