A new crowdfunding campaign opens today, enabling the public to invest in the “next big thing” in the property sector. Pi Labs aims to raise £500,000 to invest in 15 start-ups.
Entrepreneur Faisal Butt said: “We are trying to invest in companies that are changing the property sector.
“People working in the industry know property is changing.
“More online estate agents are raising a lot of capital, which is sending jitters down the conventional property industry.”
He said there is now a second wave in the proptech movement, with Rightmove and Zoopla having paved the way.
He said: “Property classifieds have gone online. Now it’s the rest of the transaction chain; it’s all going to go online.
“You can’t replace agents and professionals that know their area and have expertise, but I think their roles will only be needed in the highly specialised advisory part.”
Butt and business partner Juliette Morgan have chosen their first five companies, out of a 200-strong list, to back.
Morgan, a partner at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Pi Labs was created to support the growing number of start-ups with potential to disrupt the property sector.
“We look forward to co-building the next generation of companies changing our industry.”
She said that applications had come from “some of the brightest minds in proptech from 50 countries around the world”.
The fund-raising campaign on Seedrs is due to go live today.
A report in the Hackney Gazette is here
The Pi Labs website is here
https://www.seedrs.com/startups/pi-labs-accelerator
Comments (37)
As the founder of http://www.rial.to – one of the 5 startups accepted to Pi Labs – I wanted to comment on the common thought that all startups in property tech want to replace agents and professionals in the industry. With rialto, we help professionals in the industry offer a better service to their clients, which is a strategic to their long term value proposition.
Pretty tacky adding a link in to plug your business, also the link does not say what you do .
But let me hazard a guess…..
You want to disrupt the property industry?
You want to bring private sellers and high street agents together?
You are a portal for all sellers to use?
You will use the data we have to fund a project which looks beneficial to us put creates you revenue and ultimately allows sellers to move without agents.
You will have a review system so people can see the wonderful service we provide (but if its negative it will cost us to reply)
You will cross sell products that we already offer
You will have a recruitment center
You will have a training academy
You will offer a membership scheme
I think i have covered most the bases in which “service” providers leach off our indusrty, and repackage the same old c**p as something new and exciting
Rialto? wasn’t that the last model in the Relaint range.
And that post has prompted a visual analogy of Evan Almighty! Making you Morgan Freeman! Gulp!
random thought-I really ought to shave!
“Making you Morgan Freeman! Gulp!”
Now, Robert – you know I only post under one name, and we already have an ‘MF’ on the posting party here at EYE!
Can’t be me then!
“The passive intermediary/ FSBO will continue with their Faginesque ways.”
I think I know where you’re coming from with this descriptive analogy – but just in case I’m wrong (and for the benefit of others also) can I ask you to explain in more detail please, Robert?
You’re conspicuous in your absence, Robert. It’s certainly not like you to play coy – especially considering your statement begged the question be directed at you.
I will assume you’re not avoiding me on purpose and that you have bigger fish to fry today…
Bigger Fish? Kind of, posting a reply to you last evening there was a flash of lightning, a clap of thunder, the lights went out and a power surge knocked out my server! 12 solid hours of the most tedious job in the world; re-installing software, configuring this that and the other and trying to remember passwords. I am very grateful to the hidden powerhouse of EYE, John Brasssington for restoring access to my account- the random generated password is fine if you have access to your email archive fron 6 months ago, I didn’t so apologise for the delay in replying.
A will post about Fagin in a bit I need Tea!
If you have a long memory you might remember Reggie Perrin, every time he thought of his mother in law (?) he got a mental picture of a Hippopotamus. Every time I hear FSBO listers/ passive intermediaries blurting out the line “Get Estate Agents to value your home” I get a mental picture of Fagin directing innocents to go and pick a pocket or two.
Lining their own pockets with a much cheapness listing fee would be fine if this sector of the industry were to invest in the skill base to provide the essential basic requirement of selling property; an asking price. Plain and simple, just like ‘Knock off Norman’ at a car boot sale selling Hugo Bass or Canal No 5 it seems there is simply no shame in relying on the skill and experience of those they seek to undercut, the Agents who know what they are talking out, who in good faith and fair competition advise potential clients.
Ian’s description of this bottom level of the industry wasn’t wrong, but to include the genuine traditional Agents without offices in the exclusion list of AM was in my opinion a mistake. These early adopters of modern tech and digital communication are the pathfinders for a respectable niche of the industry who have Agency skills to match the best officed agent.
Repeating previous posts Agents without offices are no threat to fee levels, they have fixed costs equal to running an office simply to be noticed in a naturally anonymous environment.
