KEDGE graduate Clément Pourtal's documentary wins...
At 20 years old, this Kedger is launching his own real estate start-up
He’s hasn’t officially graduated yet, but Sudre (KEDGE Bachelor 2018) is already an entrepreneur at 20 years old! Immo-pop is an online real estate agency that doesn’t take a commission.
Hello Théo! To begin with, tell us about your educational background. What training are you getting at KEDGE and what did you receive before you started at KEDGE?
Hi. My name is Théo Sudre, I’m 20 years old, and I’ve been passionate about business since I was very young. After my primary and secondary years at school (where I had experimented with a number of concepts - beginning with taking apart the central heating system at my school at age 4 or 5 (:, conducting business during recreation hour, and disabling the IT system of the school lunchroom (which I thought was outdated) ), I had to think about what direction I wanted to go post-high school. With a BAC in Sciences and Management Technologies (STMG), I was naturally drawn to business school, and I chose to get my bachelor’s degree at KEDGE.
The bachelor’s programme has been, for me, a chance to integrate the basics I previously learned into all the different areas needed to start a business (accounting, finance, marketing, law…). But the desire to move on to actually doing something had become ever-present (think omnipresent!) so I enrolled in KEDGE’s “Business Creation and New Venture Creation for Startups” programme in Marseille to learn to perfect the world of entrepreneurship. I had my first required internship in London so that I could improve my English and I threw myself into working on my project (during every period of down time). In fact, during my final year, KEDGE has agreed to let me (and I am very grateful) validate my degree by being an intern in my very own Startup: Immo-pop.
Buy or sell, without commission and without compromising
How did you manage to become an entrepreneur before you even completed your studies?
I’ve worked in different businesses ever since college, but it was tough, and I felt constrained by the lack of autonomy that was available to me. Whenever I became interested in a business, I analysed its history, its creation, its economic model, its evolution in the world, and what new technologies could be used to strengthen the business plan… . I basically put myself in the head of the CEO and I could only think of one thing: how to improve systems to save time - such as what changes could be made to save time and allow other sectors develop, or how to strengthen weak areas of the business. Of course, this is obviously an inappropriate role for a student who hasn’t even finished his studies.
You’ve probably realised that my experiences in businesses were made up of frustration and wanting to help. Unfortunately, watching a member of staff during work hours put me to sleep. Because of these professional experiences, I learned patience, English, and the certitude that I was made for entrepreneurship. That’s why I give 100% of myself when looking for ideas : what do people need, and what sectors have the potential to develop.
Above all, I want to have a serious business plan that provides new alternatives to the market, while offering users a rewarding and unique experience. Just as important, I am convinced that someone working for a company is not just exchanging his or her time for pay, but that he or she can be – by using the right management concepts - a driver of success for the company (I am passionate about horizontal management).
Some advice : always surround yourself with the best and don’t be afraid to approach someone who might be better than you are in your field!
Immo-pop offers 3 times the services than those provided by traditional real estate agencies - from 20€ to 1,890€ per sale.
Tell us about Immo-pop, your start-up.
It came about from an observation I had: the bad image of real estate agents, fees disproportionate to services rendered, a tight economic market, and the use of innovative concepts in various sectors (e.g., Foodtech, Fintech, Legaltech). But there was nothing in the real estate sector that could meet the challenges faced by its clients… here was something to create! And since I have been surrounded by in the real estate business since childhood (my father was a Notary and my mother worked for a title company), this field seemed to me both complex and exciting. But I had to know as much as possible! I spent entire days and weeks combing through websites from all over the world, scrutinising the different business models in use, and analysing the success of some businesses and the failure of others through the relevant news. An idea began to take shape: a hybrid real estate agency, which is a very recent model that has developed very quickly in other countries such as the USA, England, and Canada.
Once the idea was formed, the business plan written, some brainstorming on the part of my closest friends and family, and a little madness (ok, a LOT!), off to the bank → Application for student loan accepted -> 2 weeks later: signing with a lender, and the adventure of Immo-pop began! To launch this project, I also gave many presentations to raise additional funds. 50,000 € was raised through exciting meetings and inspired people wanting to be part of the adventure ... . Story of a hard sell: I presented my concept to estate agents... .OUCH!!!! To convince them that they would be able to get their returns with the aim of reworking each point was, of course, very difficult! Try explaining to someone with 15 years of experience that I, Theo, age 20, I was going to reinvent his job ... not easy, but very educational!
