MyHome.ie, the property and home portal, was founded in 2000. It had seven employees in year one, rising to 14 this year.
Customers: MyHome.ie's customers are 450 estate agents nationwide with over 550 offices. It has another 500 clients in the home services, indoors, gardens and outdoors area. The site has a user-base in excess of 150,000 people per month, generating over 12 million page-views. It is designed as a one-stop-shop for residential property and related services and is also developing an online mortgage and financial services portal.
Achievement: The attainment of a leading position in the Web-based advertising of residential property. Fundamental to this has been the establishment of MyHome.ie as a well-known consumer brand.
How did the business idea first come about? The business originated when Jim Miley - together with the three founding shareholders (Sherry FitzGerald, Douglas Newman Good and Gunne Residential Estate Agents) - recognised the need for the establishment of a one-stop-shop for online residential property information and advertisements.
What were your immediate next steps to make it happen? The founding shareholders put up the initial seed capital of £1 million in 2000. This was followed by a £1.8 million investment from AIB for a 23 per cent stake in the business.The website was designed and built.
How did the company identify its first customers to target? The business model is based on a joint strategy of securing residential property listings from a network of leading estate agents while promoting via the mass media the site to home buyers and home sellers.
What sales practices work best, in your experience? Hand-to-hand combat is the most important approach. For the start-up business, the sales strategy will only have credibility if the product is seen to be top quality and the marketing strategy supports it.
What key piece of advice would you give to a start-up entrepreneur? "Don't be selfish - it is very difficult to make it alone! The MyHome.ie experience is proof positive that partnership, even involving competitors, can be and is a fundamental ingredient to a start-up success.
