# Dana Dunford

> Dana Dunford is the CEO and co-founder of Hemlane, a San Francisco property-management platform that combines software, operations support, and local professionals. Her route into real estate ran through finance roles at Symantec and Apple, business development at Nest, managing family rentals from a distance, and an MBA classroom paper whose professor urged her to build the idea and supplied its first angel check.

- **Role:** CEO and co-founder at Hemlane
- **Organizations:** Hemlane, Nest, Apple, Symantec, Harvard Business School, Santa Clara University
- **Education:** Master of Business Administration (MBA), Harvard Business School, Master's degree in Applied Mathematics, Santa Clara University, Two bachelor's degrees, Santa Clara University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Hemlane, a property-management platform operating across all 50 U.S. states., Raised a $9 million Series A in January 2022 with participation from Asymmetric Capital Partners, Prudence, Aglaé Ventures, and State Farm Ventures., Built Hemlane to 14,000 rentals and nearly $200 million in annualized payment processing by January 2022, according to company figures reported by Commercial Observer.

## Career timeline

- **2007-2010** — Worked in financial analyst roles at Symantec.
- **2008-2009** — Began investing in and helping manage family rental properties after the housing-market crash.
- **2010-2013** — Worked in worldwide financial planning and analysis at Apple, including new product introductions.
- **2013-2015** — Earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and developed the property-management concept that led to Hemlane.
- **2015** — Received an initial $30,000 angel check from a business-school professor after presenting her property-management work.
- **2015-2016** — Worked with co-founder Frank Liu on early rental-industry concepts, including the unsuccessful Portico tenant-matching idea.
- **2016** — Co-founded Hemlane with Frank Liu.
- **2018** — Was named among 20 women leaders and influencers in commercial real-estate technology.
- **2022** — Led Hemlane through a $9 million Series A co-led by Asymmetric Capital Partners and Prudence.
- **2025** — Outlined Hemlane's platform-first tradeoffs and its focus on localization and applied AI in a public founder interview.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Hemlane, a property-management platform operating across all 50 U.S. states.
- Raised a $9 million Series A in January 2022 with participation from Asymmetric Capital Partners, Prudence, Aglaé Ventures, and State Farm Ventures.
- Built Hemlane to 14,000 rentals and nearly $200 million in annualized payment processing by January 2022, according to company figures reported by Commercial Observer.
- Was named among 20 women leaders and influencers in commercial real-estate technology in 2018.
- Earned a California Bureau of Real Estate agent license.

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — In an updated Wellfound founder interview, Dunford discussed Hemlane's platform-first strategy, radical internal transparency, local service partnerships, and an AI approach that begins with customer problems.
- **2025-01** — Two published Outlier Academy conversations covered her path to Hemlane, lessons from the failed Portico concept, favorite books, work habits, and advice to founders.
- **2024-07** — Appeared on the Slice of Real Estate podcast to discuss personalized property management, tenant experience, and technology's role in rental operations.

## Links

- Website: https://www.hemlane.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danahdunford
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/dana110001
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny3FC63OFJc
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hemlane/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hemlane

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/dana-dunford
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-18