The future of proptech with Thomas Kutzman - Product Hunt Radio Recap

Podcast: Product Hunt Radio

Published: 2019-12-11

Duration: 43 min

Guests: Thomas Kutzman

Summary

Thomas Kutzman discusses the innovative approach of Preview, his real estate tech company, which focuses on saving homebuyers money by offering commission rebates. He also shares insights on bootstrapping, the co-CEO model, and transitioning from finance to entrepreneurship.

What Happened

Thomas Kutzman, co-CEO and co-founder of Preview, shares insights into how his company is revolutionizing the real estate market by offering significant savings to homebuyers. Preview provides a technological platform that rebates up to 2% of the purchase price back to buyers, significantly reducing costs like commissions and fees. On average, this approach has saved buyers $23,000 per transaction, a substantial amount for first-time homebuyers, particularly millennials.

Kutzman explains the rationale behind the co-CEO model he shares with his co-founder, Chase, highlighting how their different expertise areas complement each other and improve decision-making. He emphasizes the importance of mutual respect and the natural division of labor that comes from leveraging each other's strengths. Their partnership is rooted in a decade-long friendship and professional relationship in finance.

Discussing his transition from finance to tech entrepreneurship, Kutzman reveals the risks and motivations that drove him and Chase to leave lucrative finance careers. They saw a massive opportunity to disrupt an industry that had not significantly changed with technology, despite its enormous market size. This realization led them to pivot Preview to its current model two years ago.

He also touches on the challenges of entering the tech space without a technical background. Kutzman shares how they utilized outside consultants to build their MVP and learned the necessary skills to effectively communicate with technical teams. His commitment to learning new skills like Ruby on Rails underscores his proactive approach to overcoming initial hurdles.

On financing strategies, Kutzman advocates for bootstrapping as long as possible to build operational discipline and prove the concept. This approach helped Preview gather enough data and traction to attract venture capital successfully, despite not having a technical co-founder.

Kutzman also discusses the evolving landscape of venture capital, particularly in light of recent market shifts. He believes that operational discipline and a focus on unit economics will become increasingly important, moving away from the previous growth-at-all-costs mentality.

Finally, he offers product recommendations and insights into effective leadership, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and storytelling. His endorsement of Allbirds shoes and the Rent the Runway service highlights his interest in innovative consumer products that offer both utility and style.

Key Insights