Aldara: The long-awaited digitalization in property management
Anyone living in a community of neighbors has some experience to share: delinquency, assessments, noise, damages… Property managers face a complex task and yet it remains a profession with very little technology. Aldara is a new model of property management, with experts relying on digitalization at all levels, both internally and externally, to provide simplicity and transparency in the services they offer. The goal is to give owners maximum visibility and transparency. A hundred communities have already trusted this formula, which has also received the support of major investors. Daniel Carmona and Dani Torramilans, co-founders of Aldara, tell us in this interview why this formula is here to stay.
Your motto is “The property manager you deserve.” How do you differ from the property managers we can consider “traditional”?
Our team has a clear mission: to reverse the current dissatisfaction in this sector through digitalization. Thanks to the perfect combination of the talent we have and technology, we offer an excellent service that stands out for its clarity and transparency.
The main benefit of Aldara is that with us the accounts balance because they are visible to everyone. The owners have full control because they can check the community information whenever they want and in real time. From accessing expenses, delinquencies, and bank balances, to reporting incidents and checking their status. Moreover, everything can be done from the app, WhatsApp, by email or by phone. In short, we offer all the services of a traditional property manager, taking the experience to another level and improving the lives of those who choose us. Additionally, we have recently added the possibility to leave votes registered before meetings, or to delegate them to a neighbor, so there is no need to attend the meetings.
What are the main shortcomings or points of improvement in property management as we have known it so far?
Property management is one of the most traditional trades and one that has evolved the least. That is why Aldara was born as an alternative that overcomes the inefficiencies and opacity of the sector. Our proposal allows for faster responses, any type of consumption inquiry, online meetings, and even voting before meetings so you don’t have to attend them. We are a solution that, thanks to technology, simplifies processes that were previously more cumbersome, laborious, and slow.
Trust in your sector is key. How do you earn it?
When the value proposition is consistent and efficient, its approval and adoption become inevitable and the reluctance disappears. We have put customer satisfaction at the center of our activity, and this has allowed us to deeply understand their needs and work to meet each one of them in the best way.
“Y Combinator, K Fund, Pioneer Fund, and Moving Capital backed us and our disruptive potential”
We seek to establish a relationship of trust with the neighbors and the communities, and the transparency we offer allows the owners to value us very positively. Maintaining our customers’ satisfaction is paramount for us, and the trust we have generated is paying off. Word of mouth is working very well for us, and communities are already coming to us through recommendations from others that have trusted us.
How do you solve the problem of those neighbors who are not familiar with digital processes?
Internally, we are very digital, which allows us to be efficient and offer exceptional service. And not only that, at Aldara, we also offer a perfect balance between digital and human, adapting to the level of digitalization that each client prefers. Our service perfectly adapts to their needs by regulating the degree of digitalization with which each owner feels comfortable. Some clients prefer the traditional model, and we offer it while improving the service they are used to. However, for those who want it, our digital tools will offer a different alternative, taking their experience to another level.
Despite the youth of Aldara, the model is already tested in many communities. How many communities do you manage at the moment, and in which geographical areas are you present?
Currently, we manage around a hundred properties, serving more than 2,500 people, mainly in Barcelona and Madrid, although we also have a presence throughout Spain with communities in Andalusia, Canary Islands, the Basque Country, and many others.
What are your growth prospects? Do you consider exporting Aldara to other countries?
Our short and medium-term goal is to gain notoriety and reach as many owners as possible. We want Aldara’s proposal to be present in thousands of community meetings to offer many more neighbors the best experience, achieving organic growth. More specifically, our main goal is to serve more than 10,000 owners by the end of 2024, increasing our presence in the cities where we are already present and reaching new parts of Spain.
“Property management is one of the most traditional trades and one that has evolved the least”
For the moment, we want to focus our growth in Spain and achieve strong national expansion. However, we do not rule out launching our business model in other international markets in the future.
The investment ecosystem has bet on Aldara. You recently closed a funding round of 2.7 million euros. How was the fundraising process?
We held various conversations with venture capital funds in the technology sector, both Spanish and American, and finally, Y Combinator, K Fund, Pioneer Fund, and Moving Capital bet on us and our disruptive potential. As you mentioned, the figure is high for a startup like Aldara, but it is another demonstration of the great trust we have generated with these investors and how they have been able to see our ability and potential to revolutionize a sector that was falling behind.
After the initial support and confidence from Y Combinator, much of the work was done. Thanks to that first investment, other national and international investors started to show a lot of interest in talking to us. In particular, they were very intrigued by the fact that, in such an outdated and seemingly unattractive sector, this talent could be brought together. Our investors fully trust our ability to disrupt this market.
You are determined to reinvent a sector characterized by some immobility. How does Aldara fit into this context?
Property management is a sector where technology has barely penetrated and where, for that reason among many others, customer dissatisfaction with the service received is enormous. We want to turn this situation around and that is why we are betting on technology to make things simpler, easier, and more transparent, and we are confident that this will convince more and more people.
Every time a community tries us, they are delighted and recommend us, so gradually, we are gaining more and more presence in the cities. And this is just the beginning! We promise to make a lot of noise!