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Trelora: Commission-Free Real Estate

Trelora: Commission-Free Real Estate

From the list of TechStars Boulder companies, I found Trelora. Another startup going after cutting commissions. It seems Trelora has been around quite awhile in Denver, here’s an article from 2014. Sure, everyone will tell you they want a cheaper way to buy and sell…

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US Tech Funding – What’s Going On?

US Tech Funding – What’s Going On?

For the startup founders and employees out there curious about the state of the venture market, here’s some new data from Andreessen Horowitz… U.S. Technology Funding — What’s Going On? from a16z

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New Story: Crowdfunding Homes for Those in Need

New Story: Crowdfunding Homes for Those in Need

Those who read regularly, know I’m a huge fan of doing good in the world (see this and this). That’s precisely why when I came across New Story a couple weeks ago on Twitter as a result of getting backed by YCombinator, I immediately knew it…

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Want a Discounted Rate on a Full Custom Website Design?

Want a Discounted Rate on a Full Custom Website Design?

Have you been frustrated with your website, and just waiting to pull the trigger on redoing it entirely? As previously mentioned, we’ve been bootstrapping Horizon with consulting money. Currently, we have bandwidth to design one full custom agent/broke/franchise (or tech vendor for that matter) website at…

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The Questions that Matter when Building a Marketplace

The Questions that Matter when Building a Marketplace

We’re (Horizon) building a marketplace for people looking for places to stay, and those willing to provide it. Every startup, in any industry, matching needs and haves – aka building a marketplace – will have to address a number of challenges along the way. It’s far…

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Redfin: A Discount Brokerage 10 Years Later

Redfin: A Discount Brokerage 10 Years Later

Any entrepreneur interested in trying to reduce or cut out agent commissions should read this article about Redfin on the SeattleTimes. Redfin has had eight rounds of venture funding since 2005 totaling $167.8 million, according to Crunchbase. Redfin after 10 years still has less than a…

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Being Shut Off from External APIs: Blessing or Curse?

Being Shut Off from External APIs: Blessing or Curse?

As a startup, you often have no choice but to build on external APIs or platforms. In real estate, you’re almost always reliant on IDX/MLS data. Or WordPress. Or Drupal. Or Facebook. Or Twitter. Etc. There are, of course, massive advantages to building on top…

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Most Interesting Discount and Dis Intermediation Plays Over the Past Decade?

Most Interesting Discount and Dis Intermediation Plays Over the Past Decade?

There have been many, many attempts at discount brokerage models, and those looking to dis intermediate the agent entirely over the past decade. Of course, Redfin and Zip Realty are two that come to mind first, because they reached fairly large scale and their brands…

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An Alternative to BPP: A Fund for Consumer Startups

An Alternative to BPP: A Fund for Consumer Startups

As you probably know by know, I question whether the National Broker Public Portal stands a chance to compete against the established portals (see articles here). I’ve yet to hear a good argument as to how it plans to become a top 3-5 portal — and…

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The Lingering Incubator/Accelerator Conundrum

The Lingering Incubator/Accelerator Conundrum

Real estate is one of the largest consumer tech verticals there is — yet is lacking a major incubator/accelerator for seed stage startups. Joel wrote about this in 2011, as did I (since 2011, I’ve gone through Start-Up Chile so I’m slightly more knowledgeable on the topic of…

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