No matter where you go, you will always come back home. Buying a house is not only a financial investment, but it represents a sense of security and an emotional bond. For most people, it is a once in a lifetime investment.
Founded by Priya Maheshwari and Guruprasad Bangle, Properji provides buyers unbiased advice and fact based analysis on property related matters, so that they know where they’re investing and make an informed decision.
The Beginning
A University of Pennsylvania graduate, Priya moved to Bangalore from USA in 2012. The first thing on her mind was to buy a house. While on a house hunt, she realized how there was no reliable method to procure information on properties.
“There were brokers pushing to buy property but there was no objective way of comparing property or no unbiased information on any project in Bangalore.”
In 2013, Priya launched Properji with her co-founder, Guruprasad Bangle, to devise a solution. They started by providing researched recommendation on properties in Bangalore. In the second year, they launched a pro-buyer research analytic platform to further scale their analysis.
Priya self-funded Properji when she started in 2013. In the following year, she was able to raise angel funds for the project.
The major features of Properji are:
- Price Point Analysis to compare different properties and suggest the ripe time to buy property.
- Appreciation Analysis depicted the price trend of the property i.e. predict the appreciation in near future
- Location Analysis provided information on the planned infrastructural development and price trend in the surrounding area
- Builder Analysis would provide reliable history of the builder.
Apart from an objective analysis, Properji also provides scoring in terms of project, builder and location to help buyers make quick decisions. As Priya tells,
“Our entire focus was towards the buyer. We listed the projects after doing a background study on the project as well as the builder.”
A Woman in Real Estate
Priya had worked in Infrastructure Consulting when she was in USA, and though there were a good amount of females in the sector, the ratio was always biased. When she came to India, she realized that the ratio of male to female in the Real Estate sector was more skewed.
“I started it out of passion. When I jumped into it, I realized that there were very few females in this sector. I could count them on my fingers. When I started approaching investors, few of them were apprehensive. I won’t say all of them, but few of them. What was more challenging was approaching the builders. I wanted to understand the pain points of the customer. They were a little apprehensive in sharing information in the beginning but with persistence and constant follow up I got the work done.”
Priya appreciates how things have changed over the years. Compared to when she started, she feels that there are more women entrepreneurs and more opportunities and mediums for their talent to be recognized in present day.
The Aquisition
In November 2014, Properji was approached by Magicbricks to do a pilot. Till May 2015, Properji created 50 reports for MagicBricks to incorporate their model. After the successful pilot, MagicBricks proposed an acquisition which was welcomed by Properji.
“We have acquired Properji.com which does independent analysis of projects. This will help the consumer to make an informed property buying decision,” Magicbricks.com CEO Sudhir Pai had told while announcing the acquisition .
When asked about what she looks for in a person whom she wants to work with, Priya describes,
“I look at how progressive that person is and at his/her hunger to learn and move forward in life. We were a small team of 5 but what mattered was how a person would be able to solve a problem quickly, think from the customer’s point of view and his/her ability to produce good quality output with limited resources.”
In her words
Priya describes her experience with Properji as,
“From product development and hiring to sitting with the investors and builders, I have been a part of it from end to end. We’ve done everything from the scratch. It has given me exposure, matured me and made me proud. To be able to identify the product from the customer’s point of view and develop it, and have it valued is an achievement for me”
A mother of a 6 year old girl, Priya loves Yoga and spends her Friday evenings watching bollywood movies with her husband. To all young entrepreneurs, she sends a message:
“There are a lot of opportunities coming up. Be open to them and have a positive attitude in life. Even if some things don’t work out, give it another try. It will eventually work out.
Network with people. Don’t be shy or think about what others might think about you.”
Priya believes that there are both good and bad days, and sometimes a person may need support. And it is okay to ask for help. She found that support in her husband and daughter.
Heading the Research Division at Magicbricks now, Priya continues to innovate and work on creating a more customer friendly real estate platform at Magicbricks.
