SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 29 (Reuters) – Apparently it requires over $100 million to get people to engage with their neighbors. That’s how much funding Nextdoor, a private social network for neighborhoods, has pulled in over the last 18 months after just closing a fresh $60 million round.
“We believe Nextdoor can be to our local life what Facebook is to our social life and what LinkedIn is to our professional life,” founder and CEO Nirav Tolia told VentureBeat.
Users join Nextdoor only after verifying their home address. It provides a trusted and protected online forum for neighbors to communicate about local issues like crime, public spaces, schools, and service recommendations for things like babysitting or interior painting.
Tolia said the overarching goal is to make communities across America safer and stronger.
“We want Nextdoor to be a lifeline to the neighborhood for every neighborhood in America and eventually the world,” Tolia said. “This ranges from useful activities, like borrowing a ladder, to essential activities, like the neighborhood watch or urgent alerts.
The company has experienced phenomenal growth over the past two years and now claims to be active in 22,500 neighborhoods across the United States — approximately one out of every seven.
The number of neighborhoods where it’s active has increased by 400% in the last year alone, and nearly tripled since it closed a $21.6 million in February 2013.
The inspiration for Nextdoor came after Tolia learned from startling statistics about the state of the American neighborhood.