Hey everyone! In today’s interview, I share the mic with Michael Monteiro, CEO and Co-Founder of Buildium, a property management software.
Tune in to hear Michael explain how Buildium serves as a solution for so many property management companies, how it took them 2 whole years to get their first 50 customers and how they now have 14,000 customers in over 40 countries!
Time-Stamped Show Notes:
- [00:42] Before we jump into today’s interview, please leave a review and rating and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast!
- [01:30] Michael majors in computer science, worked in tech, then got into real estate. His idea for Buildium came out of his experiences as a small-property landlord.
- [01:58] Buildium is a cloud software company whose software is aimed at small to mid-sized property management companies.
- [02:25] Buildium does everything from accounting to tracking tenants to generating lease agreements.
- [02:55] This is an improvement upon the system of using spreadsheets and quickbooks.
- [03:15] Larger management companies have had software like Buildium, but smaller companies didn’t have access or funds to use such software.
- [03:32] Most of their business is in the US, but they have 14,000 customers in over 40 countries.
- [04:07] Michael estimates they have close to 5% of the market.
- [04:54] Buildium is structured similarly to a cell-phone plan, in that the cost is dependent upon how many units you are managing.
- [05:03] They have a core plan and a pro plan.
- [05:25] They have add-ons that are integrated into the program, like payment tracking.
- [07:00] Michael and his co-founder started this business in 2004. At the time, online software was a newer concept.
- [07:30] It took them 2 years to get their first 50 customers.
- [08:08] Google AdWords helped them get the word out, besides using word-of-mouth.
- [09:04] They got better at marketing and grew their base.
- [09:30] As engineers, it was easier to create and work on Buildium, than deal with marketing.
- [10:46] When they had 500 customers, they were making a few hundred thousand dollars in revenue, they hired their first employees.
- [12:05] By 2012, they had competitors with similar software.
- [12:38] They didn’t raise capital at first, but did once they ran into competition from better-funded companies.
- [13:40] Michael concedes that if he could go back, he would invest more into marketing.
- [14:04] As engineers, he and his partner undervalued the marketing aspect of business.
- [14:55] Inbound marketing is a key factor in their success.
- [15:45] Currently, they are developing a lot of blog content has nothing to do with the software itself, but that is of interest to their customers.
- [17:07] Hiring is a big challenge.
- [17:35] Finding highly skilled workers is a bigger challenge than anticipated.
- [19:00] Nobody is looking at hiring like a customer acquisition problem, so there isn’t a lot of talk about how you hire and how your company puts its best face forward to potential employees.
- [19:54] Michael spends a lot of time in meetings, so it’s important for him to block off time just to have moments to process and think.
- [21:00] He has an assistant and doesn’t know how he functioned without one.
- [21:27] Two tools that Michael thinks have added value to his life are 1) Inbox for Gmail and 2) Stryd.
- [23:35] Michael recommends the books The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Radical Candor.
Resources From This Interview:
- Buildium
- Michael@buildium.com
- Michael on LinkedIn
- Inbox for Gmail
- Stryd
- Must-read book:
Leave Some Feedback:
- What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.
- Did you enjoy this episode? If so, leave a short review here
- Subscribe to Growth Everywhere on iTunes
- Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed
Connect With Eric Siu: