Take Your Place: Cazamio Founding COO Shares Insights On Apps
Bracha Halperin, COO of Cazamia, offers insights on app startups.
Five years after Canadian native Bracha Halperin launched her own business consultancy firm in 2013, she began working with a team on the notion that there had to be a better way to rent out apartments. Together they worked on what became Cazamio.
As founding chief operating officer, Halperin says, “It is the merging of two dynamic industries of real estate and technology.”
With the app, customers can browse rental listings, access self-guided tours and rent, all on a smartphone. It’s an apt. app.
“Whether you’re a college student or a retiree, there are many advantages to renting a home rather than purchasing one, and in recent years the United States rental market has seen an increase in demand for apartment and house rentals. In 2016, about 27 percent of Americans rented their home. Although renting is seen as an affordable alternative to purchasing a home, renting in major cities has become increasingly expensive, and finding a suitable rental has become a major challenge for many people living and working in major cities,” according to Statista.
“Millennials and GenZers are renting more than previous generations,” she says.
According to Statista, 50 percent of renters in the U.S. are under 30, with 23 percent ages 30-44, and 19 percent ages 45-64. Just eight percent are 65 and older.
““#Millennials and GenZers are #renting more than previous generations,” @brachahalperin says. According to @StatistaCharts, 50 percent of U.S. renters are under 30.”
“We are a cutting edge smart phone platform to optimize the apartment rental process for tenants and landlords with flexibility, convenience and control,” says Halperin, who writes a weekly STEM-focused column for the Jewish Press.
“I’m a big believer in doing what scares you every day,” says Halperin.
““I’m a big believer in doing what scares you every day,” says @Brachahalperin. #WiseWords ”
Cazamio will be in New York first, then expand to other cities, Halperin says.
As a C-suite female in tech, Halperin is in a challenging place.
“In 2017, startups with at least one woman founder received just 16 percent of the more than $80 billion invested in U.S. venture-backed companies, according to PitchBook. Startups with all women founders scored a measly 2.5 percent. Inside venture firms, just 9 percent of general partners are women,” writes Leigh Buchanan in Inc.
Buchanana writes, “However, first financings—which represent new companies entering the venture-backed pipeline—rose to 21 percent for women-founded startups in 2017, from 7 percent in 2005, according to a new study from the nonpartisan Center for American Entrepreneurship, which drew largely on PitchBook data. The large recent uptick for women-founded startups occurred at a time when younger tech firms are hiring more women—a potential on-ramp for entrepreneurship, says Ian Hathaway, research director at the Center and author of the study.”
City Lab reports on the same study, “And the low level of VC investment in women-founded startups is especially disconcerting because, unsurprisingly, women-founded startups perform as well as non-women-founded startups. The share of women-founded startups that go on to raise additional rounds of capital—a key marker of success—is similar to those of non-women-founded companies.”
City Lab reports, “Startups with a woman founder had a slightly higher rate of raising a third round of funding after five years than startups without a woman founder: 37 percent versus 36 percent over the study period.”
Halperin offers advice in her column in Jewish Press to entrepreneurs who are developing apps.
“@Brachahalperin offers #advice in her column in Jewish Press to #entrepreneurs who are developing apps. #Entrepreneurship #FemaleLeaders”
She writes: “Be very clear on your requirements. Every time you change your requirements, you change the time frame. So be clear about your non-negotiables from the onset.”
Halperin advises, “Be as involved as possible. Being involved means providing the development company with the information it needs, such as completed designs, as soon as it asks for it. It’s also best if you can get invited to its communication platforms. Every development company uses a series of tools to communicate, such as Jira or Azure for task management, InVision for design, and Slack or even Skype for internal communications.”
Finally, Halperin says, “Schedule periodic demos. Scheduling periodic demos with the development team gives you the opportunity to understand exactly how your product is doing, ask questions, and, when necessary, voice your concerns. It also puts pressure on the project manager and the development team to show progress by fixed deadlines.”
While that advice is specific to app startup founders, her advice to entrepreneurs looking to launch an idea into a startup in any field is wise.
“While that #advice is specific to #AppStartup founders, her advice to #entrepreneurs looking to launch an idea into a startup in any field is wise. “Don’t look at all the reasons it can’t be done,” says Halperin.”
“Don’t look at all the reasons it can’t be done,” says Halperin. “Get a viable business plan and a reliable partner, create a pitch deck with all the numbers and listen to other ideas to create a better product.”
“@Brachahalperin says, “Get a viable business plan and a reliable partner, create a pitch deck with all the numbers and listen to other ideas to create a better product.” #Advice #StartUp”
