In today's Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, we are thrilled to introduce you to Zach Derhake. Zach's entrepreneurial journey is a testament to resilience and ingenuity, transforming a summer project with a friend into a groundbreaking marketplace for real estate buyers' agents. Perfect Broker stands out by offering à la carte buyers' agent services, empowering homebuyers to only pay for what they need, and revolutionizing the traditional commission structure in real estate.
Hi, Zach! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?
As of July 2024, I am working on a competitive online marketplace for finding buying agents, akin to Angie’s List but specifically for buying agents. Our core differentiator from other online realtor recommenders is that we provide à la carte buyers' agent services, allowing homebuyers to pay only for what they need. Homebuyers can visit our site, select the services they require from a menu of all services offered by a realtor, and then receive competitively priced flat-fee proposals from multiple agents.
With the rise of the internet, many homebuyers no longer need an agent to house hunt for them. However, buyers' agents are still receiving the standard one-size-fits-all commission, even though they are doing less work. The DOJ has been working to make commission structures more negotiable and has recently implemented several new rules.
At Perfect Broker, our ultimate goal is to build a marketplace where agents' prices are determined by the supply and demand equilibrium. This startup is important because affordable housing is one of the largest problems America faces. By reducing realtor costs associated with buying a home, we aim to help more Americans enjoy the benefits of homeownership.
Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.
During my freshman year summer, my friend asked if I wanted to sell slushy cups online. I said yes, and we dreamed of becoming slushy cup millionaires. Our plan was simple:
- Source product from China
- Launch a website
- Drive traffic from social media to the website and convert sales
- Make millions of dollars
- Live on a beach and drink smoothies while making passive income
Unfortunately, after three months, we got only one sale—from my grandma. We ended up shutting the website down, but this experience sparked an intense interest in entrepreneurship and business. Over time, I advanced to more sophisticated business models and realized how vast the ocean of business is. As I grew, I discarded my passive income Thailand idea and began to fall in love with the business itself. In the future, I want to create ventures that change the world for the better and help move society forward.
We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.
When I was building my last venture, Post Pitch, my coder quit because he had to go back to school. As a result, I had to shut down the software since I didn't know how to code. I couldn't believe that such a small event could devastate my business. This experience made me realize the importance of focusing on the fundamentals. If someone wants to build software companies, they need to know how to build software. If someone wants to go to Mars, it helps to know something about physics. My failure led me to commit to learning computer engineering. It may seem obvious, but my advice is to take the time to become an expert in your industry, as it significantly increases your chances of success.
What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?
Get anyone's attention by creating a pattern interrupt. Whether sending cold emails or writing sales copy, you can hook anyone by showing them something unexpected. For example, as a high school student, when I reached out to angel investors to pitch my idea, I used the subject line: "Startup by High Schooler." Investors don't see that every day, so it instantly stands out. My advice is to be unique when trying to sell, rather than imitating an established company.
Want to dive deeper into Zach's work? Check out the following links.
- Connect with Zach on LinkedIn Zach Derhake
- Go to Post Pitch's website post-pitch.com
- Go to Perfect Broker's Website perfectbroker.ai
