27.08.2022
My father called me on my Erickson T10 and asked, “Do you know how to use this computer number thing?” (a fair description of Excel by a man who even now refuses to have a cell phone). It was 1998, I had just joined the army, and my knowledge of computers was limited to some classes I took in high school in 1995 (C programming).
My answer was: “Not really.”
“Learn fast,” he said. “I met a young guy in a bank. He pressed some buttons on his computer, and a bunch of numbers appeared.
I asked for advice from a friend who had rewired his car’s audio system using equipment far more expensive than what he drove (he has since switched to a robotic arm to plant lettuce on his porch).
“Buy a book and study for yourself,” he said.
Learning Excel from a book while on guard duty ran into a small problem when I entered university two years later: there was nothing in the book about turning on the computer. This caused some frustration on the very first day after buying my first laptop. After that, everything became easier.
I signed up for a computer programming course offered by the university’s IT department and started experimenting with some financial modeling software that we could download for free.
Dial-up Internet access became available in our dorms, and by the end of my bachelor’s degree, you could even listen to a song if you had the patience to download it from Napster.
It’s me, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs who have taken over the world.
Data collection
Fast forward 20 years: WiRE now collects granular real estate data across Europe, aiming to become the infrastructure upon which others build and deliver financial products and services.
I am constantly amazed at the level of digitalization and knowledge available: statistics from various government departments showing construction costs, unemployment and car registrations.
Raw satellite data shows how fires develop in real time, and analytics show the concentration of people by displaying their phone activity.
The WiRE plan is based on a simple premise: products and services must be tailored to each property, and the customer must not engage in customization on behalf of the seller or supplier.
Think about how you buy clothes in the real world and not online.
In the real world, you go to the mall, visit two or three of your favorite stores, try on clothes in the size and color you want, choose the one you like, and pay.
In the meantime, you need to find a parking lot, go shopping, wait in the locker rooms and (fakely) smile at a bored (teenager) salesperson.
On the Internet, you sit on the couch (to be a good parent, watch Cartoon Network with your kids), go to a clothing aggregator, select the right clothes, size and color, choose what you like, pay, and wait for it to arrive.
You have used some search parameters to narrow down the list of products and the selection has been made just for you.
Similarly, if a real estate product or service provider knows the characteristics of the property you are looking for, they can offer you relevant products and services for that property, already assessed for that location and level of risk.
Soon we will be able to open up a whole new world of real estate transactions.
Pavlos Loizou, WIRE CEO
