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Second Century Ventures Announces 8 Tech Companies for 2024 REACH Scale-Up Program
Second Century Ventures, the strategic investment arm of the National Association of Realtors®, announced the acceptance of eight companies to the 2024 REACH program. Launched in 2013, this marks the 12th cohort focused on accelerating technology solutions for the U.S. residential real estate sector. "Through the REACH scale-up program, we're catalyzing transformative advancements at the intersection of technology and real estate," said Mark Birschbach, NAR's senior vice president, strategic business innovation and technology. "Our aim is to push the boundaries of what's possible, equipping agents who are Realtors® with tools and insights that foster exceptional client service and operational efficiency." Companies selected for the 2024 program represent a diverse range of solutions across the entire transaction life cycle, from pre-contract to post-close. Collectively, these companies have raised more than $55 million in funding and employ more than 300 individuals worldwide. "The eight companies selected for the 2024 REACH program are at the forefront of the industry's greatest challenges and opportunities," said Ashley Stinton, managing partner, NAR REACH. "Supporting real estate professionals and the clients they serve has never been more important and we firmly believe this group of innovators will have an immeasurable impact throughout the real estate, finance, title, mortgage and home services industries." Companies accepted to the 2024 REACH program are as follows: Chirpyest: a social commerce marketplace that empowers real estate professionals to earn cash back when they shop and share their curated finds. Final Offer: a consumer-facing, agent-driven negotiation platform for residential real estate, delivering clear, real-time offer alerts to all interested parties. Kukun: a real estate data, analytics and applications platform for homeowners and the industries that serve them. Notable: simple pay-at-close financing for everything a client needs to prep their home for sale and get the most out of it. Purlin: AI tools that convert client conversations into transactions by simplifying business dealings among real estate agents and settlement service providers. Scout: helping agents find and engage homeowners with AI-driven automated personalized email outreach. Trackxi: a collaborative deal and task tracker for real estate agents, teams, clients and consumers. Unlock: helping consumers unlock the power of home equity without interest charges or monthly payments. "These companies are poised to significantly advance the real estate landscape in the year ahead and for many to come," said Dave Garland, managing partner, Second Century Ventures. "By scaling solutions through the REACH program, we are providing real estate agents with promising new tools and technologies, empowering them to better serve their clients and stay ahead in an ever-evolving industry." REACH offers a robust curriculum including education, mentorship, exclusive networking opportunities and significant exposure to the global real estate marketplace. To learn more about REACH and how you can get involved, visit

The Benefits of Partnerships for Real Estate Agents
Navigating the intricate world of real estate requires agents to orchestrate a delicate dance between buyers and sellers, all within the cutthroat confines of a fiercely competitive industry. Thriving in this environment demands perpetual innovation and a keen eye for untapped opportunities. One such avenue of potential is the power of partnerships. In this post, we'll delve into the myriad benefits these collaborations can bestow upon real estate agents while spotlighting some compelling instances. Buckle up for a journey through the perks of partnerships! Expanded Network and Exposure Real estate partnerships act as a gateway to an augmented sphere of influence and an extended network of potential clients. Picture this: Two agents or firms joining forces, opening the floodgates to each other's client databases, and catapulting listings into a wider audience. This synergistic approach not only broadens exposure but also unlocks new markets previously beyond reach. Take, for example, the partnership between Berkshire Hathaway Home Services and Nest Seekers International. This collaboration not only facilitated access to luxury listings but also opened doors to diverse clientele, resulting in boosted sales and successful market penetration. Pooling Resources and Skills Sharing resources and expertise emerges as a pivotal advantage of real estate partnerships. The amalgamation of marketing budgets and technological prowess can birth unparalleled efficiency and superior customer service. Consider the collaboration between Boston Logic and William Raveis Real Estate, culminating in a bespoke CRM system streamlining the entire transaction process. This partnership harnessed the collective resources and expertise of both entities, delivering substantial value to agents and customers alike. Fostering Collaboration and Innovation Beyond the realm of shared resources, real estate partnerships catalyze collaboration and innovation. The confluence of ideas and tactics propels the creation of novel products or services, pushing boundaries that a solitary entity might find insurmountable. Look no further than the partnership of Zillow and Realogy. This powerhouse collaboration birthed a platform elevating transparency in home buying. By synergizing Realogy's industry acumen with Zillow's online real estate prowess, the partnership empowered buyers and sellers with unprecedented information and transparency. Elevated Brand Recognition and Authority Partnering with established businesses or agents is a surefire strategy for enhancing industry authority and brand