In our latest real estate tech interview, I’m talking to Susannah Vila, Founder of Flip.

A few months ago, I came across Flip and took note given the growing trend for mobile lifestyles and living arrangements (& our own focus on that trend). This means people increasingly don’t want to be weighed down with year leases.

This morning, I finally had the chance to speak with Susannah to learn a bit more about their model, focus, and traction. I knew the renter side of the equation was a clear win — a way to transfer a lease to someone else to give you the flexibility to move (or travel potentially). What I didn’t realize is that landlords would actually refer their own tenants to such a platform. It sounds like that’s true, which makes this an extremely compelling business & product from my perspective. Startups come down to incentives, and they seem to exist on both sides of this market.

Without further ado, here’s more from Susannah own mouth…

What do you do?

I am the CEO of a company called Flip that is rethinking the property rental lease as a liquid asset

Why do you do what you do?

Because I want it to be safe, legal and affordable for people to enter and exit leases as their lives change. Housing is already the biggest expense in most peoples’ budgets, and it comes with a lot of stress and extra fees. By turning leases into liquid assets we’re creating an opportunity for people to make money from leases. It’s safe, legal and easy. In the longer term property owners won’t pay as much to find a new lead because their tenants will do that work for them.

What are you most excited about right now?

People earned 50k on Flip in February.

What’s next for you?

We just closed venture backing from world-class investors across real estate and technology and we’re hiring 2 talented engineers and a marketing ninja.

You went through TechStars in NYC, what’s the real estate tech ecosystem like in the city?

Compared to ad tech and fin tech it is pretty nascent. Real estate in NYC is obviously a massive industry, but there is only a small handful of folks building real estate technology companies.

What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

Since graduating from college I’ve gotten a lot of joy (and pain! and tears!) out of having had the opportunity to start and build new projects, organizations and businesses. Because entrepreneurship is so important to my own life I’ve become more and more passionate about lowering the barriers to entry for starting a new business.