As the talk of technology swirls around our industry, I constantly get asked if OLR is a technology company or a real estate company. Given the years of experience that we have been serving the local residential community, now 23, I would say that we are masters of both domains. No one else serving or entering this community can state such a claim. Impressive, sure.
As a company we are 50 people strong. The top four people at the company have a combined 78 years of experience at OLR. Yes, I said 78. And over the last two decades, we have been fixated on a single mission: To build an all-purpose data platform to best serve the local market. That’s all we do.
We have helped build companies and have spanned the entire careers of many a friend and colleague. The same person that expressed doubt that we would “stay in business” back in 1995 has now retired after using the OLR platform his/her entire career. We get many a warm thank you. In sum we have beaten the odds.
To put our role in the market into perspective, I would say that eight out of ten firms in Manhattan use OLR in some capacity. Many more in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The Real Deal quotes our datasets year-after-year. Even our competitors have requested access to our data. Not happening. We have systems and algorithms well in place to intelligently analyse, dissect and deliver this data. I can listen to StreetEasy squak how their data is the best available but our loyal users know otherwise.
So now we have many more entities in this local space that was once occupied by just a few. National firms, Multiple MLS organizations, Publishing houses with their digital formats. Startups with venture capital money. And newbies that feel that they have the wherewithal to build a better mousetrap. Quite a mix. In essence, many want to join our space. We welcome the surge.
As the company founder, I have never had more confidence in the OLR Platform. We have never had a larger team of dedicated and talented professionals involved in the development, design and programming of our core products. There are another 20 who maintain and manage the flow of data into our platform each day. We have five-full time photographers/ videographers and a multi-person support desk. In sum, it takes a small village to keep our platform and our business model operating day-to-day.
We are not deterred by this new round of competition. We are emboldened. We continue to pour smart money, our money, into our product. We are greatly encouraged by the support and loyalty of our client base, never larger. We have seasoned personnel at every tier of our development team. And we are delivering. We have a fabulous phone app, exciting new page designs, a powerful deal transaction system, a greatly improved media uploader, real-time listing notifications and more pending changes in development.
So take a read of our first blog post. We’re sure that there is something here that will open your eyes on our capabilities and the current direction of the company.
Your friends at OLR,
Jonathan Greenspan
President and Founder
On-Line Residential
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