Axela

Axela Technologies is a Miami-based, technology-enabled collections company serving the community association industry, including condominium associations, homeowners associations (HOAs) and housing co-operatives. Founded in 2018, the company automates much of the standardized accounts receivable collections process for delinquent assessments and provides a centralized platform that gives associations, management companies and homeowners visibility into ongoing collection files.

The platform draws on multiple data sources and applies proprietary algorithms to underwrite the risk of delinquent accounts and to predict future defaults and payment trends. Axela builds back-end integrations with community association accounting software providers to exchange data with customers, and its web portal lets clients track collection efforts and customize correspondence and action plans directed at their owner base. The company is an authorized data contributor to Equifax, so associations can opt in to reporting both positive and negative payment information to credit bureaus as an incentive for timely payment. Axela states its collections engagement process complies with the FDCPA, TCPA and FCRA.

Founding story

Martin Urruela founded Axela after serving on the board of his own condominium association and observing delinquency levels rise month after month. He found no effective mechanism for collecting past-due accounts: files were referred to the association's attorney, the accepted protocol, which did not produce recoveries, and the association ultimately raised maintenance fees on owners who paid on time. That experience led to building an alternative collections approach.

Business model

Axela partners with property management firms, which offer Axela's products to their association client base, and positions its service as no-cost to community associations and their managers, acting as a buffer between community managers and delinquent homeowners. In addition to collections, Axela will advance past-due amounts to qualifying associations based on the risk profile of their receivables, letting an association monetize doubtful or apparently uncollectable receivables without taking out a loan. Its product suite combines collections services with specialty financing options.

Collections and specialty financing products sold into community associations via management company partners; the collections offering is described as no-cost to the association, and the company advances past-due amounts against qualifying receivables.

Traction

The company reported growing its customer count by more than 200% in 2020 and, as of the 2021 Series A announcement, working with hundreds of management companies across 21 states, with a stated 99% rate of resolving collection files without legal action. Disclosed funding totaled roughly $5.5 million across a 2018 seed round and the Series A.

Latest developments

After the Series A, Axela said proceeds would fund expansion of sales and marketing, product development and engineering; the founder described building out the sales organization as the principal scaling focus and cited diligence-driven improvements to the company's financial and accounting practices.