Four years ago, Glenn Shimkus’ wife went back to work as a realtor after a decade as a stay at home mom. It was his observation of her struggles with managing all the paperwork required in successfully completing a real estate transaction that led him to create Cartavi. This cloud-based company gives professionals in the industry an easy, simple way to manage documents, even on the go.
Today, Cartavi announced that it has been acquired by San Francisco-based DocuSign. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. This follows an 18-month relationship through which Cartavi customers could use DocuSign’s eSignature technology in-app, allowing them to complete transactions without using a shred of paper. Though the Cartavi team will not be moving from its base in Naperville, it will now be known as Cartavi, A DocuSign Company.
“We’ve really been focused on changing the way transactions occur in real estate,” said Shimkus, CEO and co-founder of Cartavi. Last October, the company raised an undisclosed Series A round led by I2A Fund that also included other Chicago-based investors.
For Shimkus, a born-and-bred Chicago resident, having local investors was as personally important as it was from a business perspective. That’s why the acquisition by a Coastal city is surprising—until you hear about how the companies’ relationship began. Over a year and a half ago, Shimkus was presenting at a real estate conference where it seemed like every other person suggested that he join with DocuSign. After hearing the company’s name so many times, he decided to make something of it.
It’s that relationship that helped seal this deal today, Shimkus says. Having seen how the teams and products worked together over time made the decision to sell to DocuSign that much easier.
“What’s exciting about this announcement is that [Cartavi] has built a number of really interesting technologies around streamlining real estate transactions in terms of allowing a customer to collaborate on a mobile device or a laptop through the entire transaction,” says Tom Gosner, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of DocuSign. With DocuSign now being integrated into Cartavi’s product from beginning to end, users should be able to process any deal on any device so long as they have an Internet connection.
Today, DocuSign is the official eSignature provider to the National Association of Realtor, which has 1 million members. In fact, 115,000 agents across 50 states are already using it. For Cartavi, that sort of reach is a boon for the company’s growth but it also helps achieve Shimkus’ goal. What started as a tool to help his wife is now part of a larger goal: to help realtors across the country harness technology to do their jobs better.
Visit Cartavi’s website, connect with Glenn Shimkus on BIC and follow on Twitter at @Cartavi.
