Elizabeth Dodson of HomeZada
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Elizabeth Dodson, the co-founder of HomeZada, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of HomeZada – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
It all started with air filters, home projects, and a mountain of paper. And billion dollar commercial construction projects around the world.
It came to our attention that managing a billion dollar project was made easy with the right software tools. But what happened to managing one of our largest assets – our homes? There were no tools available to help us manage the details, the expenses, the health, and the value of our homes.
Have you ever forgotten to change the air filters? Did you know that your hot water heater needs draining? And speaking of home projects, are you always over budget on yours? Our HomeZada team had the same experiences and thus HomeZada was born! A platform to manage all the digital home records throughout the homeowner lifecycle.
Once we told people about HomeZada, we found friends who lost homes due to fire – fires started by unseen faulty dishwasher wires, mice chewing on wires in an attic, or common kitchen fires. We learned that friends had been burglarized and had to detail the information to the police, only to forget the details of their possessions and thus have a tough time recovering the items lost. Strangers told us about flooding damage due to poor or forgotten maintenance of pipes. Others reached out and shared their stories about challenging and over budget home improvement projects.
We believe that a home is most people’s largest asset, and we are inspired to provide a safe, reliable, and effective platform that helps people save money when managing, selling, or buying a home. HomeZada is here to help you manage and understand the uniqueness of your home. The stories keep coming and we continue to enhance HomeZada to help homeowners maintain, document, manage, and prepare their homes for any situation.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
The consumer market is an expensive market to reach. Adjusting and pivoting to find partners that are interested in connecting with their clients is another way to bring mutual benefit to HomeZada, our partners, and homeowners. Additionally, educating consumers on new and effective ways to manage their home takes time, and with time comes patience and constant education.
Additionally, marketing to a variety of homeowners in the US must take into account where the homeowner is in their homeowner journey. Therefore, micro-messaging is critical to introducing HomeZada to a variety of homeowners in different locations, age groups, and lifecycles. Establishing these micro-messages and reaching the appropriate customer with each communication is important.
What does the future hold for HomeZada?
HomeZada continues to build relationships with organizations in home-related industries like real estate, insurance, mortgage, and construction who want to engage and retain their customers while also gaining net new customers. We continue to support our customers especially as they take on more home-related responsibilities while they are at home.
What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in El Dorado Hills?
The tech scene in the Sacramento region and especially El Dorado Hills continues to grow. Because our region is near Silicon Valley, many local startups have developed and have the talent to build companies. There seems to be a segment of Fintech companies in the Sacramento region which we believe will continue to grow.
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Understand that starting and building a company is very much like an amusement park. You get excited to visit the amusement park and are torn about which ride to ride first, forcing you to prioritize. You have your patience tested while waiting in line, and then get exhilarated with the rides and wins. You leave the park at the end of the day exhausted and then wake up the next day and get excited to go back and do it all over again. Managing your time, expectations, energy, and emotions is an ongoing process as an entrepreneur. Being aware of all these details will assist you in managing your business throughout the ups and downs.