Kiki
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Kiki Club (formerly EasyRent) was a subletting startup born in Auckland, co-founded by Toby Thomas-Smith. It ran an invite-only peer-to-peer subletting platform aimed at renters who travel for months and don't want to keep paying rent: it matched listers with renters for stays of up to six months using a dating-app-style matching algorithm. In August 2023 it raised a $6 million seed round led by Blackbird Ventures with $4.5 million.
02 / Kiki FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
New York City's Local Law 18 (2022) restricted short-term rentals to registered, host-present stays; Kiki operated in a self-described regulatory gray area, failed to file quarterly transaction reports and left nearly 400 transactions unverified. Compliance costs proved too expensive to sustain, forcing a June 2025 exit from NYC rather than a protracted legal battle. Revenue reached only about $76,000 over the first 10 months in New York, far below forecasts, while a rent guarantee initiative added about $13,000 in monthly costs.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- 6 million dollar seed and NYC launch
Kiki (formerly EasyRent) closed a $6 million seed round led by Blackbird Ventures in August 2023 and launched its subletting platform in New York City.
- NYC exit and London launch
Kiki exited New York City in June 2025 amid Local Law 18 enforcement and launched in London the same month.
- 152,000 dollar settlement
In November 2025 Kiki paid over $152,000 to settle New York City charges for violating short-term rental laws.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Kiki operated its NYC subletting platform in a self-acknowledged regulatory gray area under Local Law 18, which requires hosts to be registered and present.
- 02
In June 2025 the company ceased operations in New York City, with leadership acknowledging compliance was too costly to sustain.
- 03
In November 2025 it paid over $152,000 to settle the city's enforcement charges.
- 04
The company relaunched in London in June 2025; no audited loss figure was disclosed.