The Technology and Future of The Real Brokerage | Tech Talk with CTO Pritesh Damani

Summary

In this engaging conversation, Pratesh Damani, CTO of Real Broker, discusses the innovative approach his company takes to revolutionize the real estate industry. By leveraging technology, Real Broker aims to empower agents and streamline processes, reducing the need for manual paperwork and enhancing the overall experience for both agents and clients. The discussion highlights the company's rapid growth, its focus on building a supportive community for agents, and the vision for a future where technology and culture harmoniously coexist to create a super app that simplifies the real estate journey for everyone involved.

Takeaways

• 🤝 The collaboration between Real Broker's CTO, Prateek Damani, and Tamir, highlights a shared vision for the future of real estate, emphasizing the importance of technology and agent support.
• 🌐 Real Broker is focused on providing agents with more through a dual-explosive model, combining the best of technology and human interaction to improve the brokerage experience.
• 💡 The company's belief is that brokerages are falling short in servicing agents and their customers, and Real Broker aims to address this by investing in relationships and technology.
• 📈 Real Broker's technology allows agents to manage their deals, submit documents, and track their progress through a user-friendly app, streamlining the process and reducing the need for manual paperwork.
• 🚀 The growth of Real Broker has been rapid, expanding from around a thousand agents to nearly six thousand in a year and a half, reflecting the success of their model and technology.
• 🛠️ Real Broker's transaction management platform is a significant innovation, offering agents a modern way to interact with the team and track their deals, enhancing transparency and efficiency.
• 🎯 The company's technology is designed to automate processes and provide insight into bottlenecks, optimizing both the agent's and the company's workflow.
• 🌟 Real Broker envisions becoming a super app, similar to Zillow or Supra, but with a focus on improving the consumer journey and maintaining the agent at the center of the deal.
• 📊 The company's efficiency allows for a high agent-to-employee ratio, with plans to invest in support teams and knowledge bases to ensure quality service for agents.
• 💼 Prateek Damani's background as a real estate investor drives his mission to make the property buying process easier, reflecting the company's commitment to solving real estate challenges.
• 🏆 Real Broker aims to be a top choice for agents, offering a supportive and technologically advanced platform that fosters growth and success in the industry.

Q & A

What is the main focus of Real Broker's business model?

The main focus of Real Broker's business model is to empower agents by providing them with technology that streamlines their work processes, while also investing in the relationship between agents and their clients.

How does Real Broker address the challenges of traditional brokerages?

Real Broker addresses the challenges of traditional brokerages by building technology that can scale the company and help agents, reducing the need for manual paperwork and allowing agents to focus more on relationship-building and less on administrative tasks.

What is the significance of the technology Real Broker has developed for its agents?

The technology Real Broker has developed allows agents to submit deals, scan checks, receive trade record sheets, and monitor their deal status all from an app, providing a streamlined and efficient experience that enhances their ability to manage their business and serve their clients better.

How does Real Broker's approach to technology differ from other brokerages?

Real Broker's approach to technology is focused on automation and efficiency, with the goal of reducing the need for human intervention in routine tasks. This allows agents to focus on what technology can't do—building relationships and understanding client issues.

What is the role of the app in Real Broker's business model?

The app plays a central role in Real Broker's business model by enabling agents to manage their transactions, access important documents, and stay updated on the status of their deals, all from a mobile device.

How does Real Broker ensure that its technology remains up-to-date and relevant?

Real Broker invests heavily in efficiency and process optimization, constantly updating and improving its technology to stay ahead of industry changes and meet the evolving needs of its agents and clients.

What is the vision for Real Broker's future technology development?

Real Broker envisions building a super app that will provide an amazing consumer journey, making the process of buying and selling real estate less stressful and placing the agent at the center of the deal.

How does Real Broker's leadership view the company's growth and success?

The leadership at Real Broker sees the company as having the potential to become one of the biggest and best brokerages for agents, with a focus on building cool stuff and having fun while doing it.

What is the current ratio of agents to employees at Real Broker?

The current ratio of agents to employees at Real Broker is approximately 85 agents for every one employee, which reflects the company's focus on efficiency and automation.

How does Real Broker support its agents in terms of customer relationship management?

Real Broker supports its agents by providing them with technology that helps to build and maintain strong relationships with their clients, as well as by investing in community-building and cultural initiatives.

What is the ultimate goal for Real Broker's consumer experience?

