5 Key Takeaways from the ProptechBuzz Podcast featuring Irina Constantin, CEO at VAUNT
This month, VAUNT was featured in the ProptechBuzz podcast. Irina Constantin, our CEO & Co-founder talked about our journey and what’s next. Here are the main takeaways from this interview you can also watch on YouTube:
1. The importance of identifying an untapped need
VAUNT was born out of a project to build a custom ERP for a residential real estate developer. We recognized a need in the market, especially for sales people who were involved in so many different processes, from marketing to actually going on construction sites. We looked for a way to help them keep track of everything that they were doing. It was very important for us to understand their way of thinking and actually introduce elements of gamification to incentivize our clients to use the platform.
Now, with VAUNT, developers can run marketing campaigns, track leads, and collaborate with banks and investors—all from a centralized system. The platform has since then grown and it’s aiming to become an integrated tool for sales and marketing in residential real estate, being used by 75 customers who manage over 20.000 assets.
2. How to make it as a bootstrapped startup
It is critical for your customer to trust your company and to rely on you to bring innovation into their business.
VAUNT was launched at the end of 2020, helping developers streamline sales processes from building permit until handover, in an emerging funding ecosystem, and we managed to achieve profitability without external investment.
We achieved this by charging clients from day one, as we had strong convictions on what the market needed and what the developers needed, and leveraging cost-effective marketing strategies, such as $3 Facebook campaigns (as opposed to other platforms, that we understood they don’t use).
3. Build a valuable company meant to scale from day 1
It’s a founder’s responsibility to build a company that brings value, and offers a useful product, regardless of them being bootstrapped or not.
Our goal since the beginning was to build a global company from day 1. We aimed to build an infrastructure for a company meant to scale – which can actually save you money. VAUNT’s end goal is to become the ecosystem of sales processes in the residential world.
We also wanted to build a company where people love to work at, and where clients – and even prospects who don’t end up signing with us – feel they get real value from.
4. On bringing an advisor on board
When you get an advisor, it’s important to know what you need from them. They should have skills and capabilities you don’t have, to help you navigate the challenges.
For us, bringing Joe Mathew on board was motivated by his extensive experience and him understanding our business. He is instrumental in helping us get more clarity and moving forward on our US-expansion journey.
You can read more about our new Strategic Advisor, Shijo (Joe) Mathew here.
5. Important lessons learned building a company with no external funding
Look for patterns. It’s hard to get the first money in as a startup, you don’t know the ideal customer yet. After a time though, it’s important to look for patterns and start replicating the things that work.
Also, talk with other founders. Learn from their lessons, processes and mistakes.
Don’t get paralyzed by a mistake. Especially when bootstrapped, many founders are scared by mistakes. But if you don’t take risks, you can’t bootstrap the company. See what’s working, capitalize on that, take risks.
Next for VAUNT
VAUNT’s vision extends beyond improving sales processes. Our new marketplace facilitates international property transactions, connecting developers and investors worldwide. We aim to simplify the real estate investment journey for all stakeholders through personalised support and smart automations.
We want to make the process as smooth as possible. We focus on growing the company in the US, doing events, and building a strong community around the product.
In terms of technology, we’ve already started to integrate more smart technologies, automations, AI, to streamline those repetitive tasks.
We also want to be helpful for other people in the startup ecosystem, who want to move from the EU to the US, in example. We want to give back and make it easier for other founders and teams.
Concluding with a challenge
Irina challenged other founders starting their journey to build a vision-type of document. What is the vision, what do we want to change? And a post-mortem document – why did your company die? What happened, what did you do wrong and backtrack from that and figure out what you don’t know that you don’t know. Find people to help you solve those problems.
