Newsletter Subscription

A Laser Focus World newsletter subscription is free to qualified professionals:

The Daily Beam

Showcases the newest content from Laser Focus World, including photonics- and optics-based applications, components, research, and trends. (Daily)

Product Watch

The latest in products within the photonics industry. (9x per year)

Bio & Life Sciences Product Watch

The latest in products within the biophotonics industry. (4x per year)

Laser Processing Product Watch

The latest in products within the laser processing industry. (3x per year)

Mesa Raises $9.2M to Solve the Home Cost Crisis

By: Mesa via Business Wire

September 24, 2024 at 09:45 AM EDT

Fintech veterans from Uber, Bilt Rewards, Robinhood, Block, and American Express launch the first homeowner membership platform

Mesa, the first homeowner membership platform, today exited stealth with $9.2 million in seed funding. The $7.2 million seed funding was led by Streamlined Ventures with Starting Line, Assurant Ventures, Vera Equity, Redwood Trust Horizons, Clocktower Ventures, and several other firms and strategic investors participating. Mesa received an additional $2 million in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank. This funding will support Mesa’s mission to make homeownership more affordable and rewarding, allowing us to scale our team, expand membership offerings, and add more partners to the Mesa Homeowners Network.

Homeownership is the most expensive it’s been in a generation with consumers spending over one third of their income on their home. Americans spend over $6 trillion annually on homeownership — more than defense, social security, and healthcare combined.

It’s no longer just a housing problem - it’s a home cost crisis.

“My co-founder Peyton Hayslette and I saw how consumers receive incentives and loyalty rewards for everyday purchases like coffee, airline tickets, and hotel stays. But the one thing you spend the most on – your home and all that comes with it? No one rewards that spend,” said Kelley Halpin, CEO and co-founder at Mesa. “Our vision for homeowner membership is to give you value back for every dollar you spend on your home.”

Mesa’s first products are the Mesa Mortgage Marketplace and the Mesa Homeowners Card:

The Mesa Mortgage Marketplace offers benefits and rewards for originating a new mortgage or refinancing through a lender or broker advertising on Mesa’s marketplace. Homeowners get access to benefits, plus 1% of their loan value in rewards points at closing. For example, that’s $5,000 of value on a $500,000 loan. This creates a new credit card style membership experience for a mortgage product.

The Mesa Homeowners Card is the first premium credit card designed specifically for homeowners. Cardmembers are rewarded on monthly mortgage payments and everyday spending like gas, groceries, HOA fees, utilities, repairs, and home goods and services, like insurance.

Mesa Points can be redeemed at partner brands, used to book travel, or reinvested back into your home as payments toward your mortgage balance or applying Mesa points toward refinancing fees. In the future, the company plans to reward members on home warranty plans, HELOC originations, insurance plans, and other financial products for homeowners.

Mesa has brought together some of the largest and most innovative companies in the world to help solve the home cost crisis, including strategic partner Visa, a world leader in digital payments.

Visa Vice President of New Business Development for Digital Partnerships, Erin Pursell, says “Our strategic partnership with Mesa leverages Visa's digital payment capabilities to introduce options for homeowners that aim to help relieve the costs of home ownership. We are facilitating an experience that includes home-oriented rewards, enhancing the value of homeownership. Our collaboration with Mesa further underscores Visa's position as an innovative leader in payment solutions and brings us closer to our mission of empowering 'everyone, everywhere'."

The Mesa team brings decades of experience from companies such as Uber, Bilt Rewards, Robinhood, Block, Capital One, and American Express. Mesa’s Executive team includes Shannon Cusick, our Head of Partnerships who led business development at Peloton and American Express; Tina Moore, our GM of Card & Rewards who was on the founding team at Bilt Rewards; and our CFO, Nadia Asoyan, the first finance hire at Robinhood.

To learn more about Mesa, or if you are interested in joining the team, please visit mesamember.com.

About Mesa

Mesa is on a mission to make homeownership more affordable and rewarding. Led by a team of repeat founders and fintech operators from Uber, Amex, Robinhood, Capital One, Bilt Rewards, and Block, Mesa is creating the homeowner membership category. The Mesa platform gives real value back to consumers for the $6 trillion in annual homeownership spend.

Mesa is not a mortgage lender or mortgage broker. Mesa provides advertising services for mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers.