BREAKING PROPERTY NEWS – 03/03/2022
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.
nurtur.group Accelerator Programme inundated with innovator applicants
As many readers will know, I hold several roles in the proptech and property space, from the CEO of Proptech-PR – a proptech consultancy for Proptech founders looking to grow and exit – to an executive editor at Estate Agency Networking, as well as the owner of this publication, Proptech-X.
Andrew Stanton
I also moonlight as an advisor for real estate concerns globally, and I’m a cohort mentor for the REACH UK program. Also, in the interest of clarity, I am a non-executive director for the nurtur.group accelerator.
Why am I saying this? Well, it’s worth clarifying that position when writing these daily news briefings. Focusing on the nurtur.group accelerator is not favouritism, it’s a sorely needed part of the real estate ecosystem in the UK and further afield.
If we can help technology flow seamlessly into property-adjacent businesses, that can only be a good thing for all involved. I’ve maintained this position for years, even before the inception of nurtur.group.
Since the launch of the accelerator programme just over a month ago, nurtur.group has had almost fifty applications from innovative companies eager to launch their products and services. The demand is clearly there for what we do.
Gary Barker
Gary Barker, nurtur.group’s Chief Investment Officer, adds that the high number of applications received highlights and tangibly demonstrates the exceptionally strong demand for strategic and targeted investment support within the property technology sector.
Barker says that the accelerator programme, an investment arm funded by nurtur.group, has been designed to make it easier for innovators within the sector to launch their technology and connect it to a vast network of ready agents, with the assurances and guidance of reliable and experienced advisors by their side, each of whom are heavily invested in their success.
“We have received applications from a number of various avenues within the sector, including sales, lettings, compliance, banking/payments, marketing and many others,” said Gary Barker. “The key feedback we have received from applicants is that working with nurtur.group would provide significant benefits, such as industry experience, target marketing to a network of over 2,100, direct board experience and strategic support and the ability to directly use the group’s resources, be that technology sales or operationally.”
The team at nurtur.group is currently in the process of assessing the applications, ahead of selecting the inaugural cohort we will take forward. A new investment manager with significant fund experience will be starting at nurtur.group shortly to further accelerate growth and investments.
“So far we have spent well over 150 hours of direct engagement with all businesses and are in the process of making our initial selections. We are extremely interested in a high proportion of the applicants we have received and are aiming to proceed with the first phase of launches as soon as possible. We are making every effort to ensure we are making the best decision for both the applicants and our networks.
“Our aim is to bring truly innovative products and services to our networks to ensure we are at the forefront of PropTech development and compliance. Providing support to PropTech disruptors will allow us to continue drive progression within the sector, while providing our network with the opportunity to access the latest technological advancements in the industry.”
Barker concludes: “To enable us to work with more applicants and progress the process faster we are growing our Accelerator Programme team. Through the Accelerator Programme and our growing team, we will be able to propel innovations through investment and will be able to develop new and exciting technology for property businesses across our network.”
PRESS RELEASE: Announcing the World’s First Full-Service Property Imaging Platform with Artificial Intelligence
Estate agents up and down the UK can now get their properties onto the market with optimised images faster than ever before. DCTR has launched Doctor-Photo Studio Edition with Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can optimise batches of between 1 and 50 images at a time, in under three minutes, cutting hours and sometimes a day or more off the time that they took to obtain them previously. Grey skies turned blue, dark interiors made brighter, colours balanced, all of these achieved literally as you watch.
Tom Durrant, Doctor-Photo’s MD has made this short webinar – take a look.
But if you’re sceptical about how good AI enhancements can be, take this challenge and see how well, or badly you do.
Although during beta testing the vast majority of customers preferred the AI edits, DCTR appreciates that AI tech doesn’t always get it right, so there is still the opportunity to send any uploaded image(s) to a DCTR artist when customers think that they would best be completed by hand. Press the button to accept the AI edit, or the one next to it instructing it to be sent to an artist instead.
The other Doctor-Photo services that Doctor Photo is famous for are also still available via the new platform, including artwork for floor plans, digital surgery for removing neighbours’ bins, other agents’ boards and cars etc. and of course Virtual Furnishing, bringing to life agents’ photos of empty rooms so that they look like homes.
DCTR has achieved everything above by building its platform from the ground up, a 14-month project that has replaced the platform that has served for the past 6 years. So, this gave them the opportunity to add numerous extra services including making it very easy to obtain quotes for new homes projects such as CGIs (still and animated) and artwork for brochures and hoardings.
DCTR is a pay-as-you-go service with no subscription. Invoices are sent monthly and there are discounts for payments made by Direct Debit. Doctor-Photo Ltd is also the UK’s most prolific award-winning business in this sector, being recognised nationally for the past 6 years.
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