SOLO WITH SOHO: JONATHAN LUI ON FOLLOWING UP AIRTASKER WITH A ‘LINKEDIN FOR PROPERTY’ APP

A year on from stepping down as COO of Airtasker, the online job-posting platform he co-founded in 2012, Jonathan Lui has re-entered the startup game with Soho, which is being dubbed “LinkedIn for property”.

With Soho – a property discovery and management app launched in Australia and Singapore, this week, Lui said he is seeking to “create a more open and accessible network to service the burgeoning Australian and Singapore real estate markets”; however, he has plans to expand Soho into other real estate markets, commencing next year. According to a press release, Soho enables owners and agents to create and manage online property profiles, with the option of allowing potential buyers and renters to reach of for details via in-app messaging. Properties can also be advertised as For Sale/Auction or For Rent, albeit without advertising fees.

Lui spoke with Dynamic Business about his new startup, which he said he kick-started with a $1 million capital raise in May, as well as the lessons he learnt from running Airtasker with Tim Fung.

DB: What pain point(s) motivated you to launch Soho?

Lui: I had been on both sides of the real estate market (buying, selling) for the two years before my wife and I relocated from Sydney to Singapore.  After giving it serious thought, I realised that the ability to reach out and engage with properties was a key issue to marketplace liquidity in the property industry. Read more

James Harkness - Dynamic Business - 22 Sep 2017