PropTech is a new industry. It has been created to change the way things have always been done before. Companies have set out to improve our experience of services encompassing the property industry; from using 3D imagery such as Vieweet, Online Agency platforms such as Purplebricks, and even the use of drones in construction as demonstrated by Clayco.
PropTech is playing catch up. We now live in a society where these improvements are possible. GKR London Property Recruitment are excited for what’s to come, but there is a lot to be said already whilst the industry ploughs ahead!
What we know
There is one factor that remains true with most PropTech startups and that’s the type of people they are looking for. This is an innovative industry and our clients are far more interested in a candidates’ motivation to enter the sector, than they are the skill-set. They believe in working with others who believe in them too, rather than working with ‘technically qualified’ professionals who don’t see the value of their service. We are right behind them as science suggests happy people perform better in their roles.
What we’ve learnt
Working in recruitment allows us to learn from an array of different business trying to achieve a similar end goal; ease and accessibility for the consumer. Rightly so, the industry is already learning from its experiences - albeit young. Luke Joy, our Commercial specialist said “Building a new business requires expertise so it doesn’t surprise me that a lot of PropTech startups have begun with an experienced Technology team. However, many of them have forgotten the property experience required to understand the current frustrations in the market place. We have worked with and supported a number of PropTech businesses already to employ the right property people.”
What we’ve heard
There are other ways to raise investment and it works. Calum Brannan, founder of prop-tech management company No Agent launched the business in June 2016, raising over £580,000 through crowdfunding and now has 20 in-house staff, plus 500 consultants to manage viewings.
Shojin’s completed projects have delivered on average an annualised return of over 20%. They said “As well as raising equity for property development, we intend, in time, to raise mezzanine loans, senior loans and bridge loans. We also intend to Crowdfund the sales of properties on our own platform and launch professionally managed buy-to-let portfolios. Most importantly we intend to launch secondary trading capability so that investors can sell investments online if you want to release cash.”
Initial Coin Offering’s (ICO’s) are the hot new thing in the blockchain community, I’m told. As an alternative to crowdfunding, it allows startups to raise money outside the traditional VC world using cryptocurrency (like the Bitcoin). The Silicon Valley-based global property store, Propy, has announced that it will be introducing the property industry’s first ICO offering.
Both concepts allow the network, the community of users, to set its own terms. Why obtain a loan from the bank when you can allow the people who will be using the product, the ones creating the value, have stakes in the concept? Every ‘investor’ is then incentivized to increase the project's value.
What we love
We are hugely excited to be supporting several ambitious entrepreneurs and we believe in them! Some of the industries game changers hope to achieve world-wide recognition, viral success and market domination. Metaprop, arguably the most influential disruptor in real estate technology, has developed several new ideas and encouraged many companies looking to take exciting leaps forward in technology. Storefront are building the future of retail by making it more engaging, more transparent and more productive. Their vision is to make retail globally accessible. We love how passionate and ambitious they are!
Property today is evolving. Humanity has and continues to evolve. When was the last time you used a Black Cab? (Uber is slowly killing them.) Do you remember MySpace? (Facebook has killed it already.) We are becoming far more reliant on technology because technology is more capable.
If you want to be a part of an emerging sector, working with passionate people and improving experiences get in touch with us today. GKR London Property Recruitment is embracing PropTech, are you?