Ahhh, Robert – who could possibly forget good old Reggie! Have we all once worked under a ‘C.J.’ I wonder? Had clowns like Tony and David working alongside you who spent their entire day crawling so far up their boss’ behind that they needed scaffold battens tied to their ankles…? Memories of easier times – before the advent of the internet and all this malarkey!
Yes – I wasn’t a million miles off base with what I thought you were analogising by the ‘Faginesque’ comment.
Of course, many of Fagin’s protégés were caught out and suffered the consequences – and he himself faced the gallows as a result of his actions.
They say ‘what goes round, comes round’. If there is any justice, then the ‘Knock-off Normans’ of the property industry (the very name conjures up an even better mental picture than Reggie’s Hippo-in-Law…) will suffer the consequences of their actions.
Hope your new server ‘serves’ you well and the lightning keeps at bay, mon ami! ;o)
I don’t know if it was wildfire or a full-on meteorological episode that caused the problem, Robert – but it is apt because there is a storm brewing and much to be done to prepare – and little time to do it, I fear…
It’s the valuations that puzzle me PeeBee, as well as the ease in which that people can throw money at (in most cases) new ventures with crazy valuations. Someone needs to show these investors how to carry out some due diligence!
Maybe their idea of DD is along the lines of ‘easy come: easy go’, matey!
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but someone, somewhere is making some money out of this ‘crowd funding’ lark!
I think you’ll find that LOTS of people are making money on the back of this lark, Paul H.
I’ve got people ‘inviting’ me to join in the fun all the time – they ain’t doing that ‘cos they like me!
On line agents will only stand the test of time if they charge enough to do the job properly and that will be £000’s rather than £00’s. To service even a straightforward transaction properly takes a considerable amount of expertise and time, both of which don’t come cheap. Compliance is also an important issue – any minute now one of the cheapskates is going to come a cropper in the courts – just watch.
I’m developing a pavlovian response to reading the word “disrupt” in all these press releases. I keep nodding off.
Right, it’s odd that the next big thing is going to be coming (from 5m split 15 ways!?) but the last big thing hasn’t been finished off yet / disrupted / game changed / modernised / shaken up / insert desired phase here……..what was the last next big thing anyway?
Regardless, is this a pitch from Russell Quirk’s boss to us, is it a vision of the future, a warning, an advert to the consumer? I’ve no idea, but it’s clear that with enough spin, no substance and lots of blind faith and a massive lump of anti estate agent drivel you can get members of the public to invest their hard earned cash into a crowd funding thing that means they won’t see it again, nice work if you can get it – Jonnie
I find the odd thing with this ‘Entrepreneur’ is he is investing in Emoove and Ivy Gate, You really cant get two more different companies / offerings.
Has this guy had any success or does he just get individuals to back his ill thought out business ideas?
From what i see, good at raising / taking money – Not very good at providing a return!
Have a listen to Money Box- there was an interesting piece on Crowd funding this weekend- Skip to 10 minutes 39 secs for the start
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0532b2s
Eye opening article there Robert.
Basically as long as they do not ask for the money back in 14 days you do not have to even give them a return on the money and you can spend it on what you like!
This is the next endowment / PPI scandel waiting to happen.
Exactly it is almost as if there is a formula for extracting money out of daft folk with too much money or people whose greed gets the better of them.
The old adage “a fool and their money are easily parted” springs to mind…
Right time to start a funding page for me offering lettings 😉
There is some good tech coming through out there for sure
BUT equally there is some unlawful tech that crowdfunding is looking to back. Some of the ‘fantastic’ ideas simply haven’t moved forward before because others have looked and stopped when they find that such ideas would breach regulation.
Some start up techs think they can storm in with law breaking models. We need the likes of Trading Standards to protect what models can and can’t do, so innovation happens lawfully, yet traditional good models are equally not compromised.
Being controversial ( i know who would have thought it!).
This local agent knows the market best ………. A degree of truth in this but i tend to find these days most vendors know what price they want their property advertised at and are most insistent to at least ‘Test’ their perceived price.
The best way traditional high street agents can fight back is service. That is what will win you instructions and justify your fee.
And its not hard or expensive, Communication is the key be it Spoken, Written, email, letter, video message.
Do what you promise, Dont over promise. manage their expectations from the start.
Show them how you will achieve their price, be it paper, portal or staff.
Staff is the most important, how many of you sell your staff on vals? they are your biggest expense, and i hope you are always looking to progress them. They win or lose you the business. A good team will sell each other and that is how you win against cheap fees and onliners.
