Chief Executive Roy Dekel believes one of the keys to success for his company, SetSchedule, an online real estate marketplace, has been its commitment to building connections.
“The vision of the company has been to use technology to connect communities of business” and ultimately forge stronger relationships between consumers and local real estate experts, Dekel told the Business Journal.
The Irvine-based software firm says it provides cutting edge technology to the real estate industry to help agents strengthen their pipeline and drive conversations with homebuyers.
SetSchedule uses AI and machine learning “to maximize efficiency for home shoppers and real estate agents,” it says.
The company’s software serves over 30,000 active members per month; it offers lead generation, contact management and communications tools through its existing mobile app.
Unique functions include the capability to host virtual home tours, and a machine learning bot that facilitates meetings between agents and home shoppers at the right time.
$17M Pace
The company says its software helped facilitate $2 billion in transactions since inception.
SetSchedule has frequently been recognized as a top employer and fast grower.
It’s been honored as a Forbes Best Startup Employer in 2021 and ranked No. 21 on Inc. 5000’s Fastest-Growing California Private Companies in 2020, among other accolades.
More growth’s in store; SetSchedule brought in about $10 million in revenue last year and is on pace for $17 million this year.
One more accolade for the company: SetSchedule ranks No. 13 on this year’s Business Journal list of Best Places to Work in Orange County, in the midsize employer category, which is for companies with between 50 and 249 U.S. employees.
The midsize employer designation is notable for the upstart software-as-a-service firm, which “prides itself on maintaining the startup mentality, no matter how big the company gets,” it says.
Drinking the Kool-Aid
When Dekel is asked why his employees, often called “SetSchedulians,” want to come to work, he cited two factors: “drinking the Kool-Aid,” and pay “by a wide margin.”
“While we can’t compete with the pay that Google offers, we have taken a modernized approach to transparency, team unity and benefits,” Dekel said.
The company has many leadership and team-building events throughout the year, such as surprise Nerf wars, video game tournaments and cookie decorating contests.
Last year, SetSchedule enhanced its benefits to include COVID-19 tests and a vaccine incentive program, on top of existing offerings such as a gym membership, personal training and wellness advisory services.
Though most area employees have returned to the office, the company continues to employ flexibility in terms of work schedules and time off for family events. As it reconsiders the future of benefits, the company is going to add a childcare program to support working parents, Dekel added.
Hyper-Focused App
The company, which employs 61 in the area and 179 overall, prioritizes “hyper-transparency and communication” in addition to growth opportunities and modernized benefits, Dekel said.
Employees use Slack to keep in touch across three continents and Dekel records a weekly TGIF video message, where he shares updates on various milestones on product, customers and capital raises.
It plans to take its mission a step further this summer, with the launch of a new social media platform that is “hyper-focused on creating an economical approach to networking and building teams,” he said.
Dekel describes the new product as a cross between LinkedIn and Facebook Marketplace, with functions for broadcasting questions and reducing spam, all with the aim to foster genuine engagement.
The company listed 50 open positions on its website at press time.
Military Training
The company, founded in 2015, likes to promote employees from within.
“All directors have been with the company for a minimum (one) year and up to five years, and they are pretty much all internal promotes,” Dekel said.
Dekel attributed this practice to his time in the Israeli Defense Forces, where members are required to go through basic training before becoming a commander.
“We know our best chance to grow is with people with collateral knowledge. We love following that path,” he said.
Dekel himself is the son of Romanian immigrants and served as an Israeli navy seal before he decided to move to the U.S.
He arrived in 2002 and got involved in real estate, where he oversaw hundreds of property trades a year. Eventually, he came up with the idea to create a tech-centric brokerage that simplified interactions.
Then Dekel and co-founder Udi Dorner realized “a tech-centric brokerage wouldn’t be as scalable as a technology company.”
“We thought the problems we faced could be better solved as a technology company that can set [professionals’] schedules and make interactions more predictable.”
