Ten Questions with Kevin Speakman, Co-Founder and CEO at Nestopa

You'd be forgiven for not having heard of Nestopa.com, a newly launched property portal in Thailand.

A quick check on Similarweb.com will tell you that Nestopa received 13,000 visits in June 2023, compared to 3M for market leader DD Property.

But Nestopa co-founder and CEO Kevin Speakman doesn't mind. Indeed, he is already eyeing the number-one spot with his startup.

From subjects including tackling tech integration issues to the rejuvenated Thai property market, here are ten questions with Kevin Speakman. Enjoy!

Where did the idea for Nestopa come from?

In short, Nestopa’s creation came about through request, necessity and opportunity.

The portal market in Thailand has been pretty unstable since the pandemic—portals removing listing integration tech, limited stock, and lower leads for agents.

Property agents and developers in Thailand were regularly contacting me asking where they can go to market their listings to gain real customers. They also wanted an option that would gain them an ROI on their marketing investments.

Kevin Speakman, co-founder and CEO at Nestopa

I saw each of these as an opportunity and a good reason for a new portal to enter the market!

What problems does Nestopa solve?

Property portals in Thailand have historically struggled with low-quality listings, inadequate agent engagement, and a lack of tech integration between agencies and the portals themselves.

Nestopa addresses each of these three main problems.

Firstly, tech integration. We provide agents with XML and API integrations which let them keep their listings current on our platform. It saves the agents time and ensures our listings are up-to-date and accurate.

Secondly, listing quality. Our XML and API integrations have partly solved the problem of old listings not being removed from the portal. Meanwhile, we're working on rewarding agents who maintain high-quality listings with more exposure in search results.

Finally, agent engagement, which is critical to providing excellent customer service. We've made it easier for agents by letting them connect their own CRM with Nestopa for an optimized sales process and faster enquiry response times. Again, we will also incentivize agents who respond to enquiries promptly with more exposure for their listings.

What is Nestopa's USP, and who are your competitors?

Nestopa has no legacy tech or client contracts, so we are in a fortunate position that we can remain fluid whilst building a portal for the next generation.

One of our key differentiators is that we will offer marketing solutions to property developers looking to promote properties to a wider audience—this absolutely sets us apart from our competitors.

An internal USP for us is that our team consists of experienced professionals with real-world experience in the Thai property market, including individuals who have worked closely with top Thai developers and agencies nationwide. These close relationships will let us build our platform intelligently and in direct response to feedback coming from the industry.

Re: competition, DD Property (owned by PropertyGuru) and Dot Property (owned by Lifull) are both very good at what they do and we hope that one day soon we will be legitimately considered as their competition!

How will Nestopa make money?

Our focus right now is on building a great portal. Once we have met our listings targets and started generating our agents and developers a significant amount of leads, then we will consider our monetization strategy moving forward.

Your co-founder, Ben Neve, has worked with many similar companies via Net Ventures. What has he brought to Nestopa?

Ben brings a massive amount of knowledge, experience and understanding on how to both create a successful property portal and the potential challenges along the way.

He’s been successful in Thailand before and we can use his knowledge to do it even better with Nestopa. Without Ben, this wouldn’t have been possible.

Tell us about the real estate market in Thailand.

I've spent the last few months meeting agencies and developers around the country for one-on-one conversations about the industry—and I can confirm that the property market is really coming back to life!

In Phuket we're seeing a huge surge in foreign buyers—brokerages are reporting substantial transaction volumes. Russian buyers are at the forefront of this, with transactions higher than pre-covid levels, especially for villas. We're also seeing Chinese investors focus on commercial listings to meet the demand for Chinese tourism.

In Pattaya and Phuket, the rental market has a higher demand than supply. Agents don't have enough stock, they’re scavenging for listings that are in short supply. The spike in demand is due to a boost in tourist arrivals at the same time that 'cheaper' covid rental contracts are coming to an end. Landlords now have an opportunity to increase their rental prices and also be more selective over who they have as a tenant. 

One solution is for hopeful sellers to switch to the rental market to sell their property as an investment product than a residential one.

We met Nestopa for the first time at Property Portal Watch Bangkok in March. What can you tell us about the conference?

This was my second time at PPW—it really is a treasure trove of information, ideas and knowledge for anyone who wants to learn about the portal industry.

I do like to keep up to date on new technologies, innovations and movements in the industry—but it's always good to hear someone with a wealth of experience give weight to the ideas you have in your head; it's a conference full of 'light bulb' moments!

What are you currently working on?

Our main focus is on building out the tech stack whilst onboarding new agents. We're delighted to say that we're sending sales and rental enquiries from customers already!

We are really enjoying the process.

What are the short-, medium- and long-term visions for Nestopa?

In the short term, we have so much tech to build and so many agents to onboard with the overflow of response we’ve had from the market.   

In the medium term, we want to become an essential marketing tool for every property agent and developer in Thailand. 

In the long term, our ambition is to compete with the best and become the No.1 portal in Thailand.

How do you see the market evolving, and how will you stay ahead of the curve?

It's never easy to make predictions, there are so many unknowns. But we will continue to do what we're doing: build tech which keeps us ahead of the game, listen and learn from our customers, and provide buyers with a simple, intelligent and enjoyable experience while searching for their next home here in Thailand!

For more information about the Thai property market (and the portals that operate within it), check out our Visual Guide to Real Estate Portals in Thailand published in November 2022.