The ultimate goal for Real Broker's consumer experience is to make the process of buying and selling real estate as stress-free and enjoyable as possible, with a focus on providing answers to stresses and frustrations that consumers face during the process.

Outlines

00:00

🤝 Meeting with the CTO and Discussing Real Estate Industry

The speaker meets with Mr. Protesh Damani, the Chief Technology Officer of Real Broker, in Miami. They discuss the alignment between their views on the real estate industry's future, emphasizing the importance of agents and technology for consumers. The conversation highlights the challenges faced by brokerages in servicing agents and customers, and the need for technology to streamline processes and reduce costs. The speaker shares insights on how their platform allows agents to manage deals, check statuses, and generate necessary documents through an app, thus improving efficiency and agent satisfaction.

05:01

🚀 Advancements in Technology and Real Estate

The discussion continues with the impact of advanced technology on the real estate industry. The speaker and Mr. Damani touch upon the idea that advanced technology can seem magical to those unfamiliar with it. They compare it to a pizza tracker, illustrating how their app provides real-time updates on deal progress. The speaker emphasizes that while they have built significant technology to optimize their internal processes, their focus is on building for the agents and improving the consumer journey. They envision a future where their platform becomes a super app, offering a seamless experience for both agents and consumers in the real estate market.

10:02

🙏 Gratitude and Future Outlook for Agents

In the final paragraph, Mr. Damani expresses his gratitude to the agents who have trusted and believed in Real Broker. He acknowledges the growth and success they've achieved, attributing it to the right people and leadership. The speaker shares a vision of becoming one of the biggest and best brokerages for agents to partner with. They invite current and future agents to join them on this journey, promising continuous improvement and a focus on building a strong, collaborative community.

Keywords

💡Real Estate

Real estate refers to land along with any permanent structures attached to it, including residential and commercial buildings. In the context of the video, it's the core industry being discussed, with a focus on the role of technology and agents in shaping its future.

💡Technology

Technology in this context refers to the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry. It's highlighted as a crucial element in transforming the real estate industry, with a focus on streamlining processes and enhancing the consumer and agent experience.

💡Agents

Agents in the real estate context are professionals who represent buyers or sellers in property transactions. The video emphasizes the importance of supporting agents through technology to empower them and improve their service to clients.

💡Brokerages

Brokerages are organizations that employ real estate agents and facilitate property transactions. The video discusses the shortcomings of traditional brokerages and the need for a new model that better serves both agents and customers.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency refers to the ability to do or produce something without wasting materials, time, or effort. In the video, efficiency is a key goal in the application of technology to the real estate industry, aiming to reduce manual processes and improve overall productivity.

💡Automation

Automation is the use of largely automatic equipment or systems in a process or in a manufacturing system. In the context of the video, automation is central to the discussion of how technology can take over repetitive tasks, freeing up agents to engage in more meaningful work.

💡Consumer Experience

Consumer experience refers to the encounter customers have with a company's products or services, encompassing their perceptions, feelings, and behaviors. The video emphasizes the importance of improving the consumer experience in real estate transactions through technology and agent support.

💡Community and Culture

Community and culture refer to the shared values, interests, and social connections among a group of people. In the real estate context, the video highlights the role of agents in building a community and culture within their brokerage, fostering a sense of belonging and investment in the company.

💡Transaction Management Platform

A transaction management platform is a software system that facilitates the management and tracking of real estate transactions. It's an essential tool in modern real estate brokerage, allowing agents and brokers to streamline their workflow and provide better service to clients.

💡Growth and Scaling

Growth and scaling refer to the process of increasing a company's size, capacity, and reach, often through the implementation of systems and processes that can handle increasing demand. In the video, growth and scaling are discussed in terms of the rapid expansion of the brokerage and the technology needed to support it.

💡Innovation

Innovation is the process of introducing new ideas, methods, or products. It's a driving force behind the transformation of industries, including real estate. The video showcases how Real Broker is innovating by integrating technology and reimagining the role of agents and the customer experience.

Highlights

Exploring Miami with Pratesh Damani, CTO of real broker, discussing the future of real estate.

Real broker's belief in the importance of agents and technology for the end consumer.

Brokerages falling short in servicing agents and their customers due to the high costs of running a brokerage.

The need for technology to scale the company and assist agents, while humans handle tasks technology can't.

Real broker's model where agents can submit deals, check statuses, and manage their business through an app.

