After pitching to a panel of renowned judges, South African property management startup PropCare has secured a R300 000 funding round from the investors on entrepreneurial reality show Dragons’ Den.
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PropCare is an app that provides a platform for property owners to find reliable, user-rated, locally-based property service providers. From garden maintenance to handymen, plumbers and electricians, people can easily find quotations and confirm bookings.
“I’ve been a real estate agent for over 10 years and I started PropCare because I saw that my customers struggled to find reliable service providers in their areas. They used to call me for referrals and I built up a database of trusted providers, which became the foundation of PropCare,” explains De Lange.
The app further promotes local small business based on the PopCare’s rating system. “We’ve found that it is extremely difficult for new businesses providing these services to get traction when entering the market,” De Lange says. “PropCare gives homeowners access to precisely the services they seek, and ranks reliable providers based on users’ service ratings — a win for everyone.”
These features, as well as De Lange’s drive to make it a success, caught the attention of industry expert and venture capitalist Vinny Lingham who recently sold online gift card service Gyft for over US$50-million.
The R300 000 investment will fund PropCare’s nationwide expansion, including building the mobile technology, marketing and hiring of resources. Apart from the cash injection, Lingham’s own software development teams will be building improvements and expansions into the application.
This is the startup’s first investment since it launched last year November which is undoubtedly a huge confidence boost for De Lange who says that PropCare is now set to take on the rest of South Africa and beyond as soon as possible.
Although De Lange tells Ventureburn that the reality hasn’t really sunken in yet, he says that “entrepreneurs shouldn’t really be intimidated by percentage stake investors take.” A tall order.
The partnership between Lingham and De Lange is highly complementary, as, says De Lange, “Vinny has taken my idea and experience in the real estate space, and has revealed all the possibilities that smart technology and his network and mentoring can make possible for PropCare. The growth in the product is inspiring.”
