OpenAgent

About OpenAgent

OpenAgent operates as an online real estate agent comparison platform in Australia, designed to simplify the process of selling a property for homeowners.

The company was founded in 2012 by Zoe Pointon and Marta Higuera, who both previously worked as consultants at McKinsey & Company. Their firsthand experiences with the varying quality of real estate agents motivated the creation of the platform. Pointon, who serves as Co-CEO, holds a degree in Business and Commerce from the University of Queensland and had founded several small businesses prior to OpenAgent. Higuera, who is the Board Chair, has over 15 years of business management and start-up experience, including learnings from Stanford. The platform officially launched in 2013, securing its first funding round of $400,000 the same year. Subsequent funding rounds include $1 million in 2014, $6 million in 2015, and a $12 million Series B round in 2016, bringing total funding to over $20 million from investors like Reinventure, Hollard Investments, and Pete Flint, the founder of US real estate portal Trulia.

OpenAgent's business model is centered on lead generation for real estate agents. The service is free for property sellers. The company generates revenue by charging a referral fee, typically 20% of the agent's commission, only after a referred property is successfully sold. Some reports indicate this fee can range from 20-30%. For agents seeking to increase their visibility, the company also offers a subscription-based sponsorship product called Agent Accelerate, which features their profiles in specific suburbs for a monthly fee.

The core service is an agent comparison and matching platform. It assists property sellers by providing data-driven recommendations for real estate agents. The platform analyzes extensive data, including over two million sales transactions and thousands of customer reviews, to rank and compare more than 30,000 agents across Australia. Clients are asked specific questions about their property and personal preferences to create a shortlist of two to three suitable agents. This matching process combines sophisticated data analysis with a human element, as a 60-strong Australian-based team also qualifies vendors and provides support. This pre-qualification of sellers provides agents with high-quality, vetted leads who are often ready to go to market.