Agents building their desired community and culture through feedback and involvement in company decisions.

Real broker's rapid growth from a thousand agents to nearly 6,000 in a year and a half.

Launch of Real broker's own transaction management platform, offering features not available to most.

Agents' ability to track deals, chat with the team, and receive updates through a modern interface.

The efficiency of the transaction processing system, with only 15 employees handling 85 agents each.

Investment in technology to gain insight into process optimization and human optimization.

Real broker's vision of becoming one of the biggest and best brokerages for agents in the industry.

The focus on improving the consumer journey and reducing stress in the buying process, with agents at the center.

Pratesh Damani's message to agents: appreciation for trust and belief, and an invitation to join the journey.

Transcripts

hey I made it down to Miami and I'm out

exploring today with my good friend

Chief technology officer of real broker

Mr protesh Damani let's go meet up with

him and walk around Winwood walls all

right protest man good to see you you're

looking at him with walls

and I was born in born in Mumbai and I'm

an engineer right by definition tomira

and I are super aligned on

where real estate needs to be although

the industry needs to be right so we

believe in agents we believe in

technology for the end consumer how are

brokerages falling short

in servicing agents and their customers

the basic premise of the model is that

agents deserve more and really is

committed to that however it's a dual

explode because there's a reason why the

Old Guard exists right is because it's

expensive to run a brokerage yeah there

are people processing paperwork if you

go down to like some of the rules in the

United States on how and why people do

certain paperwork it goes back down like

100 years if we want to offer a model as

aggressive as ours we have to build

technology and rely on technology that

can scale the company and help agents at

the same time but ideally technology

does everything except what humans can't

do talking to an agent and understanding

the issue and resolving it something

technology can do producing a

commissioned document or a trade record

sheet do you really have to drive

downtown to like an office somewhere and

talk to someone you decide to change

your deal up and like add someone to the

deal do you have to go somewhere and

like print out a document like how do

you do that like yes this is 2022. yeah

we don't think about eliminating human

jobs or or things along those lines we

we think about investing in the

relationship rather than in the manual

you know grinding paperwork yeah right

so today we are already at a point where

our agents pull out their apps they

submit a deal they submit the check they

scan the check they get trade record

sheets they can see their deal status

all from the app every real estate coach

will say to you you know what you got to

do is you got to know your numbers how

many deals have you done how many

transactions you process like all those

kind of things that are so helpful and

understanding like really where your

business is at but then there's the

whole agent side of this business where

agents get to build the stuff that they

want through feedback having those

meetings those Town Hall meetings and

then agents are getting to build the

community or the culture that they

always wanted because they're actually

invested in the company absolutely so

we're putting on events we're working

alongside you on the the tech side of it

and then the cultural side with our VP

and with Tamir all the time that's how

we see it that's where the momentum is

the most exciting real estate brokerage

that the world's ever seen we see it as

like a place where culture meets Tech

yeah I love that so it's about

collaboration think about it for a

second like we were a thousand or so

agents in January last year and we're

close to 6 000 right now in a year and a

half we have launched technology that

most people don't have we have our own

transaction management platform are you

talking about essentially the eventual

replacement of Sky slope yeah okay

that's today one of our really dear

agent Sarah did it for transaction on

the new system it's very close to be

done and like you know agents will be

able to track exactly where their deal

is Agents will be able to chat with our

team and co-workers in an extremely

modern way how about the broker like if

you got a question on a deal why don't I

show you check this out movie called

road to success okay like what do I have

to do to get this deal done this is

connected with our team so when our team

processes your deal work you will start

seeing updates here automatically so you

know like oh the release letter has been

asked for perfect or like you know it's

approved for clothing or like we are

waiting on money to come in rebate you

know rebates have been released or an

easy way for agents to kind of just look

at it so at a glance you get it real

quick you're like okay this is where the

deal is at that's got to be good for

even clients though because if clients

saying hey like how's the thing kind of

progressing as this went out to the

lawyers or absolutely you can look out

Boom the second thing is like you might

be like hey I want to just like send a

message to my broker sure right boom

like just chat you know this is like a

modern interface right so you can send

gifts yep well we don't we don't mind it

if it's fun right so and then this is a

checklist right these are all the things

you got to do and we pre-program these

things for you right so based on your

deal type this checklist is custom and

you're gonna have labels and upload a

document straight from your phone

straight up upload here you can take a

