In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with Bryan Bowles from Transactly.

Without further ado…

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Bryan Bowles, the founder and CEO of Transactly. Transactly started as a project within a residential real estate brokerage I also founded, Worth Clark Realty (multiple Inc 500 listings). After we started building it out, we learned that what we were building would have a much larger impact on the industry if it were its own platform. After spending over seven years actively competing with other brokerages, I’ve come to the realization that what the industry really needs is something to build collaboration and trust among our community – something to show clients that we truly, and collectively, put their interests first.

What problem does your product/service solve?

The messy-middle of a home sale, where more than five different people must collaborate to make a deal happen. Year after year, National Association of REALTORS® surveys show the most difficult process of buying a home – other than finding one – is understanding the paperwork and process involved. While there are many transaction management tools on the market that help agents and brokers do that, most of them are siloed and have very little emphasis on improving the experience for those who matter most – homebuyers and sellers.

Our technology aims to not only streamline task management and collaboration amongst all the parties involved, but also demystify the process for homebuyers and sellers. Transactly is an open platform that is meant to encourage collaboration, transparency, and the client experience.

What are you most excited about right now?

Our platform is very new. We’ve taken Reid Hoffman’s advice, “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late” and intentionally released early to build something based on both agent and client feedback. We’ve received a lot of really good feedback since our initial release this past winter, and can’t wait to see how those iterations are embraced (or rejected).

One of the key findings was that many of the best agents on our platform are using transaction coordinators, so we’ve iterated based on that, and we’re now beginning to also bring on transaction coordinators nationwide to get closer to the transactions, and attain deeper feedback.

I’m excited to see some new competitors in our space, and encouraged by the direction we’re taking the industry. Its building defensibility for the role that good real estate agents and brokers play – which is one of the longest running, and most successful gig economies in the world – on that hundreds of millions of venture capital dollars are being poured into to disrupt.

What’s next for you?

Scaling up. We have some very ambitious goals, and a lot of that will come from more transactions being facilitated on our platform. We have a great team that’s tested a handful of growth strategies. Now, it’s time to really push those that have passed the test.

What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

Caring for senior citizens. This might be due to my grandmother’s dedication to the Meals on Wheels organization, and my volunteering over the years with her. Meeting some of the beneficiaries of that program has really opened my eyes to the level of neglect and discrimination senior citizens of all races and backgrounds endure. Sadly, there are more than ten times the number non-profits established to serve animals – than our own people. A class of people we will all become one day, if we’re lucky enough. The senior citizen population is growing at exponential rates, and the social security they receive is hardly enough to live on. Most cannot afford to move into a senior living facility, properly care for themselves, and the homes they live in. I have plans for a non-profit organization to address this that I’ll launch once my current venture is off and running.

Meet The RE Tech EntrepreneurThanks to Bryan for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.

We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).