Via SMH and Business Insider
Real Estate Vendor Spotlight: SwipeFin
I get a lot of inquires from new real estate vendors or existing vendors with new products. So I thought I would start something new, I call it “Vendor Spotlight”. To kick this off, I’m going to feature SwipeFin. A clever app designed to help real estate agents manage their expenses. It uses the Tinder method of swiping left or right depending on whether the change is a business or personal expenses.
We recently took our “beta sticker” off and threw our hat in the ring for the annual Realogy’s FWD competition.
Check it out:
Editor’s Note: I’m really partial to video. So if you want to be featured you would increase you’re chances by having a video to go along with your product/feature.
RPR pivots
I’ve been on a bunch of airplanes since NAR Midyear, have I missed anything? ; )
Oh yeah, NAR Board of Directors approved RPR’s new initiative, “RPR Upstream/AMP”. And the world went batshit crazy.
I found the video above and I think it does an excellent job of outlining what RPR is trying to accomplish, so lets start with that. So here’s a few comments and advice.
1. It’s all about the listing input module. Everyone I talk to says this is extremely difficult. You need to nail it. Seems like this type of tech (like most) benefits from years of iteration. Consider looking at existing solutions.
2. Find a way to partner with MLS providers. RPR got a rough start out of the gate because they didn’t want to do any revenue share with MLS providers. That caused some bad blood and brought in a new entrant (Corelogic) to the mix. (I’m not talking about sharing revenue here per se, just the perception of not coming up with any sort of compromise.) Don’t make the same mistake again. Your goal is to aggregate property data from brokers, they’ve (MLS Providers) been doing that successfully for decades already. This is not about “reaching out” to them, your job should be to get them onboard and excited about this new effort. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes. Like it or not, you need their support and expertise.
3. Cut something. What you trying to accomplish is hugely ambitious on its own. Consider either cutting an existing product line or feature set. You are going to need all the bandwidth you can get.
4. Be humble.
Looking for a new gig?
East Bay Regional MLS is looking for a MLS Manager. See this job and more on the Vendor Alley Job Board.
Todd Costigan joins Down Payment Resource
“Todd Costigan joins Down Payment Resource as Vice President of Customer Relations. Costigan is responsible for account management of the company’s real estate customers, including Multiple Listing Services (MLS) and Realtor Associations.”
Congrats to Todd and DPR.
Looking for a new gig?
The Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of REALTORS® is looking for a MLS Manager. See this job and more on the Vendor Alley Jobs Board.
Join me at Midyear next week!
Looking forward to catching up with everyone next week. I want to highlight a few events that I’ll be attending/participating in.
Tuesday
CMLS BRINGS IT TO THE TABLE WORKSHOP : CERTIFIED
May 12, 8 a.m. ?12:45 p.m.
The City Club of Washington
555 13th Street, NW
Columbia Square
Washington, DC 20004
Registration ends today, so hurry and register if you haven’t already. It includes lunch people, get on this!
Wednesday
MLS Association Executives Session
May 13, 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
I just spoke to Chris Carillo and they have a strong session planned. They have asked me to moderate a panel on Syndication (what else?) at this session. My esteemed panelists include the Cameron Paine, the Jim Harrison and Matt Consalvo. Should be fun so get there early for a good seat.
Thursday
We (W&R Studios) are co-sponsoring the ListHub Party (Cirque du Mystique)
May 14, 8:00PM to 1:00am
Maimasion
3401 Water Street NW
Washington, DC 20007
Also I’ve got a few slots left open for meetings about Cloud CMA and our newest product Cloud Streams. Katie and I would love to give you a demo and show you the latest. Just contact Katie at the link below:
katie@wr-studios.com
See you there!!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Still one of my favorites.
An attorney, a pair of consultants, and an MLS exec walk in to a bar….
Interesting, if not a little bizarre, read from The Notorious R.O.B. on the much rumored RPR pivot (I think) ….
Project Trim Tab: From Dream to Reality
“The dream of fundamentally improving the MLS technology platform has been one that the industry has talked about for years. We have seen a surge in credit-taking amongst the “thought leaders” within the industry in recent weeks, as RPR has started to shed light on their Advanced Multi-List Platform, aka AMP™. But the concept of a flexible MLS, powered by modern API’s (Application Programming Interface), which allows for flexibility and innovation has been around since at least the mid 2000’s when technology companies like Google, Facebook, and Salesforce debuted the concept of API’s and “mashups”.
As is said, success has many fathers. But in this case, many of those were absentee dads at best. The real story of what is possibly the biggest advance in the MLS industry since the advent of the Internet itself cannot be told without mentioning the central role of SIRMLS.
As I was the author and architect of this overall effort, I know better than most just how valuable SIRMLS and its leadership have been, and remain.”
T3 Tech Guide
This might be a little late, but one of things that I was totally impressed with at the T3 Summit in Vegas earlier this month was their T3 Tech Guide. Jack Miller did an excellent job putting this together.
And I know what you are thinking…”Tech guide huh?, isn’t that just a bunch of product ads?” Not this baby, they really did an excellent job really giving each of the products they selected the run down (alas Cloud CMA or Cloud Streams didn’t make the list, maybe next year).
I was also struck at how much the quality of real estate software applications has improved. The guide is over 212 pages and chock full of screen shots and use cases. I also like the product matrix they do to compare core features.
Stefan already had a good business with his yearly “Trends” report and this looks like another winner.
If you were at the T3 Summit you got one for free. If not they have a site up where you can order and see other various events they are doing around the launch.
Check it out at t3techguide.com
