To build those services, Kuttemperoor says he'll need to turn to California's extensive venture capital network next year. But it's working on developing applications and other fee-based services, such as lead generation, that it can sell to Realtors. WikiRealty is building a base of Realtors who use the service for free. “They're a large and sophisticated group.”
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“They are the second-largest trade organization in the country after trial lawyers,” Kuttemperoor says. It also helped that WikiRealty signed a partnership deal with the California Association of Realtors, with 180,000 members. “I moved out here to be in the middle of all the action,” says Kuttemperoor. But young technology talent and venture capital is more plentiful in California. Kuttemperoor says the move isn't a knock on Florida. “Our goal is to drive traffic to Realtors,” Kuttemperoor says. WikiRealty doesn't disclose user numbers or other website traffic statistic, but if you type “Naples high rises that allow large dogs” or “Malibu foreign buyers” in the Google search engine, for example, WikiRealty's site pops up first. The company has created partnerships with major Realtor associations in big metropolitan areas like Miami and Chicago.
In addition to listing 1.3 million homes for sale, WikiRealty encourages content contributions by real estate professionals and others to boost the site's popularity on search engines like Google. WikiRealty and technology companies like it have become an integral part residential real estate as consumers seek information online. WikiRealty's move shows how Florida still has a ways to go before it becomes a hub for tech companies and the venture-capital investors who fund them. WikiRealty's founder and CEO, Sanjay Kuttemperoor, moved the company's headquarters from its birthplace in Naples to Santa Monica, Calif., last year. WikiRealty is exactly the kind of technology company Florida economic development officials seek out to help diversify the state's economy.īut despite high taxes, wildfires and traffic, California still beckons technology entrepreneurs.
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