Marcus Richards
The Mission – Letting Cloud is dedicated to changing the way people search and let property.
The Vision – Letting Cloud is a trustworthy and transparent platform, where our people do amazing things that bring about positive behaviours and lasting change.
We aim to bring everyone in the letting industry together under one community cloud, to give everyone a better experience and match property and people with purpose in a modern way.
Tell us about yourself?
Welcome to Letting Cloud. My name is Grant and I am the Founder and CEO. I have been involved with property for many years. It all began with my own letting agency back in 2009.
I started the business after receiving poor customer service from the various letting agents I used for my own properties. Within three years my agency was an established brand and it was up there with some of the oldest and well known Edinburgh agencies.
I achieved this by being open 7 days a week from 8am until 11pm and carrying out viewings from 8am- 9pm. This unique selling point attracted other agencies to look at their own business models and some followed suit. I successfully built a large portfolio of properties and loyal landlords which lead me to successfully sell the business in 2015 to allow me to focus on other exciting business pursuits.
Property portals are a chance for your business and property inventory to be noticed. This also allows you to secure new business and good occupancy rates for your clients.
Having dealt with portals who just didn’t understand that agencies need a pro active service and need to move with the developing industry, Letting Cloud was born.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Start Letting Cloud sooner! I wasted a year or so wondering if the time was right, researching the market and wondering how do i start a tech company with no tech experience. I also wasted a good while during that year of 2018 trying to find a CTO to join me as that’s what people were telling me needed to happen.
What problem does your business solve?
The way people search, use technology and see rental properties has changed since the old days. Letting Cloud provides a turnkey operation that will enhance the rental experience for all parties.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
As an ex Letting Agent i know the man power, hassle and compliance that goes on for one property. Imagine you manage hundreds or even thousands, Letting Cloud is inspired to change that and save the end user time and money.
What is your magic sauce?
Secret Sauce ! That is why its a secret. We are a brand going places while the others stand still.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
Our aim is to grow as fast as we currently have and take more market share. Our agents love what we do so far and that shows with the numbers signed up and paying.
Our aim for year five is to be launched in every part of the United Kingdom and to start venturing into EU, States and other countries. We have already started to test the waters in the EU so we are going faster than expected.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
Technology support for start ups is pretty poor, as a non tech person trying to navigate my way through these waters was challenging as i didn’t speak the dialect, knew nothing about code or what platforms to build on and also not knowing if someone was a CTO or just chancing their luck.
So putting myself in vulnerable positions of networking, going to old faces to get introductions to people and just being me and connecting with people on linkedin and asking to meet them for a coffee in return for some advise. It worked and i now have one of the strongest advisory boards around for a start up.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
We are a community, not just a property portal. We speak with our clients weekly, we have a friendly website that allows users to speak with agents direct, arrange viewings at each others convenience and we chare fair fee’s unlike others.
People want to run a business in the easiest way possible in a modern way and to save money where they can with more to offer. Our agents love our approach and presence and our socials reflect that.
