Simeon Garratt - Man of Innovation and Creativity

Simeon Garratt

Man of Innovation and Creativity

Co-founder & CEO, Spark

Simeon Garratt launched Spark out of a mix of frustration and passion for the real estate sector. He ditched the idea of using pen and paper, excel spreadsheets to complete real estate deals. According to him, all these were time-consuming and frustrating. Thus, in order to ditch the age-old system, he founded Spark RE Technologies and since then he along with his team are constantly working hard in order to take Spark to a whole new level of success. His company, Spark, is transforming the way real estate is sold, managed, and marketed worldwide. Working with marketers and developers in more than 80 cities, Simeone's company has powered over thousands of projects globally. His goal is to fill the gap between technology and real estate by empowering millennials with data in order to make informed decisions.

As co-founder of Spark, Simeon has been responsible for landing some of Spark’s top real estate clients in North America. Years of living abroad in Asia and building his experience in the real estate industry fueled his ultimate vision — to transform and streamline how new development is managed and sold. With an extensive background in selling and marketing property, Simeon has been involved in the sales of over 1,000 homes internationally which helped bring Spark into more than 80 cities worldwide. Recently, Garratt has been nominated to President of the BC Real Estate Tech Association, where he looks forward to sharing his expertise and institutional knowledge of the fast-changing industry.

What was the inspiration and motivation behind finding Spark? And what are you hoping to accomplish through this platform?

My inspiration primarily came from a frustration with the lack of technology that I had access to in the real estate industry. Not only were there opportunities to improve the speed and efficiency of the market, but also to open the door to a better understanding of how and where to build based on data collection. Ultimately, our goal is to be the leading force behind more efficient and convenient home sales for developers around the world.

Why do you think we see so many big moves in the real estate space lately?

There are a lot of reasons why real estate has been on the move lately. In our space specifically, COVID has created an environment where people have the ability to live and work with much more flexibility. Places like Florida (one of our fastest-growing markets) have seen a huge influx of people, which has led to a large increase in real estate development and investment. That, coupled with extremely cheap money has created the perfect storm for a boom in real estate. What are your thoughts on Spark' s impact on the real estate tech vertical? And what are some ways that Spark is looking to evolve with technology?

Our goal has always been to make a real estate developer ' s life easier and more profitable. We focus on digitizing a transaction process that is traditionally paper-based and making it seamless, secure and faster for all parties involved. Our goal is to connect all aspects of the new development real estate transaction process, making it straightforward for both buyers and developers to manage projects across their entire portfolio – this includes mortgages, insurance and data.

How does being disruptive to the real estate industry present any difficulties or advantages for you as a company?

With any type of disruption, there is a learning curve and need for market education that cannot be overlooked. With Spark being one of the early leaders in this space, we have to focus a lot of our time and effort on creating ways for potential clients to see the future value of our technology, and all the applications it will bring with it for years to come.

A large advantage for us is that we are laying the foundation for the future of this industry, creating products that are purpose-built and specific to our exact target clients. As more people adopt our software (and other projects), those advantages will compound.

What is your special advice for our small businesses so they can thrive and survive in this challenging time?

I think that the only real advice I can give in this challenging time is to listen. Listen to your clients, your employees and your peers. Be open to change and seek to constantly be learning and developing better ways of doing the things you consider normal. Nobody can predict the future, but if you foster strong relationships, those will pay dividends when times get harder.