Moving to a new city, and out there searching for a house, this is the man you will want to pay attention to.
In an exclusive interview with Danish Manzoor, Executive Editor, IBT India, NoBroker.com cofounder Akhil Gupta spoke about how the concept of the website came about and how they used technology to eliminate middlemen like brokers in real estate.
He also spoke about how they use data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help users identify suitable properties.
Asked about how the concept of NoBroker.com started, Akhil said it started with finding a problem that affects the masses, and found that the right place was real estate.
He reflected back on his unforgettable experience of house-hunting, which helped him decide that this would be a problem worth addressing and solving.
In the dawn of new age technology, things as simple as booking tickets — be it for movies or travel — are done by the click of a button, and the tedious task of standing in queues is eliminated. So why not use the same technology to find yourself a house?
"With technology, the problem can be solved. Ideally, middlemen are not required, if you see the brokers, they add the least value at the highest possible cost," he said.
After asking a couple of friends, he saw that this is a problem faced by a lot of people, and definitely a potential business idea.
The main question which arose was why no one across the globe had decided to take a go at this, since most ideas are taken from the West and rehashed.
"We decided to build an algorithm and eliminate brokers from the platform. Once we eliminate the brokers, we are left with genuine owners, sellers, buyers and renters. No one cheats. As an owner, I want to give my house on rent, and I want to take a house on rent. If the deal is suitable to both, I'll close the deal as soon as possible," he claimed.
When asked about the situation regarding the government outlook, he said the government is aware of the lack of cooperation and irresponsibility that is seen by builders.
To the question of profitability of the business, Akhil said that it was only until 18 months ago that they started charging, working as a free platform for two years.
On the use of AI, he said NoBroker.com also crowdsources available properties through the Click-n-Earn Programme. He also claimed that AI plays a key role in this programme.
He explained that they use machine-learning algorithm where AI is used to "see and recommend" top 10-20 properties for users based on their search history.
On NoBroker.com's future plans, Akhil said they have established themselves in five states and have plans to be available in the top 20 cities in India. He added that their model of operation has seen demand from various parts of the world, like Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
For more details about this startup which might save you a lot of money, watch the video.