To sum it all up, Immo-Pop, is an online real estate agency that works without taking a commission. Our goal is to reinvent the real estate business by offering the best possible user experience while reducing the cost of the service by a factor of 20. We support our customers in the sale of their property by providing an estimate, taking photos, publishing adverts, providing administrative services, and negotiating offers – all without taking a percentage of the sale as a commission (which is generally between 4% and 10% of the sell price of property). Instead we charge a fixed fee of 1,890 €.
"With the economy getting tighter and tighter, it seems reasonable to use to us to offer a service at a fair price: a fixed fee regardless of the value or size of the property"
What are your goals as regards to future development?
The final version of Immo-Pop went active 3 weeks ago, and the activity has exceeded all our expectations. We are now in a period of strengthening our procedures and recruiting employees. Happily, this is going much quicker than expected. Two weeks ago, we began an equity crowdfunding campaign (Happy-Capital.com) that allows people to put their faith me and my passionate knowledge of the concept by investing as little as 120 €. To date, €34,000 has been raised by unknown investors, which has reinforced our confidence that the real estate market is ready to evolve. The campaign is scheduled to end in early July. An evening will be organised for this purpose, property sold every week, lots of phone calls, people giving us encouragement (except estate agents as we seem to embarrass them!), hiring, two trainees - who arrive in a few days, and we already have plans to add Toulouse to Immo-Pop in September 2018. In the longer term, we are planning to add six cities in 2019, starting with Paris, Montpellier, and some others.
Immo-pop provides more services than an agency, but WITHOUT taking a commission!
Discover an innovative approach to real estate: the new way to sell your property. It's simple, rapid, professional, and importantly, saves you money. We call it: THE POP ATTITIDUE
How did your time at KEDGE Business School help you become who you are today, and what did you learn that has helped you develop your project?
You've got to understand that, at the beginning, an entrepreneurship is a solitary venture, and the entrepreneur is usually on an emotional rollercoaster. It is not uncommon to be optimistic one day because you’ve had super good news, then to face a failure the next day. Or even have dead periods from time to time. Our ideas become unclear when we aren’t talking about them. For my part, I gave presentations to anyone who would listen, everywhere, all the time, just so I could talk (even though it’s hard to share an idea because you’re afraid it might be stolen!). But talking is by nature constructive, and it’s not easy to have a circle of entrepreneurial friends, or even a relative with knowledge in a specific field, with whom we can talk about our ideas and our attempts.
I’m planning to go through KEDGE’s incubator “Business Nursery”. For that I’m going to do my third year in Marseille, far away from my nest, but close to the sun! It will be such an incredible experience to learn as much as possible from professionals (often heads of companies or those who have experience in business creation), and to receive the encouragement and support of my professors. Right now, for example, I’m lucky to have some of my professors and other students who are now part of Immo-pop, such as my super accountant, who was a professor of mine in my first year.
If you have any advice to give to KEDGE students and alumni who would like to follow in your footsteps, what would it be ?
I often hear, “I have a great idea, but I can’t tell you about it”. Even though I was the same way when I first started because I was afraid someone would steal my idea, I quickly figured out that to be that way was, in reality, a big mistake. My advice to you would be the opposite and I’d say: “talk about it, get the opinions of others, and listen to all the criticism and advice that you get. Think about it, among 8 billion inhabitants, surely millions have had your same idea. You may be special, but the others are too!” Did you think that Airbnb was the first to introduce its service ? Wrong. Hundreds of other companies tried this service before.
When you go into business, when you become your own boss, you must consistently and continually bring products or services that your clients really need (or create the need). It’s how you become unique! I say, don’t go along with your head down. Too many businesses die because they invest time and money into creating a product that no one wants. These days it’s very easy to test your ideas at a low cost: with the aid of an MVP, hiring a networking pro, business incubators, group exchanges, etc. So, go out and talk about your idea, live with your idea, sleep with it as if it was the only dream possible, challenge yourself, analyse it (over and over), and if the feedback is positive, if you feel interest from your professors, the banks, your close family and friends … GO FOR IT!
Anything else to add, a message to leave ?
Don’t hesitate to contact us and speak to us about our raising of capital. Find out more about Immo-pop on our website. But especially, be our ambassadors, support us, vote for us, and send your family and friends to Immo-pop to sell their property… . Together we can redesign the real estate market of tomorrow.
Learn more:`
- https://www.happy-capital.com/projet/immo-pop/page
- https://www.immo-pop.com
- https://www.facebook.com/immopop1/
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