Proptech Pressure Test: Oro (Transmission #343, Part II)

I’ve had a long standing belief that employers can unleash innovation in the housing sector:

A change is coming and housing assistance/perks offers the largest untapped upside for employers to differentiate in a global war for talent. Since housing is not a core competency of corporations, tech startups and brokerages alike should be thinking strategically about how to help them offer innovative services to their workforces.

Recently coming out of stealth with $3 million in funding led by Slauson & Co., with participation from Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and Bronze Valley, Oro is among the companies trying to make that vision real, positioning itself as a provider of employer-sponsored housing benefits.

Oro’s tech-enabled housing solutions provide tailored support to your entire workforce—renters, buyers and owners—to help them save money on housing, reduce financial stress and build housing wealth.

Just like Sekra—but for entirely different reasons—I really, really want to love this company. The mission of increasing employees' access to homeownership and housing wealth is easy to support. Oro argues that employees with greater housing stability are more productive and loyal.

That said, when I look at their solutions…