picture and this whole thing is on

desktop by the way right yeah so desktop

yeah but the fun starts is when when you

say something as simple as like hey

where are my trade record sheets right

in Canada or like in the United States

it's like commission documents or cdas

will be called you can go in there and

just generate one right now I can add a

deposit yeah in the check right here and

just not have to go to the bank do you

go to your bank to check your bank

balance or a million dollar check

because this is a million dollar man

that's right boom it's a success success

perfect you know you reminded me of this

phrase that Andre and our team uses

quite a bit is that

sufficiently advanced technology

seems like magic but if the aliens like

showed up and had invisibility it would

seem magical to us yeah right by the way

that's definitely like engineer humor

and we laugh oh my God sufficiently and

so there's a pizza tracker there's a

pizza tracker

um you'll know exactly what your deal is

at all times that's basically like when

I go into ubereats and it says okay

restaurants receive the order driver is

heading towards the restaurant orders

ready for pickup drivers packed it up

like each of those steps exactly what it

is so what should agents be getting

excited about like the things that are

coming down the road we've got the app

we've got these cool features like

what's next the technology that you see

is probably 30 of the total technology

that we've built to give you perspective

okay right so most of the time was

invested in in efficiency on our side so

that we can sustain the model we can

offer competitive and something that

works for us and works for the agent at

the same time right so automation was 10

years continues to be the most important

thing for us but if you really think

about what it does it gives us Insight

incredible insight into where our

bottlenecks are when your thing is stuck

and if 10 other deals are stuck in the

same place yeah and then hundred other

deals are stuck in the same place

within the same week we know that having

this invested millions of dollars in

building this technology that gives us

total insight into into process

optimization

and frankly human optimization as well

that's the inside that's the technology

that's built so far and it's harmonious

right it's like what we built for the

agent also works for us it's like

together we will we will hit a point

where we'll start building exclusively

for the agent you've seen what we've

done in a year and a half anything we

talk about like is never Beyond six to

eight months like we can't think that

far because the industry is changing

that fast

and the the growth of the company is

smiling scaling so much we do see

ourselves yeah having our own super app

super app that's the Zillow super app

well I'm referencing the Zillow Supra

but not in the same way right like we

want to have an amazing consumer Journey

we think buying a real estate property

should not be the most intense and

stressful situation that a buyer or a

seller goes through ever but you're

saying reels working on a solution for

consumers so they get an answer to those

stresses or frustrations in the process

of buying a home that leaves an agent at

the center of the deal absolutely that's

cool that's like one word answer right

but absolutely that's how we see it we

don't think property search is a problem

let me just put it that way yeah it's

enough yes it has been done yeah for the

searching of the property online right

like what we are focused on is once

you're in contract or once you acquire a

customer how can we make that

relationship an amazing relationship

yeah your next customer is an

instagrammer it isn't a person who just

learned how to use Gmail the deal with

Realty crunch was because we were super

aligned on the end goal yeah come here

and I right so we rarely have situations

extremely rarely we have situations

where we disagree with each other on

like a direction 100 people it feels

like a become it's not a little under

half the employees or engineers and

product people what I would love to talk

about is how many people do we actually

have who process deals yeah right and I

think it's like under 15. if we do

achieve that goal 85 agents for every

one employee of real broker

does that impact the agents when it

comes to their support and

how doesn't it if that it doesn't right

so the answer is no and here's how

because the more efficient we are on the

transaction processing side the more

money we will have to enhance our

support teams investing incredible

amounts of resources and time and

building knowledge bases and building

processes and Automation and even I

started Realty crunch because I was a

real estate investor I mean I am a real

estate investor and I thought it was too

hard to buy a property

I'm not done solving that problem yeah

you know and I'm not done until I'm not

done it doesn't take a lot of people to

build amazing stuff it just takes the

right people

at the right time

with the right intensity

I think it has the right ingredients it

has the right leadership it has the

right mentality it has the right

attitude I'm here because I get to build

cool stuff

and have fun while I'm doing it well I'm

here because if I have a say in it we're

not just gonna make it but we're going

to become one of the biggest brokerages

and probably the best I would say for

agents to partner with in the industry

so pratesh man thank you so much for

joining us today but if you had one last

message for all of the agents that have

already taken this journey with real and

all those in the future that will be

coming

what would that be

for the agents who are with us thank you

thanks for the trust and

thanks for the belief and the agents who

are not with us

we're just getting started

appreciate you

[Music]