Ten Questions With Farah Falconi, Founder & CEO of DoorInsider

The question of whether portals or agents should be the ones to push new immersive listings technology is one we've asked many times. What if the answer is for the portals to offer agents a full listings service that includes all the equipment and technology to enhance listings as well as the exposure to its audience.

That's essentially what's being offered by a new real estate portal, DoorInsider. We spoke to CEO and Founder Farah Falconi to find out more...

Falconi, Founder & CEO of DoorInsider

What is the problem that DoorInsider solves?

DoorInsider focuses on real estate experience. We believe that real estate portals are no longer just about bringing audiences but must also support agents to perform in a highly competitive environment. DoorInsider is the first real estate tech marketplace offering agents a unified marketing solution in order to increase attractivity and speed up transactions. We combine visual production and media. 

What makes DoorInsider different from a regular real estate portal?

DoorInsider disrupts the traditional real estate platform model by producing content to build an attractive platform. We offer easier access to Matterport technology and connect agents to take over the creative part. We produce professional pictures and editing, guided virtual tours, floor plans and home staging 3D. Since content is also about UX, our platform ensures optimized experience and offers new functionalities such as online booking, etc. to generate leads. 

Which countries does DoorInsider operate in?

We work with agents in France, Spain, Morocco, Cyprus and Dubai. DoorInsider offers an agent-focused solution. We, therefore, don’t have any geographic limit even if we focus on certain markets. We make it global. 

What is DoorInsider’s biggest challenge?

Being a new player in the real estate portal industry is a big challenge and certainly a long-term proposition. However, we believe DoorInsider can have a significant impact as we provide agents with valuable services to get more business, a cost-effective solution and a comprehensive user experience on our marketplace. 

You founded the company in 2020. Did the pandemic affect your plans or did you start the company in response to the changes that the pandemic brought?

I have run my agency for 3 years to build the platform based on feedback from sellers, buyers and agents. I closed the agency in December 2019 to make it ready and proper to welcome agents. I had decided the launch date would be on 17th March 2020. It is both my mother's and my mother in law’s birthday. It was the first day of the first lockdown in France! A strange coincidence and we found our first clients immediately.

What is one thing our readers might not know about but would probably find interesting about 3d listings technology?

At DoorInsider, we say that if you’re not able to measure the performance of a technology, don't use it. It’s all about UX. That’s why we share comprehensive data with our agents.

If a buyer has to click 3 times to reach the virtual tour from any listing, the impact is reduced and it is likely that the buyer will not watch it. If you don’t measure time spent on a listing page, you lose important data. UX design must complement products to generate great effect and feed the commercial strategy of the agent.

What is DoorInsider currently working on?

DoorInsider is constantly developing new products and functionalities. The latest release was about watermarks’ automation and adding currencies. We have projects based on AI, video production, etc. Our 360° approach opens large possibilities! 

What is the most common request from clients?

Agents want to secure more exclusive mandates and get stronger visibility as well as limiting costs and time! In an industry where content is king and is expensive, we work at killing extra costs of visual marketing, bringing operational support and generating leads in order to create a world-class customer experience.

Which other portals and Proptech companies do you look out for in the industry news?

We have a global view of the proptech sector and real estate market. The culture of an industry cannot be limited to France or the EU. US and APAC regions have been driving innovation in proptech for a long time now whereas the appetite for the proptech sector is pretty new in the EU. 

How do you see the market evolving and what will you be doing to be ahead of the curve?

Since users expect real estate portals to bring detailed information on properties, the next generation of platforms will refocus on their primary role, i.e. a medium providing comprehensive information about properties.

Like Netflix in the entertainment industry, real estate portals will have to play an active role in content production, strengthen their identity and populate new functionalities. Actors having the willingness to assist real estate transformation, and populate new schemes and usages must embrace the whole process and work actively with real estate agents. We believe that hybrid platforms will be the future of real estate. DoorInsider is ready for just that!