The Beginning
This Start Up has come a long way since 2014, the year Tanuj Shori and Kanika Gupta Shori laid the foundation to Square Yards. It started like this, the couple staying in HongKong wanted to buy some property in India. But they could not access authentic information about the opportunities that real estate would offer. Being an NRI themselves, the couple could not procure any kind of reliable information on the real estate and they wanted to make life simple for other NRI investors. With Tanuj being an investment banker and Kanika, an IIM alumni, data crunching and market study of some large cities were the tools they invested in. The outcome was presented to some NRIs who had a thirst for investing in India and it hit on very well. A success story called Square Yards was just born.
The Inside Story
With no venture capital to serve as a backbone, every penny that was invested came from the couple’s own assets like their own ancestral house, jewellery etc. Now the company’s fact sheet looks very different with more than 3000 employees and an annual revenue of 45 million dollars. The journey has not been very easy as it is with all start-ups. But the reason behind their success has been that they inducted people, technology and the right culture to woo the customer and serve delight on a platter.
Square Yards has made the use of indigenous technology for its operation at every level. Mobile apps are there for buyers, the brokers and also a customised CRM /ERP package that support the entire value chain in the real estate business. The level of customer satisfaction is so high that the repeat business is 17%. The technological tool used is called Edge and other real estate companies are opting for this module to streamline their processes.
Where it stands now
Square Yards is now present in 40 cities and 10 countries. There are 25000 plus channel partners and 500 plus developer partners. A total number of 95 and more banks and NBFCs serve as partners. The portfolio has a wide range and includes Square Connect, Square Capital and Square Marketing Technologies. The lending as well as mortgage platform of the company is called Square Capital. Square Connect is a unique platform for brokers which allows access to inventory pertaining to real estate at one’s fingertips. Square Martech is a marketing agency which provides a digital technological solution which is all encompassing.
The Journey Ahead
The start-up has already reached a breakeven point. In fact which company would not when it is doing 800 million dollars’ worth of transactions, annually. If we look at the mortgage angle, Square Capital disbursed home loans over 1 billion dollars. This has scaled up the start up to the upper strata of the industry segment. Dubai has been the jewel in the crown in the international markets. This company has the zest to be a part of the unicorn club with its worth of billion dollars.
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Square Yards is a technology-enabled, global real estate aggregator and India’s largest player for primary residential real estate. It’s subsidiary Square Capital is one of the largest marketplace for secured mortgages in India. Square Yards platform offers an integrated consumer experience & covers the full real-estate journey from search, discovery to research, transactions, home loans and post-sales service – fully integrating buyers to an extensive network of 500+ partner real estate developers, and 90+ banks & NBFCs. Square Yards is led by accomplished professionals, ex-bankers, and Ivy school alumni and is backed by the competence of more than 2500 employees in 30 cities and ten countries.