Proptech Group - Simon Baker: Lessons from a founding father

My guest this week is one of the founding fathers of Australian proptech - Simon Baker, chairman of the Proptech Group. Simon was brought in by News Corp 20 years ago, back in the day when Realestate.com.au was just two weeks away from bankruptcy. His analysis of the opportunity for News, led them to inject $2m in cash into REA, plus provide an additional $8m in marketing support and he took up the role of CEO, turning the business around and leading it to its IPO. Given that the company now has a market cap of $15.35 billion, it’s fair to say that none of this would have been possible without Simon’s vision for the business back in the early 2000s. In this interview, Simon and I discuss how he turned the business around, how proptech has changed - and stayed the same - over the past 20 years, and how he’s applying that vision to the Proptech Group where he is chairman. And believe me, his advice is timeless.