Tech-Tonic: RE/MAX buys networking tool and Keller Williams picks fav tech startup

by David Phillips

December 18, 2019

RE/MAX acquires networking startup First

Today RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. announced that it had acquired a technology company that combines data science with human interaction and coaching to aid real estate professionals in strengthening their personal network’s value.

First is a North Carolina-based startup best known for its eponymous app, which is a coaching platform that predicts whom among an agent’s pre-existing network of clients are most likely to become sellers clients. The app helps agents prioritize and schedule client engagement and then tailors this information into an individualized list so real estate professionals can ascertain which of their connections have the most potential.

Through this partnership, RE/MAX agents in the U.S. will have exclusive access to First’s platform beginning in 2020. Current First users who are not in the RE/MAX network will have access to the app only until their current subscriptions expire. “We’ve seen the impact the First platform has had in growing individual agents’ businesses,” said Mike Schneider, First CEO and cofounder. “The race is on in the industry to establish technology as a true competitive advantage.”

Conversion Monster named top startup by Keller Williams

Last week at its futuRE event, Keller Williams named Conversion Monster, a lead conversion tool that helps agents automate sales tasks, as the top startup of the year.

The futuRE event is an invitation-only, real estate technology pitch battle that helps the real estate company form partnerships with small tech firms. The winner takes home a $15,000 prize and gets priority placement in Keller Cloud, the company’s digital toolbox for agents.

“With futuRE, our aim was to empower our agents with best-in-class solutions to choose how they want to run their business within our platform,” Jeff Tamaru, head of corporate development at Keller Williams, said in a statement announcing the pick.

Runners up — SocialSurvey, an automated marketing platform, and VlogEasy, video editing software — will also be placed in Keller Cloud.