GetAgent uses property sales data – from the likes of Rightmove and Zoopla – to help homeowners choose the right estate agent who can boost the re-sale value of their property.

Colby Short, 28, set up this free comparison site to solve the issue of dealing with estate agents by making their performance record more transparent to homeowners.

More About How GetAgent Works

GetAgent analyses Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket and matches that information with Land Registry data to create an objective measure of estate agent performance.

Homeowners are shown a list of the 6 best agents for their home, alongside information such as average time of sale and percentage of asking price achieved.

They can then take advantage of special rates offered to GetAgent customers to get the best agent for them at a great price.

How you started your venture

As a team, we recognized that there was a major problem with estate agents. There were so many of them and they all seemed the same.

Looking at data about who was selling the most property and how well they sold it, we realized that they were definitely not the same. But homeowners had no way of identifying who were the good agents and who were just out to make a quick buck.

Your reasons for running your own business

I have always loved meritocracy. Having worked in a sales role from a young age I loved the opportunity to earn the amount my performance deserved. There is nothing as meritocratic as running your own business and that is something I’ve been fortunate enough to do for some years now. 

I also love the variation of the role. No two days are the same and you are frequently making decisions that won’t impact just your own life but also impact on all your clients and staff. The pressure is a lot of fun – most of the time.

Future plans for your business

We have huge ambitions for GetAgent. Last year there were 1.1 million residential property transactions. We know from our research that most homeowners would have appointed an estate agent to sell their largest financial asset based on an unreliable referral or a bit of a guess. This is not good enough.

The moving process itself is also very convoluted and there is a further opportunity to simplify this off the back of GetAgent’s success as a comparison site. 

We can’t wait to help homeowners make a better choice for themselves and their families and build a billion pound company in the process.

Share your Start-up story with us – Email editorial@iamnewgeneration.co.uk