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FairSqTeam - FST Flatmate matching : A start-up idea, free!


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FairSqTeam - FST Flatmate matching : A free start-up idea
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Start this business, and we will barter advertising here for shares in your start-up

 

(In an nutshell):
My concept would be a little different similar ideas that have failed (like: housematematch.co.uk, see below)

.

My site idea would aim to "assist and empower the Lead tenant", who would be seen as the main customer.

He/she would be provided with: legal agreements, and monitoring tools, but would also be monitored and rated himself/herself.
A rated and empowered Host could be seen as a better risk as tenant by landlords, since the landlords would know that the Lead Tenant whio signs a lease with them is supported by legal agreements and monitoring tools. Eventually, some smart LandLord's may say: I will only sign a lease with Lead Tenants who are using the FST website.

.

And the site might also accept ads from LL's who would acknowledge that they are willing to take rentals from empowered lead tenants (endorsed anf monitored on the FST website)

I reckon you have to Add real value, beyond mere matching, and change the game, if you are going to be successful in a competitive business like this

(If you want to add some Buzz and Pizzazz to the idea, use Ethereum smart contracts as part of the monitoring system)

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(Where did this idea come from? It was developed thru brainstorming on a Viber chat):

 

person #1: (this is me!)

Yes... do you want to hear my idea? I am happy to share it with you. since "I have other fish to fry"

It will take some careful developing, and some new ideas on how to resolve some of the obvious challenges it poses.

If I was 20-something , I might want to work on it. But I am far older now....

 

#2:

The suspense is killing me.

 

#1:
haha. You need to think like a landlord. I brought this up when talking to a friend with the 60+ units to rent out...

 

Question to him: What do you do with the people who want to share a flat?

Answer: I prefer to keep it simple, and have only one person on the lease

Q: Doesn't happen that somebody who cannot afford a unit on his own. and needs a flat mate to make it work financially?

A: Sure we do. And we have signed leases like that, we have one person sign the lease and yet we try to collect the names of all the people who will live there

Q: So, you may be happy if two (or 3) people get together and agree to share, and the strongest one signs the lease.

A: yeah, that's how we do it

My comment to him: I wonder if someone could start a business of helping to bring those people together and setting up proper sharing contracts and arrangements

There is some clever thinking and problem-solving that can and should be done on this:

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1. How to make good matches

2. how to sort out good contractual and sharing arrangements

3. How to get paid for it, and build a sustainable business

 

#2:

But people already rent out per room or per bed ("bedspace") right?

or most just post on a social network "looking for housemates"

there was a website before.. housematematch.co.uk

they went out of business.

now the site isn't even up anymore

Facebook page still up though:

HMM: https://web.facebook.com/housematematch/?_rdc=1&_rdr

ixvtjTTx_400x400.png

>Twitter: https://twitter.com/housematematch :

Tweets: 356 / Following: 1,850 / Followers: 250 / Likes: 47

House Mate Match is an online service exclusively for students that will help you find compatible housemates and compatible housing for University.

UK- hello@housematematch.co.uk / Joined June 2014

maybe (we) can learn where they went wrong

last activity 2014.

 

#1:

Sure, #2, but start-ups fail all the time.

You need to understand the challenges, and come up with some new solutions.

Workable solutions that have not been used effectively previously.

Like with AirBNB, there were some challenges which made people (like me)

think the business would not fly, but AirBNB came up with some NEW solutions that worked

 

#2:

Yup agreed so maybe part of your strategy should be to find out where predecessors have failed and why..

 

#1:

With AirBNB, the raw concept seemed unworkable to me, when I first heard about it:

Why let out your property for so little money, when a tenant might break or steal something?

 

But then AirBNB stepped forward with fresh solutions for those problems: 1/ they took money upfront through a credit card, 2/ they offered (cheap) insurance to the LL as part of their service; 3/ they used a rating system retained online (like Ali baba) to keep people honest -- Major problems solved,, they moved forward, and built a business

 

I think if people are creative, and know how to brainstorm well, they vcan anticipate the majority of the challenges ahead of time - and they should have solutions in mind before they start building a website, or marketing, or raising money

 

We could probably that right here and now with the flat share business idea and correctly anticipate 50-75% of the major challenges

 

#3:

Important to note that AirBnb exponentially grew when they started to take professional photos of the properties in their portfolio.

