Fickle NYU 2015

Superlease

Stephan CoetzeeMS Computer Engineering

Andrew MachlesMBA Entertainment, Music & Technology

Victoria ManganielloMA Art Education

FickleIf you cant beat em, join emTotal interviewsTenants23Landlords5Brokers10Housing Advisors4Total41

Saving real estate brokers and landlords time and making them money with an auction service to offer their properties to prospective pre-vetted tenants 1

What We ThoughtDay 02

Business Model Canvas Slide 12

Primary Hypothesis: Tenants will go where the listings are. Focus on property owners as primary customerCreate an NYC apartment listings platform with an auction service, eliminating the broker

2

Current LandscapeDay 1 & 23

Auction ServicesRoommate connection ServicesVetting Companies

Rental ListingAggregators

Real EstateBrokers

Fickle

4

Current Landscape

Where We LandedDay 3 & 45

6ExperimentHypothesisFail SignalResultsOffer to split commission on a brokers listing for increasing the selling price via auction serviceBrokers can earn more money with an auctionWe are unable to increase price on listing; Their clients are uninterested in auctionWe got our first partner (Peter Wei)

Pitch auction service to Broker and LandlordBrokers are open to a third party hosting an auction on their behalfBrokers and/or landlords do not trust our websiteWe have spoken to interested brokers, will continue to contact more.

Host mock auction at favorable listing priceTenants will participate in an auctionFewer than 2 interested participants75% participation from interested tenants

Post apartment listings with competitive pricingTenants will participate in an auction and increase the priceLess than average of 2.5% increase over pre-existing market value over 25 auctionsFirst Iteration: Increase 13% ($320)Successful with one listing, will continueto experiment with more

Revenue ModelValue Proposition

Value Proposition*These experiments were conducted within a 5 day period. We plan to conduct re-iterations of these experimentsCompleted Experiments*

Value Proposition

5 Riskiest Hypotheses

Brokers will use our service and recommend us to their clients (Are they are our saboteur or our customer/partner?)Tenants participation in an auction will increase the priceAn auction service increases landlord/broker profit enough to make up for potential lost timeTenants will feel that the process of auction is just and fair (Will they be repeat users?)Customers will trust our vetting process

Tenants will participate in an auctionA rental auction system is legal in NYCAuctions will produce fair pricesTenants will go to where the listings are7

Size of the Opportunity*Using Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens8

Revenue ModelDirect Sales Representatives9

10Next Steps

Host targeted auctions to test if the likelihood a tenant would participate in an auction correlates to specific variables including price, location and amenities

Pitch our MVP to brokers, property owners, and roommates to test whether they will trust our online tools and service

Build a network of evangelical broker-customers

Business Model Canvases & Additional Information11

FickleIf you cant beat em, join em

Business Model Canvas Day 1


Yellow boxes apply to all customer segments



Yellow boxes apply to all customer segments15Business Model Canvas Day 4



Completed Experiment: (Mock) Auction

4 attended open houseAll international, 20-35 old2 sets of students, 2 sets of working professionals3/4 participated in auctionStart video minute 13:38

Experiment 1 : Brooklyn Apartment auctioned Results: 75% participation; Rent increase 13% ($320)*Future Iteration: Formalize auction processUse starting bids that are varying percentages of market value

* This information reflects participation at a favorable starting price

17

Customer SegmentsLandlords, Roommates/Shares, Brokers

Archetype A Simone lives in New Hampshire and inherited her East Village 2 bedroom from her late grandmother. She is unfamiliar with NYC and the real estate market, uninterested in working with a broker and unsure of where to price her space for rent. Pain Point I dont know how much my property is worth or how to get the best price

Archetype B Brianna rents her apartment but is looking to sublet her extra room to help her save money. She is a full time student with a part time job and does not know how to find a suitable roommate.Pain Point I need to find a roommate that I can trust to share my space

Archetype C Michael is a licensed NYC real estate broker with an abundance of clients who are willing to pay top dollar for the best listings. He does not have the time to waste on clients who are unqualified to rent his listings.Pain Point I could capitalize on the competition of NYC apartment rental; I am too busy to confirm the qualifications and credibility of everyone who expresses an interest in my properties.

Customer SegmentsTenantsArchetype D Jeff wants to move to Brooklyn to be closer to his friends. He works full time, on the upper east side and does not have the time to visit apartments and compete with other tenants for the apartments he wants.Pain Point NYC Apartments go so fast and on an unpredictable schedule! I dont have time to compete.

Archetype E Haukur values privacy and is very wary of identity theft. In order to even be considered for an NYC apartment, she is being asked to submit a lot of sensitive information to a perfect stranger.Pain Point How am I supposed to trust a person I just met on the internet with my social security number and bank details?

Sheet1

Revenue Per Direct Sales Representative$107,001Expenses Per Direct Sales Representative$70,500Gross Profit Per Direct Sales Representative$36,501Break-even customer acquisitions per sales rep each year21

Year-1 Value of Each Broker-customer Acquired (Broker -customer Value Breakdown Below)$2,972Direct Sales Representative Base Salary$45,000Direct Sales Representative Commission (per broker acquired) $500Average Benefits and Payroll Taxes Per Sales Representative$7,500Anticipated Customer Acquisitions Per Sales Representative36

Broker-customer Value Breakdown Median monthly rent (Manhattan)$3,963Percentage Increase Through Auction2.5%Average Increase in Rent From Auction$99.08Fickle's Portion of the Increase50%Number of Listings a Broker Closes with Fickle (5/month)60Broker-customer Value in Year 1$2,972