Proptech startup NurtureCloud gets $3m backing from Ray White

A Sydney property-tech startup with global potential has received a $3 million investment from Australia's largest real estate agency Ray White.

Founded three years ago by serial internet entrepreneur Adam Rigby (pictured left), NurtureCloud helps agents spend less time on administrative tasks like call logging, diary and workflow management and paperwork.

The investment means Ray White's agents will now have NurtureCloud's technology at their disposal, while real-time information on different aspects of sales will be given to vendors.

Ray White's managing director Dan White (pictured right) will become chairman of the startup, whose mobile-first platform he says will give agents a significant advantage in an industry that is poised to benefit from improved data-driven sales management.

"We are delighted to be investing in Adam and the NurtureCloud team, and their unique mobile-first end-to-end platform, developed over the past three years," says White.

"They are a hugely capable team and have found unique solutions for agents to be more productive whilst simultaneously being able to deliver a much more transparent experience for vendors and buyers.  It will be a great addition to our technology offering.

"Our plan is to collaborate with the NurtureCloud team and customise the product to suit our network and rollout in stages over the next 12 months. We expect to see strong improvements in productivity, conversion rate across every step of the sales process."

NurtureCloud's technology was incubated inside of the national fixed-fee agency Upside, and utilises data, automation and market intelligence to improve vendor, buyer and agent outcomes.

To-date NurtureCloud has worked exclusively with Upside, but through the deal with Ray White it is now expanding into the wider market.

By using what is known as propensity modelling, the platform drives interactions between vendors and agents, guides conversation content and helps determine marketing approaches for customers. By coupling its own data with industry trends and sales data, it improves the quality of interactions and limits the inefficient, non-revenue generating processes that agents carry out every day.

Rigby, who is also NurtureCloud's CEO, says the platform has already proven its worth, drastically improving the efficiency and conversion rate of agents who are part of a remote or distributed sales team.

"The real-estate industry has lagged behind many other industries when it comes to technology and advancements in large-scale enterprise-wide sales management and distributed sales teams," he says.

"Most real-estate specific software is built around the needs of a single local office and misses the mark when it comes to using metrics to improve performance of an individual or team.

"We are tremendously excited to see the impact of NurtureCloud within Ray White who are already technology leaders in the industry.

"Their input into our product will be of great assistance and a catalyst for expansion within Australia and other international markets. We strongly believe that Ray White is the perfect partner to help achieve this vision."

Business News Australia