Evaluating only Harbor Data’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Unit economics as the #1 likely cause. Documented cause: Market collapse.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Jake Merritt and Priya Nair founded Harbor Data in New York to aggregate CRE market signals.
FUNDING
Closed $31M Series B; 90 employees, 400 broker and investor clients across 12 US metros.
LAYOFF
Two rounds of layoffs reduced headcount from 90 to 22 as CRE transaction volume collapsed 65%.
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
Sold IP and data assets to CoStar Group for ~$4M; investors lost over $27M in unreturned capital.
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
Harbor Data raised $31M to provide real-time commercial real estate data intelligence to brokers and investors. The 2022 CRE market collapse reduced transaction volume by 65%, eliminating the core use case. Co-founders Jake Merritt and Priya Nair cut staff from 90 to 22 through two rounds of layoffs in 2022. By March 2023 they sold remaining IP and data assets to CoStar Group for a reported $4M, a catastrophic loss for investors.
Lesson
“Data platforms tied to transaction volume must stress-test against market freeze scenarios before raising big.”