Who We Are
Culdesac is a real estate and technology startup that builds cities for people, not cars. Our goal is to create the first car-free city in the US. We started by creating the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the US - Culdesac Tempe, a $200 million mixed-use neighborhood development for 1,000 residents that opened in 2023. The neighborhood covers 17 acres and features 55% open space, shared courtyards, and abundant bookable spaces. Culdesac is the co-developer and tech-enabled property manager.
Read more about our vision, our product, and how we are changing how people live, work, and move:
We’re headquartered in Tempe, AZ and were founded in 2018. CEO Ryan Johnson was previously on the founding team of Opendoor. We raised a
$30M Series A in January 2022. Our investors include top VCs like Khosla Ventures, Lennar (LenX), Zigg Capital, Initialized Capital, and Y Combinator.
The Role
As an Investment Associate at Culdesac, you will help drive data-driven decisions by maintaining and building upon our financial infrastructure and investment processes as we scale the company. You will be a key part of our real estate strategy by helping in the analysis of existing and potential locations and related outreach, design, and planning.
The Requirements
While this list represents what we are ideally looking for, we encourage you to apply even if your resume includes strengths and experiences that don’t match everything listed here. We expect most to need at least 2 years of related commercial real estate experience or 4 years of financial analyst experience in the industry to fulfill this position.
Experience in conducting due diligence on land acquisition opportunities and strong experience in creating and maintaining custom pro-forma underwriting models.
Experience in organizing the preparation and review of quarterly financial statements and annual property operating budgets and business plans, including review of market analysis, real estate tax forecast, and disposition strategy.
Experience preparing and reviewing recurring investor, partner, and/or lender financial reports and communications. This includes supporting the preparation and creation of quarterly board documents, presentations, and pitch deck materials on Culdesac projects for partners and local stakeholders.
Able to monitor cash flow, distributions and returns of existing projects. Ensure adherence to operating and capital budgets and business plans and effectively identify and communicate changes, variances, or concerns.
Ensure assets are operating in a manner consistent with management agreements, joint-venture operating agreements, loan documents, etc.
Comfortable establishing and meeting critical timelines and deadlines for tasks and activities related to capital raise or transactions. Identify and effectively address issues or problems that could otherwise adversely affect closing capital.
Locations
We are headquartered in Tempe, AZ, and our office is located in the heart of downtown Tempe. We encourage employees to visit and work in our beautiful Tempe office and offer relocation assistance to those who’d like to move to Tempe. We also have remote positions, and we work hard to create a first-class, remote-friendly environment.
Benefits & Perks
🏥 Benefits Package - Includes options for medical, dental, and vision.
🥚 Family Planning Benefits
🐣 Parental Leave - Up to 12 weeks paid time off for qualifying events.
🏦 401K Savings
🖥️ Work From Home Stipend - Up to $500 for equipment paid by the company.
🌎 Co-Working Stipend - $100 per month paid by Culdesac for space intended for work productivity directly related to Culdesac business (e.g., co-working space pass for the day). Remote employees only.
🚲 Mobility Stipend - Up to $500 to invest in employee micro-mobility setup (e.g., e-bike, e-scooter, micro-mobility accessories).
🛴 Car-Free Commuter Stipend - $200 per month paid by Culdesac. Tempe employees only.
Our Values
As sprawl became commonplace in our cities, we felt less connected to each other. We normalized hour-long commutes, even as private vehicle ownership became the largest source of carbon emission pollution. Private vehicles and roads limited and dictated development decisions and urbanism. Our cities thus blend technology, real estate, and culture to reimagine our daily lives. Come help us make our residents happier, healthier, and more productive in the years they spend with us and the moments they spend together.
At Culdesac, we:
Work as a team
Be inclusive, drawing on the strengths of people who bring a different perspective.
Find ways to work together that overcome disciplinary and geographic separations.
Act from ownership
Be output oriented. When we see a problem, we roll up our sleeves and fix it.
Don’t let blockers stop you from seeing your work through to the end.
Rule 0, then iterate
Don’t start from scratch: learn from our own and others’ previous attempts.
Before mass private car ownership, all cities were models of walkability. We learn from the designs of the past and make them beautiful and relevant to today.
Then, we learn from our own designs to continually improve.
Design for humans
Ask people for feedback and observe behavior. Only users know if we’re creating value for them.
Human paradoxes and contradictions are our opportunity to create joy.
Respect the limits of what we can know and plan. In the complex organism of a city, emergent behavior rules.
Create and capture value
Focus on what our residents value: profitability is essential for sustainability and allows us to scale.
Great places create positive externalities for ourselves and our neighbors, unlike the negative externalities of cars.
We build value by executing on the fundamentals and excelling at mobility, community, and open space.
Next Steps
If you think Culdesac might be a good fit, we encourage you to apply! You have nothing to lose, and we’ll respond to you within a week. If we move forward, here’s our typical process:
1. A 15-minute call with a Recruiter to understand your high-level background and cover logistics & expectations.
2. A 30-minute video call with our Head of Investments to learn more about your background & experience.
3. A 2.5 hour take-home assignment.
4. A 30-minute video call with our Head of Development and Acquisitions.
5. A 30-minute video call with our CIO to review a list of company scenarios.
6. A 30-minute video call with our CEO overviewing how you would fit in Culdesac’s mission, vision, and culture.
At each step, we leave time for you to ask us questions. We look forward to hearing from you!
As required by pay transparency laws in California, Colorado, New York, and Washington, Culdesac provides a reasonable range of compensation for roles that may be hired in these locations. Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $105 - $125k. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate experience and expertise. An overview of benefits is provided on our careers page.
Culdesac is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
