Founders of Settlz, Andrew Falconer, Campbell Millar and Tommy Mitchell, spoke to us about the importance of the problem they are solving during the Geovation Scotland accelerator programme, in the latest edition of our meet the founder series.

Tell us about your startup – what problem are you solving and why does it matter? 

Buying or selling a house ranks alongside, births, deaths and marriages as the most stressful life event. Often it is the single biggest financial transaction that an individual will undertake. Despite this, the process in Scotland remains disconnected, confusing and archaic.  

It’s disappointing to think that there is greater transparency and control when buying a pair of socks on Amazon, than there is in securing your own home. But there is no need for it to be this way. At Settlz our AI technology takes a whole of transaction approach, giving clarity to every stakeholder. Removing the rote through automated negotiation so Solicitors can spend time on things that matter.  

Settlz provides connectivity, surety and confidence between estate agents, lenders and brokers. But most importantly, Settlz focuses on the buyer and seller, so that transactions are quicker, clearer and simpler. Buying and selling a house can be complex, things can and will go wrong, but it is inexcusable for the process to be the reason for the failure, and that is what we at Settlz are looking to address. 

Tell us more about the team at Settlz and their background? 

We are predominantly a technology team, with experience designing and delivering technology solutions across the globe, frequently in challenging settings, for some of the largest blue-chip clients, governments and international events. 

What inspired you to start this company? 

From our own personal experiences at various points in buying or selling our own homes, we were all aware that the mechanisms and processes weren’t great. However, the problem came into sharp focus for one of our directors, whose wife works in residential conveyancing, when she started to work more remotely.  

The number of times the same conversations were repeated with buyers and sellers to try and reassure or update them on issues / delays on the other side or the administration required to complete the deal. It became clear that the current market relies on what is an infrequent event for most people and as a painful experience endured and pushed from the mind once in your new home. 

What are Settlz’s goals during the Geovation Scotland accelerator programme? 

Our main goals from the Geovation Scotland accelerator programme are twofold. One, from a technology perspective, we want to complete our ‘Offers Management’ module as this provides the front end to allow us to technically complete the full transaction. Two, raise the investment to allow Go-To-Market. 

What’s been your proudest moment so far as a founder? 

Our proudest moment so far has been seeing our negotiation engine complete a first full contract completion between buyer and seller. 

Are you currently looking for partners, investors, or talent? How can people support you? 

We are looking for investors and talent to build out our leadership team, specifically additional sector experience (legal and estate agency) to broaden our networks and help develop our Go-To-Market and overall marketing of our proposition.  Find out more about Settlz and keep an eye on our website for updates.