25 Years of Innovation and Growth: 5 Lessons From REdirect’s Real Estate Technology Journey

REdirect is celebrating its 25th anniversary! This represents a major milestone that will make us the longest-running U.S.-based real estate technology consultancy.

My career at REdirect began 18 years ago when the firm was much smaller, with just a team of 4. Since then, I’ve been joined by some of the best and brightest minds in real estate technology and have enjoyed countless amazing opportunities to learn from our clients, staff, and partners. Looking back at the past 25 years of REdirect’s history, a handful of important lessons have contributed to our growth and success. Read on to learn about them, and perhaps they will benefit your business as well.

Lesson 1: The Importance of Providing a Great Client Experience 

REdirect has had the privilege to partner with thousands of real estate organizations over the last two and a half decades. We service a diverse clientele ranging from startup real estate investors to large global institutions and everything in between. Our clients’ investment in technology and support services varies widely. As such, we must tailor our approach specifically to each client’s needs. 

When you become a REdirect client, we consider your budget, resource availability, and current experience level. Setting expectations is critical, as many of our clients have not been through a technology implementation before and may not clearly understand their needs. This is why we start with a discovery process to identify business requirements, set goals, and ultimately provide a roadmap for the project with its scope, budget, and timelines clearly defined.

Once a project commences, ongoing communication is key. We commit to managing each project tightly and ensuring our clients feel comfortable communicating any concerns or issues they may have. Fairness and transparency are also paramount. We work hard and always strive to do our best for each client; however, we understand that we are not always perfect, and we will take full responsibility if we fail to meet client expectations in any way. We believe that the superior client experience we provide is why so many companies return to REdirect repeatedly as they progress with their real estate technology journeys. 

Lesson 2: Being a Great Partner 

We pride ourselves on partnering with the providers of leading, cutting-edge real estate technology solutions. Our partnerships have evolved over the last 25 years, from initially partnering with a single platform to the four major platforms and more than 20 curated PropTech solutions we work with today. 

We invest heavily in our partnerships with providers across the industry to ensure we are fully equipped to implement and support their solutions. Products and technologies evolve rapidly, and we prioritize continuing education to ensure the entire REdirect team remains up to speed on the latest developments. 

Being a good partner requires strong two-way communication. We work on hundreds of projects each year, giving us numerous opportunities to share our clients’ voices with our technology partners. This allows them to better understand what is working well, what needs improvement, and where there may be opportunities to innovate. Our long-term trusted partner relationships have led to several coveted industry awards, such as being named MRI’s Partner of the Year.

Lesson 3: Treating Our People Well 

Our team has grown significantly since three real estate industry veterans founded REdirect. Today, the REdirect team spans across 14 states and five countries. We are proud to have a diverse team of experts, including, former property managers, asset managers, controllers, and chief financial officers, with a passion for technology. We believe this combination of business and technical know-how, deep real estate industry experience, and extensive product knowledge drives our clients’ project success. 

One of our company’s most important values is teamwork. Every day, we share knowledge and collaborate to solve problems, innovate together, and improve our business and our clients’ projects. 

We understand that our people are our most valuable assets and that it is essential to invest in their development and foster strong working relationships. Each year, we bring our global team together for an annual summit focusing on learning and team building. This provides an opportunity to build connections, share best practices, and recognize and celebrate those who go above and beyond. We have also developed knowledge communities that focus on keeping up to speed with developments to the complex products we support. This knowledge is shared with the entire team during our frequent Innovation Hours led by our staff members and partners. 

Lesson 4: Continuous Innovation 

Working with REdirect offers our clients the best of both worlds: a mature, stable partner with the nimble and entrepreneurial traits of a startup. The PropTech space has exploded over the past decade, with many redundant solutions and some that have not yet matured to become market ready. We perform extensive due diligence and sift through the noise to provide our clients with a curated set of vetted, value-added solutions. 

Working with a diverse client base allows us to identify common needs and pain points across the industry. This offers opportunities for us to innovate and develop solutions that improve our clients’ businesses and boost their bottom lines over the long term. 

Over the past 25 years, we have launched various service offerings that provide tremendous value to our clients. These include the REdirect Assist managed help desk and support services, an automation practice leveraging Robotic Process Automation, our ESG Advisory services, and, most recently, our Power BI and Data Aggregation offerings. 

It is an honor to innovate and grow alongside our clients, who are hungry to leverage technology to improve their businesses. 

Lesson 5: Remaining Independent and Objective 

My final lesson is perhaps the most important and has the greatest impact on our client relationships. We have evaluated and worked with dozens of PropTech solutions over the years and are often offered financial incentives to recommend particular products or tools. Despite these potentially lucrative opportunities for our business, we have consistently declined them. This ensures we remain objective when recommending the best technologies and solutions to meet our clients’ needs.

Our priority is identifying, implementing, optimizing, and supporting the best technologies to meet clients’ business requirements and help them achieve their goals. We advocate on our clients’ behalf for product improvements and innovations, leveraging our strong relationships with the leading software solutions providers in the real estate space. These relationships, combined with 25 years of independent and objective experience, allow us to boost efficiencies, reduce risk, and improve overall operations for the clients who trust us with their businesses. 

What’s Next for REdirect?

As REdirect celebrates 25 years of success, the lessons learned throughout this journey reflect the core values and principles that have shaped our company. From delivering exceptional client experiences to fostering strong partnerships, treating our team as our most valuable asset, driving innovation, and maintaining unwavering objectivity, these principles are the foundation of REdirect’s growth and leadership in our industry. 

These lessons not only highlight the importance of adaptability and collaboration but also demonstrate the value of staying true to a mission that prioritizes clients, people, and progress. 

Looking ahead, REdirect remains committed to evolving with the dynamic PropTech landscape, staying on the leading edge of technological developments, and leveraging all the tools available to us while continuing to empower our clients to achieve their goals with confidence. 

Here’s to the next 25 years!