Mina Radhakrishnan from :Different is my guest in this episode. Mina is a serial entrepreneur with an enviable pedigree. She was both an early employee of Google and then Uber when it was just a startup. She landed on the idea of a property management proptech after she saw how much her father-in-law was paying to manage his investment property, the manual work that was involved, and the level of service he was getting.

Different is a true disruptor to the real estate business model in that it charges just a $100 flat fee per month to manage any property. And it has a keen focus on automation and processes to ensure that it can be a profitable business model.

(01:43): The :Different elevator pitch. (And a great example of how to do one!)

(02:25): Mina steps us through the data that illustrates the problem that :Different solves and why seeing information about your investment property once a month orquarter just isn’t enough.

(04:16): The key differences between :Different and a traditional property manager and the role of data.

(06:58): Mina’s background.

(08:50): Mina tells the story of how :Different came to be

(10:10): How :Different is direct to consumer with operations managers rather than PMs

(11:20): The role of automation and how Different leverage it to offer personal service.

(12:38): How :Different has grown and it’s team based approach.

(16:20): We dive into the flat fee. How do they do it?

(17:51): Mina discusses the disruption of the property management business model and why she thinks a lot of property management technology is focusing on the wrong thing.

(20:07): We explore how Different claims it has the best tenants.

(21:54): :Different’s very enviable response rates to maintenance requests.

(24:50): How Different manages the legislative risk of property management.

(27:48): :Different and Covid-19. This is a powerful insight into how tech-enabled businesses can be more flexible than traditional.

(31:10): How a tech-based centralised office manages physical aspects like inspections.

(32:05): How Different is working with traditional agents

(33:23): How different is collaborating with other tech providers.

(35:10): Mina discusses her biggest challenges as an entrepreneur – growth!

(37:13): Mina’s predictions for the next five years in real estate.

(38:14): The future for Different – it’s exciting for home owners!