 

#1:

Good point - but they had solved the major practical challenges before then IMHO

BTW, the SuperHost branding concept is quite brilliant

A flat share business should be PROFITABLE for the lead tenant, who might be called the Hosting Tenant, (or something)

The payment and flat sharing history of tenants should ideally be performance-monitored in some fashion

 

#2:

Have an idea....

instead of the Head/Lead Tenant "making money"

open it up to agents or anyone that wants to spend the time arranging these house mate groups

booking hotels (airbnb) and booking a ride (uber) are repeatable actions that one does frequently so more inclined for one to learn a system...

A Lead Tenant probably will only do this once a year so he'll just be more inclined to put out ads on OLX than to learn and commit to a new platform.

 

#1:

My concept would be a little different. My site idea would aim to "assist and empower the Lead tenant", who would be seen as the main customer. He would be provided with: legal agreements, and monitoring tools, but would also be monitored and rated himself/herself.
A rated and empowered Host could be seen as a better risk as tenant by landlords,..

(Go to the original post, for the rest of this)

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(some web references to HMM, or Housemate Match-ing):

 

/ there seems to have been a similar service in Atlanta, GA - now defunct /

 

Can you help me find a roommate / do you still have Housemate Match?
Unfortunately, Housemate Match is no longer in operation. For security and confidentiality reasons, we do not maintain a list. We recommend that you speak to a community you trust, such as a synagogue/church or sports team. We stress that you be aware, careful and diligent in your search.

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> https://www.jfcsatl.org/faq

 

Housemate Match, sponsored by the MJCCA since its inception in 1984, is a unique and innovative nonsectarian program that links older adults who have extra room in their homes with compatible younger adults seeking safe and affordable shared living arrangements. The ultimate goal of the program is to allow older adults to remain living independently in their own homes for as long as possible. The “tenant” is most often a student or a professional person. All potential roommates are carefully screened before a match is completed.

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> http://www.thecrier.net/business/article_6ca35d53-6a02-5b21-8617-0acdc04f0af1.html

 

=== ===

 

I think they had trouble formulating a profitable and sustainable model

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THIS one is still alive

 

> https://www.roommates.com/

 

How popular is roommates.com?
Alexa Traffic Ranks
How is this site ranked relative to other sites?
Global Rank : #59,820
Rank in United States: #11,390
========================

 

Find Your Perfect Match

Roommates.com is a roommate finder and roommate search service which covers thousands of cities nationwide.

Currently, Roommates.com is the Web's most popular roommate matching service,

receiving over 50,000 visits and 1,000,000 page views per day.

Let us help you find the perfect roommate.

Become a member now...

Free Photo Profile
Free 2-way matching
Free Power Roommate Search
Free to contact potential roommates

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  • 2 weeks later...

(From a Viber chat)

AG:

I remembered the idea you mentioned once, thought it was promising.

Then I stumbled into bedly.com on Google.

 

BEDLY = Housing Simplified
Your first and last stop for shared housing
To make housing simple and delightful

We are driven to make housing as simple and as seamless as possible while providing a tremendous customer experience.

The current process for discovering and living in housing is extremely frustrating. From the various low-trust platforms, to the poor customer experience, to being locked into long term stays.

Bedly is the vehicle that enables us to deliver a seamless and delightful end-to-end housing experience.

We will be relentlessly focused on making housing as seamless as possible and deliver an amazing customer experience to as many people as possible because that's the future we all want to live in.

==
They seem to be active in: Boston and New York
(Response):
Re: Bedly
One strategy in a start-up, might be to initiate a website and a business in PH - using sweat equity, and F&F finance,
get it going, with a viable strategy and functional website, and then SELL OUT to a foreign buyer such as Bedly,
who may have an easier time raising finance beyond the Friends and Family stage
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