Bōde helps Canadians save tens of thousands

Welcome to this week's Sunday Briefing. In this issue, read about a more modern—and cheaper—approach to buying and selling property, plus 10 other stories you may have missed. Have a great day. We'll see you again on Wednesday.

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🗳️ Question of the Week

Bōde helps Canadians save tens of thousands

If you’re one of the lucky folks that has bought or sold property in Calgary (or elsewhere), but felt distinctly unlucky throughout the expensive and time-consuming process, then this company may be of interest to you.

Calgary’s Bōde provides an online platform for buying and selling property designed to offer a better experience for less money than traditional methods. Sellers go to the platform, click start listing, answer a few questions, and about 10 minutes later, their house is ready to list following professional photos and measurements of their home.

Bōde is, in part, the product of its founder’s own frustrations with the real estate process. In 2017, co-founder Robert Price was buying and selling property. Fed up with what felt like an outdated system, Price, alongside fellow co-founders Jeff Jackson, Lindsay Skabar and Alan Kelly, launched Bōde.

According to Bōde, 96% of buyers begin the process online, only to find that they need someone to open doors who is then paid half of the commission on the original cheque, while representing themselves as free.

“Homeowners are filing class action lawsuits across Canada and the USA demanding change to the transparency, cost and integrity of residential real estate transactions at a time where inflation and home affordability are reaching critical levels,” said Price. “Our company was founded on solving these fundamental pain points. Our customers love the control, ease and value maximization of selling on the Bōde platform. In the end, their elation is our north star.”

Bōde says that its model saves Canadians tens of thousands of dollars in commissions, explaining that 90% of home sale expenses come from traditional sales methods.

Bōde gives clients access to the data they need to make informed decisions and have recently released a real estate-focused generative AI, providing 24/7 support to users of the Bōde platform.

The company recently received a $1 million investment from Thin Air Labs in their first venture funded round. The round was syndicated by BDC, Pioneera Ventures and Scalegood Fund with several follow-on family and private investors.

🤝 Funding, Deals, and Partnerships

• TELUS investing $16 billion in Alberta through 2028 to support growth, innovation and sustainability. Investment to help build world-leading ORAN network and support positive economic, health and social outcomes for Albertans. Telus

• Calgary investing $800M for construction work. City of Calgary is investing more than $800 million in parks, streets, public transit and city recreation and operational facilities during the 2024 construction season. Remi Network

• Alberta opens second round of Industrial Transformation Challenge. Alberta government investing $50 million to reduce emissions and waste in province. HRD Canada

• Accelerate Fund III invests in CARE Group to expand digital mental health technologies and programs. Their strategic financing round attracted over $2M and included participation from Accelerate Fund, strategic angel investors and family offices. Accelerate Fund

📰 Need To Know

• Long Calgary launches House 831: A co-working space for founders, creators, and builders. House 831 promises to be a clubhouse for the ambitious, where founders and creators can connect with like-minded people with different skills, backgrounds and perspectives. Calgary Tech

• Innovators of the Week: PayShepherd helps industrial sites and contracted workforces get organized. The contractor management platform recently closed a $7 million funding round, with plans to expand throughout North America. Avenue Calgary

• Investing in Alberta tech: Accelerate Fund, managed by Yaletown Partners. Geoff Kelsall talks with Arden Tse and Yasmine Al-Hussein of Yaletown Partners about the Alberta-focused Accelerate Fund. Lexology

• ConnectFirst and Servus Credit Union announces new C-suite team. The announcement comes days after connectFirst and Servus announced the closing of their merger. Fintech Futures

• 'All of a sudden no GPS': Last week's solar storm created headaches for some farmers. “It was definitely off its rocker,” said one farmer of her tractor's GPS. Calgary Herald

• Virtual Gurus announces tech innovator Elliot Schneier as new chief operating officer to lead next-gen growth initiatives. With extensive expertise in tech startups, Elliot Schneier is set to enhance innovative AI-driven solutions and expand Virtual Gurus’ market leadership. Virtual Gurus