Ruralis Crowdfunds $1M to Revolutionize Rural Short-Term Rentals

The proptech company Ruralis launched its crowdfunding campaign with Wefunder, a leading global equity crowdfunding platform that allows anyone to invest in startups and small businesses.

The target of the collection is $1 million that will help Ruralis, the innovative startup that optimizes the digital management of short-term rentals on behalf of owners, to accelerate its expansion in the US market, especially in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont and North Carolina. At the same time, it will allow it to consolidate itself on the Italian market, where Ruralis aims to position itself in first place with the highest number of listings, or the number of properties managed.

The capital raised will also be used to expand the team, which currently has 20 resources, by 50% and to continuously invest in technological assets that support innovation in rural Italy to provide more tools to holiday home owners and give visibility to the many small municipalities in Italy and around the world.

Created in 2022 in a town in the province of Avellino with 3,000 inhabitants, Ruralis has used its roots to develop the first all-in-one digital solution designed to meet the needs of homeowners in inland areas and help them increase their earnings in the short-term rental sector with a simple, digital and highly effective platform.

Starting in bootstrap mode, therefore self-financing without resorting to external investments, in just three years it has managed to generate 1.44 million euros in turnover and manage over 300 properties, recording a growth in managed properties of +488% between 2022 and 2024. Not only that, it has established itself as a point of reference for its customers, maintaining a high loyalty rate. The quarterly retention rate, the percentage of customers who continue to use the service, is 88%.

“With Ruralis, we contribute to the socio-economic development of small Italian municipalities for a more sustainable and equitable world. Our commitment is aimed at revitalizing local communities, preserving the cultural and natural heritage of rural Italy and contributing to a more responsible approach to tourism – explains Nicolas Verderosa, CEO of Ruralis – We believe that sustainable tourism is the key to ensuring harmonious growth of inland areas, favoring a more resilient local economy. Furthermore, we want to demonstrate that an innovative company can be born anywhere, without moving to large urban centers.”

The innovative startup Ruralis redefines the short-term rental sector

While hosts in cities have access to advanced tools and professional managers, in inland areas millions of owners face obstacles such as lack of technology and skills . Ruralis offers a complete digital platform to fill this gap with growth strategies, visibility and secure management of payments and reservations but leaving the management of reception, cleaning and maintenance to the discretion of the owners, to promote more authentic hospitality.

The challenges in these territories are many, but it is precisely by addressing these difficulties that solid companies and capable people can be built. Ruralis demonstrates that a scalable and sustainable model can be born and thrive even in territories little explored by venture capital. Furthermore, the Ruralis financing model focuses heavily on the support of small and medium-sized investors, rather than traditional venture capital funds.

This approach allows for the construction of a more inclusive and decentralized project, giving a greater number of people the opportunity to participate in the growth of the company. In a financial landscape often dominated by large institutional investors, this choice may seem counter-current, but it is a conscious decision.

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(Featured image by Yaopey Young via Unsplash)

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First published in ARENAdigitale. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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