Smooth

Smooth Inc. is a financial technology company that addresses the high initial costs associated with renting a property in Japan. Founded in May 2019 by Taku Koizumi, the company provides a service that allows tenants to pay for upfront costs, such as security deposits, key money, and agency fees, in installments. The service, also named "Smooth," enables users to move into their desired homes without a large initial cash outlay, offering multiple payment plans including a 6-month installment option with no fees.

The founder, Taku Koizumi, was inspired to start the business based on his own experiences of financial struggles during multiple moves. Before founding Smooth, he had started an application and web service development company while still in university in 2015. This background in technology and his personal understanding of the problem led to the creation of Smooth's business model.

Smooth operates on a dual business model. The primary model is a B2B2C approach where real estate agencies recommend the service to their clients. In this model, Smooth earns revenue through advertising fees from the partner real estate companies. The second is a B2C customer acquisition model, where Smooth directly attracts users through online advertising and then introduces them to affiliated real estate agencies, earning a referral fee. This structure benefits tenants by easing their financial burden and helps real estate agencies by reducing customer drop-offs due to high initial costs.

The company has achieved significant growth, securing a total of approximately 2.85 billion JPY in its Series B funding round. This round included equity financing from investors led by the Maezawa Fund, founded by Yusaku Maezawa, and debt financing from institutions like Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities.

Keywords: Rental initial costs, Installment payments, Buy Now Pay Later, BNPL for rent, Real estate financing, PropTech, FinTech, Apartment leasing fees, Tenant financing services, Moving expenses, Rental deposit alternative, Taku Koizumi, Maezawa Fund, Japan real estate