TLDR:
Property Finder founder and CEO, Michael Lahyani, raised $90 million in debt financing to buy back shares from BECO Capital, the first institutional investor in the company.
Lahyani and BECO Capital founder and CEO, Dany Farha, have had a successful founder-investor relationship for over 12 years, built on trust, alignment of values, and spending quality time together.
It’s been almost eight years since Property Finder founder and CEO Michael Lahyani advised entrepreneurs to not build a business to sell it, exemplifying his commitment to his own company. Property Finder started as a property print magazine in 2005 and grew to serve over 5.5 million active users monthly in various countries.
Through multiple funding rounds, including investments from BECO Capital and General Atlantic, Property Finder has seen significant growth. Lahyani’s buyback of shares from BECO Capital was supported by debt financing from Francisco Partners, showing that a profitable business and a strong relationship with investors can create optionality for liquidity events.
Farha and Lahyani’s successful relationship offers lessons on trust, alignment of values, and spending quality time together as key elements of a functional founder-investor relationship. Both entrepreneurs emphasize the importance of founder-friendly investors and focusing on operations and profitability when raising funds.
