CEO of knock.com Tells Us Why His Company is Not an Ibuyer

As its founder and CEO Sean Black told Simon Baker during a session of last week’s Global Online Marketplaces Summit, knock.com seeks to be a one-stop-shop for Americans looking to release equity in their homes in order to move house. From purchasing, refurbishing and selling the old house to offering a mortgage on the new house, knock has already centralised the process of transacting for many and is a prime example of the burgeoning ‘convenience economy’.

As a founder of Trulia, Sean is well placed to give insight on the market, and in the half-hour video of his conversation with Simon there were plenty of talking points:

• Unlike the ibuyers, knock has been cashflow positive on a unit-economic basis “pretty much from day one”. Black said that knock’s model “makes more sense” than that of the ibuyers.

• The company has done several thousand transactions to date in its 6 markets and is looking to double both of those figures this year.

• He believes that the 6% agency commissions in the US is gumming up the market and wants to naturally reduce this figure to loosen the market up.

• 90% of all knock houses transact within 90 days.

The video of Sean’s talk at The Global Online Marketplaces Summit is live, along with those of all the other speakers, on our Youtube channel here. An interesting insight into a fascinating new type of business model.