The Regina Leader Post
Where is the most advanced real estate software developed? Not in hot
real estate markets like Calgary or Vancouver. Not in high tech hotbeds
like Ottawa or Toronto. Each month, a Saskatoon-based technology
company signs up thousands of new customers to its real estate
software, constantly sending to new heights a monster client base that
today stands at 76,000 Realtors® from 77 countries around the world.
From their start in e-commerce software for the heavy equipment
industry, to their current rise in the real estate market, Point2
Technologies Inc. is becoming known as a leader in technology solutions
that enable buying and selling over the Internet.
Point2
started in 1996, when current CEO Wendell Willick, his brother Barry
and three friends saw an opportunity. The group knew the expanding
Internet was an ideal venue to enable buying and selling of used mining
equipment around the world. Steady positive growth enabled the company
to constantly improve its services and technology. In 2001, Point2
licensed its software to Caterpillar Inc. The agreement granted the
world’s largest heavy equipment manufacturer the rights to use Point2’s
technology to power its global used equipment dealer network. This
partnership facilitated the development of more innovative technology,
including techniques for compressing and storing data and pictures
required to describe the products for sale online.
In
2001, Point2 recognized an opportunity to apply its technology in the
real estate market. “People shopping for equipment online need pictures
and descriptions. We saw the parallels in real estate, a huge market
with substantial growth potential for our business,” explains Willick.
Point2 did their homework. They learned how buyers and sellers
interact, as well as the role of the broker and the agent. They tested
their products in the field and incorporated their lessons before
taking the product to market. The company created Point2 Agent, a
product supported by leading edge technology, but is extremely simple
to use — a winning combination.
Where
has this led? First, what started out in spare rooms in Ottawa and
Saskatoon has grown into an organization that employs over 80 people in
its Saskatoon headquarters, and a regional office based in Vancouver,
British Columbia. Each year, the company enables the management and
sale of several billion dollars worth of used equipment, through over
300 dealerships worldwide. Point2’s real estate software empowers tens
of thousands of Realtors® around the world every day with leading edge
tools to effectively market their services on the Internet.
Wendell
Willick is confident about the future of the company: “We’re working on
new projects all the time.” Most of the financing for development and
expansion has, to date, come from Point2’s existing revenue and
profits. To help fund growth, Point2’s management has also taken
advantage of technology development programs such as those offered by
the National Research Council Canada — Industrial Research Assistance
Program. Point2 involves all its staff members in its growth, with 15%
of the company owned by employees. With a bright future ahead, Point2
management’s vision and investments already seem to be paying off.