Emoov predicted a “staggering” six-fold rise in revenue just months before it went bust, it has been claimed.
The Mail on Sunday yesterday claimed that the company generated “just” £2.2m of revenue in the 12 months to April this year.
However, in a crowdfunding pitch in July, said the Mail, potential investors were allegedly given forecast revenues of almost £14m for the year to next April.
Under the headline ‘Emoov predicted huge rise in sales – then went bust’, the Mail’s story says that the investor documents said the company had a “high level of confidence” in its forecasts.
The Mail said that the crowdfunding documents have now vanished from the Crowdcube website.
Its story also says that Quirk “is understood to have turned down the opportunity to float on the stock market earlier this year through a reverse takeover by a listed shell company shortly before his three-way deal with Tepilo and Urban”.
In a separate interview with Forbes, Quirk has said that one of his big mistakes was to get hooked on growth.
He said: “Growth is the crack cocaine of the start-up business and we fell for it hook, line and sinker.”
He also cast doubts on the future of online agency, saying it would never make up more than 15% of the agency market in the UK.
Quirk said: “I was completely consumed by the question of growth…
“You think you will reach a billion dollar valuation within two years, and focus on that at the expense of everything else.
“In total, we raised £29m and I would definitely spend it differently now.
“At the time I didn’t because the conventional wisdom was that you needed to focus on growth to get more investment and to grow more.
“I would do things differently today, conserving more money and targeting my bottom line.”
Quirk said that this was one of the lessons to take from Emoov’s collapse.
He also said that failure should not be stigmatised.
Egos should be parked at the door, because ego blinds people to the idea that they could be wrong.
Quirk said that if there had been a better gender balance on the Emoov board, that would have helped with this issue.
Quirk also says he splashed needless amounts of cash on technology – a total of £7m, when “we could have delivered the same experience with an expenditure of £1m”.
Of the future of the online/hybrid sector, Quirk said: “I think the fixed fee, arm’s length estate agency service, which the sector is known for, has a ceiling, and Purplebricks will gobble it up.
“It will never make up more than 15% of the agency market in the UK.
“Purplebricks, Yopa, Emoov and HouseSimple have raised £ 400m altogether, and yet their share of the market has practically stopped growing and will probably not grow further.
“Rentals are not a viable alternative for your typical online agency business because landlords are a more sophisticated consumer than home sellers, so there isn’t much room for growth in that area.”
The Mail article is at the first link and the Forbes piece at the second:
Comments (28)
It’s funny Russell …….we can all talk sh*te!
Problem comes when the line between fact & fiction is not blurred ……it’s blown apart!
As you keep talking/commenting it’s like an Audience watching someone walking out into QUICKsand! …….that’s the problem Russell, you just keep talking & walking.
You must be good at something, or were, however…… there is a time to call it “Quits” NOT “Quirks!”.
Anyone? Anyone?! Anyone!!! …….”Taxi for Quirk?”
RICHARD OLLIFFE
This guy has manged to land on his feet !!!!!!!!!! Seamlessly moved at Director level from Emoov to Bricks !!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-olliffe-3a664432/
Let’s hope that some stories appear that the street fighting Property Experts have found gainful employment .Wonder what story they were spun to upsticks and join the team? I bet they have a tale of two
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mani-ramasamy-172b57142/?originalSubdomain=uk
Mani joined from Bricks in January as a territory Manager in January Promoted in NOVEMBER !! to Sales Director for the South !
Particularly cruel promotion
This guy joined in August!!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-shaygan-marla-b6a9874a/
Jena joined from Bricks in July
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-campbell-85009431/
Richard Olliffe will do well at PB, he can’t even spell their name right. To help you out Richard, it’s Purplebricks not Purple Briicks, I checked on their website.
When it comes to doing things properly they’ll be a perfect match.
amazing – growth over profit. More growth over any profit. sounds like funds have been diverted out – wonder what relationship RQ has with the tech co that provided this expensive software?
Perhaps an opportunity for the industry to employ Mr.Quirk’s experience,PR skills, and knowledge of the non-profit making sector to put the final nail in the coffin of these “disruptors”.
Surely RQ will be happy to provide his services for free, given the chance to pull the rug on his archnemesis.
Ten years ago there were 40 pages of property in the local newspaper once a week and 10% of that was private sellers at the back of the paper with 4 pages; taking a chance on dong it themselves and paying up front for their adverts at low rates.
Ten years on, 10% of people who would otherwise had tried privately to save a few quid are trying the lets pay anyway mob.
There has been little change really.
it’s not 10% yet but it will probably get there in years to come.
One difference, I think, is that in order to slow down PB’s growth, traditional agents will have had to reduce their commissions. They certainly seem to be on a downward trajectory but perhaps this would have happened anyway?
