PropTech accelerator REACH Australia & New Zealand continues to encourage new PropTech innovation in the real estate industry and is opening applications for its fifth cohort in 2024.
The REACH program has been behind some of the country’s most successful PropTech startups including ActivePipe, BoxBrownie, Realtime Conveyancer, Future Rent and Propic.
It offers a combination of funding, mentorship, access to the most impactful conferences, trade shows and networking events, exposure to media and academic organisations and a network of like-minded entrepreneurs across more than 220 REACH portfolio companies.
REACH ANZ, Managing Partner, Peter Schravemade said many entrepreneurs initially apply to REACH, with the goal of obtaining funding, but often find even more value in what the accelerator program can add to their businesses.
“I think funding alone can be misconstrued as the biggest benefit,” Mr Schravemade said.
“I believe the biggest benefit is the accelerator program, and certainly that’s the feedback we’ve had from program members.”
Mr Schravemade said that when companies become part of the REACH group, they immediately get access to a range of opportunities.
“We will help make strategic introductions as part of the extensive education and through the mentors as well,” he said.
“We’ve got a database of about 30 different education strands that are relevant to PropTech and we put them in a dashboard for members of the cohort, and even the people who have been through the program and that we still hold a share in, and they’re available to access anytime.”
He said this support can dramatically help businesses who are looking to work with peak bodies like the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, and also when they want to expand internationally, as REACH is well established across various locations, including North America.
Mr Schravemade said the group of mentors and industry professionals cohort members can draw on is also incredibly extensive.
“There are the three members of the team and behind that, a group of about 100 mentors, and they’re not hired,” he said.
“These are people who believe in the REACH program and they give their time on behalf of REACH to companies we select for the program in order to give them really bespoke and focused advice.”
REACH Australia’s three full-time members include Mr Schravemade, Director Ebonnie Schravemade and Tom Ellis who have all been involved in startups in their own right and had successful exits.
“Between the three of us, we have a very varied and extensive skillset and experience, in not just running a PropTech, but accelerating them forward,” he said.
Mr Schravemade said he specialises in marketing, revenue and strategy, while Ebonnie Schravemade is incredibly experienced in the area of systems, processes, efficiencies, remote onboarding and remote staffing.
While Tom Ellis is one of Australia’s foremost experts in the area of finance and funding.
Mr Schravemade said the REACH program also culminates in the REACH Genesis conference each year, which brings together the current cohort, members from previous years and a host of industry experts to discuss current issues and potential solutions.
“All these companies are at different phases of their growth and you will find that a lot of them will have the answers that some of the other ones don’t,” he said.
“As a result of that, sometimes mergers and acquisitions happen, sometimes exits can come out of that, where one company might find that you’re actually the technology solution that they’ve been looking for.”
The program is run by Second Century Ventures, the strategic investment arm of the National Association of Realtors®.
The 2024 program is scheduled to run from February 2024 through to October 2024 and includes a combination of virtual and in-person events. Applications will be accepted through until September 30, 2023.
For more information about REACH Australia & New Zealand, or to submit an application, click here.