recognition. Collaborating with reputable entities allows agents to leverage existing reputations and networks to fortify their own brand. The alliance between Citi Habitats and the Corcoran Group is a case in point. By capitalizing on each other's strengths, both businesses expanded their market share and recognition. Corcoran agents gained access to Citi Habitats' rental listings and client database, while Citi Habitats agents tapped into Corcoran's technology, marketing tools, and management systems. In summation, real estate partnerships present agents with a cornucopia of advantages, from amplified exposure and network expansion to collaborative innovation. By forging alliances with fellow agents or firms, individuals can share resources and skills, pioneer novel products, elevate brand recognition, and venture into uncharted markets. The examples provided underscore how successful partnerships yield substantial benefits for all involved parties. For real estate agents eyeing business growth, exploring partnerships is not just an option but a strategic imperative. To view the original article, visit the Transactly

Dollar-Productivity: What to Start, Stop, and Continue in 2024
Real estate moves fast, and in order to keep up, you have a lot to manage, maintain, and strengthen. With competing priorities and new goals for 2024, it's more important than ever to zero in on the strengths, weaknesses, and areas of opportunity for your business. This helps ensure you're maximizing dollar-productivity, or the tasks that will generate revenue for your business. By having a strong lay of the land for the current state of your business, you have ample opportunity to know what to start, stop, and continue to ensure success. Let's take a look at how you can execute this exercise. The First Step to Determining Ways to Maximize Your Productivity Before you dive headfirst into deciding what to start, stop, and continue in 2024 to drive more income, it's important you first get a lay of the land. Without knowing exactly where you're starting, it can be difficult to identify where you can pare down, and other places you can scale up. First, take a look at what daily tasks you're performing for each revenue-generating area of your business, like lead generation, marketing, and follow-up. Then, measure your own success metrics directly related to generating revenue. As you review 2023's performance, make sure to measure things like: How many leads are you generating? What are your best lead generation sources? How many phone calls are you making? How many calls does it take for you to have a conversation? How many conversations does it take for you to get a meeting? What's your client conversion rate? How about your lead conversion rate? By understanding the current state of your business, you'll have a strong grasp on areas of opportunity, things you can eliminate, and what you can strengthen this year. Doing this early in the year helps you gain the right footing on the path of planning ahead, especially since you're equipping yourself with a year's worth of fresh, recent data. How Exactly to Determine What to Start, Stop, and Continue in 2024 Now that you're deeply familiar with your key success metrics, you also have a good view into what's working, what can stay the same (or be kicked up a notch), and what you can cut out completely. Remember: the goal is dollar-productivity. This means you need to assess exactly which activities you're doing are ones that are either helping, hurting, or maintaining your revenue goals. Use each of the following areas to assess what you can start, stop, and continue for the year ahead. We recommend getting a piece of paper and creating columns for each of these actions and categorizing your efforts appropriately. Marketing and Lead Generation When it comes to deciding which of your marketing efforts are worth starting, stopping, and continuing, you have a lot of opportunity to refine in this space. Since we're approaching this from an income-based perspective, start by looking at your top-performing marketing sources from a lead volume and conversion perspective. Where are you generating the most leads? What is the conversion rate on those leads turning into clients? How long does it take for them to go from "client" to "closed deal"? Knowing what's working well will help you understand what you can continue. To know what to stop, flip these same questions on their head by looking at your lowest performers for marketing. Is there anything viable? Can anything be improved? If you answer "no," it's a good idea to trim the fat and stop those efforts. But if there's a chance things can be improved, like if you've transitioned to a new market, hired marketing help, or have acquired a higher marketing budget, formulate a game plan to continue these efforts, and set a timeline to ensure you're staying on track. Then, revisit these questions above. Follow-Up and Conversion Rates Your approach to follow-up is what gets looky-loos to become leads, who then turn into clients. Earlier, we recommended you measure your phone call volume, how many calls it takes to get a real conversation, and then the amount of chats that lead to an actual meeting with the prospective client. It's also important to assess your follow-up via email and text message. How many email and text touches does it take to get on the phone? How many to get a meeting? Analyzing these averages will help you find the sweet spot of turning casual conversation into committed clients. If you find your outbound phone call volume is sky-high with limited success, consider adding in email and text touchpoints. To view the original article, visit the Inside Real Estate blog. Related reading Double Down on These 5 Marketing Basics to Start Your 2024 Out Strong 24 Fresh Lead Generation Strategies for 2024 Top 5 Hot Tech Trends in 2024 and How They Will Benefit