As the Voice for Real Estate, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® often fields requests from technology companies asking for help accessing and capitalizing on the real estate marketplace. Likewise, REALTORS® look to NAR to help them find the best tools to conduct their business faster and more efficiently. A new program from NAR called REach will act as the bridge between companies with innovative technology ideas and members who want to take their businesses to the next level.

REach is a technology accelerator that offers a nine-month mentorship and education and development program for companies with innovative technology products or ideas, at any stage of development. The program’s goal is to help these companies advance into the real estate marketplace and better serve members and associations.

REach operates as an arm of NAR’s strategic investment company, Second Century Ventures, but companies in the program do not receive financing from SCV.

REach works with companies to help them understand the real estate market and provide solutions that the industry truly needs. “Companies can spend years trying to understand the complexity of the real estate ecosystem and trying to enter the industry,” says Constance Freedman, NAR vice president of strategic investments and managing director of REach.

The first of up to ten companies selected to participate in REach this year is BombBomb, a video e-mail marketing company. This company was selected in part because video has been shown to have a positive impact on lead conversion, as well as the ability to improve the effectiveness of e-mail marketing in the real estate industry, according to NAR.

The accelerator program is not only for companies focused solely on real estate, and—in fact—hopes to attract innovative technology providers to the real estate market. State and local REALTOR® associations are welcome to submit their technology innovations to the program and also are encouraged to help build the program by becoming technology beta testers this spring. A list of company criteria along with information on beta testing is available online at www.narreach.com.

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