PB’s heavy investment over the years taking them into clear market leader with what looks like an unassailable lead for online only/hybrid? There doesn’t seem to be enough demand for another big player to copy PB’s approach which was something that they considered a risk a couple of years ago. Going hell for leather has certainly paid off in that respect.
Growth in marketing costs and admin. costs holding back profit but also building the brand. Can they reduce these costs in years to come? If they have 10% of the market ten perhaps those “for sale” and “sold” signs will lower marketing costs?
Online v Traditional is a fascinating story.
High Street agents have to improve and continue to improve what they do; and they have to raise their fees accordingly to remain profitable.
They can now argue that On-line only is a failing concept (profitability-wise) and the reassurance of high service and good value is what they provide.
Agents can still provide a high service and charge a good fee even without an office though. The on-liners have proved that agents can work from home or serviced offices, they just cannot do it cheaply and still earn a decent living or provide the service.
People will go for best service rather than cheapest if they can afford it.
Remember, people do choose to go on five star holidays………..it’s not all bargain basement in life.
It’s not online vs traditional, it’s onine only vs traditional. All agents are online.
Okay,
There are numerous opportunities to pick this lad up on the spectacular swing swanging on a number of issues but, frankly I can’t be fagged to pick him up on them and I’m sure other posters will take care of that today.
So, what I do want to say is a tremendous well done to EYE and you lot (most of you). I’ve been a reader since this pillar of the property world first started, I’m not ashamed to say that each morning for years I come here for a read of the news and from time to time add a comment and I thouroughly enjoy it.
Now, the point I’m trying to get too is this, You lot are an insightful lot and I don’t believe you have ever been wrong, collectively you have a distinguished past of calling it right on a wide range of issues including the demise of the self appointed gob on a stick which you all predicted from the start.
So, well done and thank you, and a point for anyone else out there, if you want to know the future fate of a disruptor, prop tech thing, the future of the wider market, challenges facing the property world, then come here from 7am every week day and this lot will correctly predict the future, they haven’t been wrong yet.
Jonnie
Well said Jonnie.
Great to get all this advice form these business gurus. Perhaps he should write a book?
The thing here is that RQ has failed. The only thing he should be advising on is what not to do.
This is a real gem on what you should do “Fail as often as you can“. I knew I’d been going wrong somewhere 🙂
With such self-belief this guy probably will find more people to invest in him. Buyer beware.
RQ’s Linkedin profile says: “A disruptor. In a good way…”
No Russell, you aren’t a disruptor. You didn’t disrupt the industry. You just disrupted your peoples careers.
Wonder how many completed house sales have resulted from the £400 million raised by Call Centre Listers. It would be interesting to know the average amount per completion.
BSOS23PC
In the above story he values the tech at just £1 million, is this the same tech he was trying to peddle to buyers of Emoov saying it would take 2 years and £10 million to replicate?
Trying to get a straight and honest answer from this guy is impossible.
If only pants really did catch fire. It would be so much easier spotting where to invest.
What Mr Quirk pretty much admits is he was jealous of the way PB had grown with their enormous valuation (at the time) and was desperate for a piece of that action. The tech admission is interesting as he has banged on and on about this, yet has never ever been able to specify what was actually special about it.
They will all go to the wall in the end, just a matter of time.
I can confirm 100% he is completely obsessed with PB. Funny how his demise somewhat coincides with PB’s fall in share price.
Funny how now he isnt in the market he is rubbishing his previous claims about the call centre sector potential growth being practically non existent.
Just received a Skype from RQ, I don’t think he believes he’s obsessed or even was obsessed with PB.
Russell, we both know that we both are.
Learning from the phenomenon they seemingly accidentally created and making it better was our mission.
Good to know you’re an avid reader of all the comments here!
Troll!
Hopefully the administrator will look at where all the spending went and Check if the costs involved do add up. When you have someone running a business who then sets up other companies you have to question if those companies were set up to provide ‘services’ at a cost to the business. If there is any financial connection then serious questions have to be answered.
In another article this morning we are told of the litigation time bomb because surveyors are putting photos of property into reports. Comparing this with emoov then surely RQ could face a very large problem
RQ stories change to suit the occasion,Blowing with the wind. The Forbes interview designed to show contriteness. To err is human! Hoping that showing he has made a “few”mistakes he will hopefully put a lid on the Emoov story and quickly move on and take his rightful place at the centre of the property stage.
Oh dear RQ what have you done!.All these interviews are doing is providing further ammunition to investors suckered in your Crowdcube pitch was full of hot air.Now convenientally disappeared from the portals !
The final paragraph beggars belief saying now that you had no chance of ever toppling Bricks Whatever happened to the Pepsi v Coca Cola story you were pedalling?
This is not the story you were selling a few months back
https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-quirk/?originalSubdomain=uk “Contemplating what next”
A tap on the shoulders by the authorities
I would like to know who the technology company was. £7m Is just not adding up in my calculations.
I cant even see how £1m would be possible.
It would be good to know how the £6m was extracted from the company.