Blackbird breaks silence on Kiki’s high-profile pivot from sub-letting to NYC ‘girls’ club’

We never really know what happens behind closed doors. We can speculate, sure. But even through the lens of industry expertise and historic evidence, it’s never quite concrete. We have certainly seen that this week with the unfolding discourse around Kiki — a subletting startup turned girls-only social group, run almost entirely by men. After an explosive announcement on Instagram and subsequent industry backlash, both Kiki and its major investor Blackbird Ventures have largely gone to ground on the subject. Until now.

Still, even the small snippet we now have implies that the door has been firmly welded shut.

“Both Blackbird and the Kiki team recognise that Kiki’s recent social media post announcing its intention to build Girls Club NYC has regrettably caused frustration and in some cases, offence,” a Blackbird spokesperson said in an email to SmartCompany.

“The team understands the reaction this has caused and has taken on board all feedback.”

This statement follows the removal of a string of ‘highlights’ from the Kiki Instagram account that heavily detailed the company’s pivot and included commentary from the founders that suggested that Blackbird was supportive of the move — naming investment partner Samantha Wong in particular.

Despite the current state of official commentary, discourse has been rampant, with LinkedIn becoming a hotspot of investigation and concerns. This includes concerns around internal hiring practices.

In regards to the “first girl” the team hired, an Instagram post details the journey.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0c8Q8Wt8r6/?igsh=OWZxZnljMGdrMjJn

“She was a bit serious so I said ‘come around to ours for pres so we can like see what you’re like more socially,’” co-founder Toby Thomas-Smith said in the post.

Catch me up on Kiki

Kiki began life as an invite-only subletting startup in New Zealand called EasyRent, before moving to Sydney and then New York. In August of 2023, it secured US$4.5 million in a seed fund led by Blackbird.

Despite claims to be once valued at $42 million, Kiki announced its intentions to become a “girls only club” called Girls Who NYC last week.

The pivot was said to be influenced by Caitlin Emiko, a 25-year-old woman who recently joined Kiki’s team. Emiko was the first woman to join the male-dominated team. Thomas-Smith announced the shift away from subletting on Instagram, noting that Emiko’s insights have inspired the new direction.

Thomas-Smith said in Instagram story posts that Kiki would no longer be subleasing, but the option could be reintroduced in the future.

Before the pivot, Kiki claimed to have subleased 100 residences over the 2023 Christmas period. It has also talked on social media about the success the business found in Sydney.

However, it’s worth noting that subleasing often faces legal restrictions in residential leases. There were also multiple complaints from alleged users of the platform  — including Emily Sunberg who originally broke this story — regarding non-payments as well as damaged property. It’s currently unclear if any of these issues impacted Kiki’s decision to pivot.

It’s also unclear exactly what Girls Who NYC will do or how it plans to become profitable. Thomas-Smith even acknowledged in the company’s Instagram stories that they expect to lose $200,000 over the next two months and don’t currently have a revenue strategy. Despite this, the account also said that Kiki is expected to IPO in seven years.

The Instagram highlights that included these posts have since been removed. Kiki has not responded to repeated requests for comment.