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One proptech outfit is progressing towards raising millions by eyeing onshore strategic investors and expansion overseas.
Property management platform yabonza is currently raising about $4 million in its next funding stage, after a capital injection of about $3 million from its angel and seed investor round.
On top of domestic expansion, building a bigger UK client base is also part of yabonza’s growth plans, CEO Mark Trowell told REB.
For Mr Trowell, proptech and related technologies will “fundamentally” transform the business models of property professionals and the experience of property buyers in Australia and abroad.
He noted that some pain points at the moment, like smoke detectors which require yearly checks, are currently the target of service providers. Those providers are, for example, building automated checking systems which don’t require a physical inspection and provide regular checks, as opposed to one every 12 months.
“Checking that your smoke detector works one day once a year and paying $99 for it… that’s ripe for disruption,” Mr Trowell said.
The big picture
Mr Trowell is one in a chorus of new businesses which see a future where proptech is a fundamental and revolutionary component of an agent’s work and a property buyer’s ultimate experience.
REB recently spoke to the CEO of ListReady, Clayton Howes, who believes the proptech space is on the cusp of a rapid evolution.
“Proptech has the potential to enable a simplistic approach to managing an outcome either at the decision point, during the sales process, during the banking process, with the finance solution, or with engaging a solicitor,” Mr Howes said earlier this month.
“With technology, and the power of information, there’s everything you need to drive a very simple outcome.”
Businesses like Managed App are similarly bullish about the potential for technology to radically revolutionise cumbersome processes.
“We created the Managed App to automate existing workflows and mundane administrative tasks, allowing our agency clients to focus on delivering their own unique approach and methodology that will in turn boost client experience, service levels and investment return,” said director of Managed App Thom Richards, after announcing a partnership with LJ Hooker Avnu earlier this year.
At the time, Mr Richards said the technology has resonated with networks and agencies seeking to focus on boosting efficiency, including through the elimination of reconciliations and “end-of-month” administration.
