Proptech Pressure Test: Sekra (Transmission #343, Part I)

Sekra, started by Habitas founder Oliver Ripley and Uber/Cloud Kitchens founder Travis Kalanick, has raised $12.5 million from Fifth Wall, 8VC, Moinian Group, and Harvey Spevak.

The pitch is simple—and ambitious:

The future of home is Human.

Community. Culture. Longevity.

Fifth Wall’s Brendan Wallace describes Sekra as “reimagining what rental living can look like for a generation that's renting longer and expecting more from where we live—community, wellbeing, design, and technology working together as a cohesive experience.“

If this sounds familiar, it should. Flow, with an equally bold founder and over $100 million in capital, is embarking on an equally ambitious community-based living undertaking. And the playbook targets the same markets—coastal U.S. cities, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dubai.

Will the difference show up in execution?

Ripley has suggested that the financial side of tenant application is actually the least important variable, and asks, “Why can't you choose a building based on who lives there?”

Renters already self-sort by moving near friends. But...