Seriously, its Monday. If you owner a company, run an office sit down for 30 mins today and work out a new pitch that will sell your company and service. Forget that your house is worth X and we we do this. Differentiate yourself with service, Believe me you will be surprised how many people will pay a premium for it!
This is a great post. Managing expectations in a world of customer reviews, instant expression and social-local-mobile driven media and reputation management is a genuine competitive advantage.
We turn up for work, planning where new business will come from and how to convert a days work into a pipeline. The new players on the horizon, their job is to do the same, but looking over the parapet rather than the way things have been done for years. Remember, 90% of all new start ups fail, but those who make it, do so for a reason. Do not be complacent, all of this is happening as the markets and financial markets are all like hurds, and following the headlines..’boom time market’ They are just following the hype. Mark my words, there will so clever businesses that shine through, the others will die. Big Bang and de regulation did it in the 80’s. There is some serious money being thrown at it now in the likes of Purplebricks etc and they will have victories whilst there is a market. But is it enduring..time will tell. I believe the market will be polarised along the lines of the Aldi/corporate/on line agents style pile them high sell them cheap, and those who provide an enduring service based on expertise, with a few ego driven boutiques at the top end of the market.
The industry is already how it will be for a while to come. The corporates will continue to buy retirement/ cash grab agencies, and do the whole invest -lose- buy cycle they can get away with doing using other people’s cash. The passive intermediary/ FSBO will continue with their Faginesque ways. There will be a relatively brief disruption by the Crowd Funded agencies (two years?) and good TAWO (traditional Agent without offices) will flourish without offices till the staff have to be housed somewhere and then they will sensibly either get offices or limit the size of the firm/ market share. Traditional Agents will carry on doing what they do, just as they have!
“sending jitters down the conventional property industry.”
Can’t say I’ve noticed
“You can’t replace agents and professionals that know their area and have expertise, but I think their roles will only be needed in the highly specialised advisory part.”
Very true, I think that these experts will pave the way for the new breed of local home agents, they will also benefit from 100 properties per membership on RM instead of the nationwide companies only permitted 50.
I think I will invest my time and experience keeping agency just the way it
is, a genuinely level playing field where honesty, integrity, qualification,
experience and reputation are the measure of an Agent’s worth rather than
everything stories like this represent?
I am getting increasingly irked by the amateur, money for nothing, attempts
to extract cash out of an industry that relies on a strong moral compass and
a social etiquette most of these entrepreneurs have never even heard of let
alone considered important.
Possibly now is a good time for Ros to review the track record and
performance behind some of these ‘By appointment to’ tailors and the many
cloaks they have promised will spiv up our industry in recent years.
Hmmm…. Mr May – one of my favourite films is ‘Field of Dreams’.
Best known for one line – “If you build it, he will come”.
You, better than most, know what is to be built.
I assume that not only are the foundations laid, but it’s walled up, lid is on and it’s almost 2nd fixed…?
I, for one, would come.
The problem is Peebee is that with so many people offering to disrupt, shake up, revolutionise, cliché, cliché, cliché, blah, blah, blah the industry, asking anyone for any sort of investment or commitment is dismissed without a second thought or regard. When someone then turns up and says guess what folks I want to use technology to turn the clock back 25 years and make agency a profession again they have immediately alienated all those who are quietly reliant on technology that is robbing them of profit. Now add this bonkers idea that normal profits are enough and one ends up with a project that is idealistic lunacy that very few comprehend let alone think it worthy of investment.
It isn’t a case of building new technology it is a case of using the tech that exists properly with the customer/ provider relationship properly sorted. To that end Zoopla are the service provider with most to offer the industry. Unfortunately for all concerned they are utterly clueless why and how simple it is to resolve, almost a case of un-build it and they will come!
“To that end Zoopla are the service provider with most to offer the industry.”
Hmmm… pity they’re going on the all-out offensive then – they will have a lot of charred bridges to repair by the time that penny doth droppeth, Robert!
It is back to the question I asked Simon, Zoopla have to decide if they are a service supplier or a competitor. If it is the former then someone with some nads needs to point out how badly wrong things are going if the latter, they are headed to be a very big fish in s very small puddle.
And so the Money Making Bees continue to collect their money as they sense an opportunity to make easy money… seems odd that so many outwith our business think it’s an easy route to make their next fortune. Where are these people working…. certainly not at the coal face of the estate agency industry? Another reason for real Estate Agents to excel!….. to demonstrate that our business is way more than a keyboard & a website!