Empowering People Through Guidance – Spark Centre

Spark Centre Advisor Jason Gamblen is no stranger to building and scaling global B2C and B2B products. As the co-founder of venture-backed company InnerSpace — a B2B software that uses IoT and AI technology to offer analytics and insights to predict future behaviours of how people will use indoor spaces — he’s well versed in Silicon Valley culture, having raised capital from the world-renowned accelerator, 500 Startups and BDC, Canada’s largest VC.  Prior to co-founding InnerSpace, Jason led product and marketing teams for a range of companies like Walmart, TELUS, Wave and Kobo and has since dedicated his career to building and growing B2C and B2B products.

It’s no surprise then that Gamblen has recently launched another venture: Landslo.

Landslo is a 24/7 home-buying and selling assistant built to effectively and thoroughly guide new home buyers, and homeowners looking to sell, through the complex process of buying or selling a home. This interactive AI platform, reminiscent of Siri, guides home buyers and sellers in understanding market pricing for real estate and home pricing across North America, procedures related to affordability and pre-approval for loans, the process of buying or selling and matches home buying preferences with tailored recommendations and more. Once users have a thorough understanding and have reached the last stage of the transaction process, Landslo introduces the human element to assist with the final part of the process — a preferred network of realtors at the top of their game. From curiosity to close, Landslo is like having a personal assistant by your side for every step of the home buying or selling process.

The inspiration for Landslo is two-fold. Today’s real estate industry — one that has historically relied on in-person interactions like meeting at an office or with a real estate agent — has seen a significant shift to online. COVID-19 has accelerated this push to online as many people now opt for online transactions over meeting face-to-face and texting over phone conversations. Real estate has also followed a trend that has transformed the consumer space: trust in technology before trust in a human being. This trust-issue has been made clear, with many home buyers and homeowners in America, especially within the millennial group, affirming their distrust in real estate agents.

Landslo is the go-between human and digital interaction that provides a trusted experience. This digital assistant with AI technology works with, and more importantly for, every homeowner in America to bridge these trust gaps or barriers to obtaining information and ensure that they have all of the information they need through each step in the process and for every transaction decision. Gamblen and his team went through a lengthy process of experimenting with different business models across the real estate industry as well as others, and were drawn to the opportunity that Landslo presented: merging the latest, ground-breaking artificial intelligence technology with an industry as massive as real estate. They saw the disruption that this industry was experiencing and saw an opportunity to play a big role in that disruption, improving not only the consumer experience but also the experience for realtors and brokers as well.

It’s this kind of ingenuity and expertise that makes Gamblen such a valuable asset for clients at Spark Centre. As an Advisor at Spark Centre, Gamblen prepares clients to scale up a venture and secure external funding. For those clients who have reached the point where they are ready to raise capital, Gamblen guides them through the process of fund raising from the pitch to the material and more.

“It takes a village to build a successful venture” – Jason Gamblen, co-founder of Landslo and InnerSpace

Gamblen’s desire to mentor startups comes from his belief that having the right resources and support systems is the key to success, adding that there are many statistics that prove that team-based ventures are more successful than a single founder or single-person startup. “I think there’s a lot of evidence that shows that the more support and guidance you can surround a venture with, the odds of their success increases.” Gamblen says.

As Advisor, Gamblen has had the opportunity to witness just what this kind of support can do. One highlight that he recalls in his experience as Advisor is watching a venture in the food delivery space grow with a model that can scale across multiple geographies. “It’s been remarkable to look at their growth in the time that I’ve been a mentor for them at Spark Centre and I’m very excited to see where they can grow from here.” he says.

His biggest piece of advice for clients (and startups in general)? Go slow to move fast.

“At the early stage you have an advantage in that you aren’t crowded by the high cost of capital or time.” Gamblen says, “So you want to use that the time you have in the early days to help remove risk across the business model. Do the work to figure it all out. Figure out how to remove risk through active experimentation, not just through a thought-bubble or Powerpoint.” The outcome of doing that work, Gamblen says, is a solid business model that’s attractive to a team to jump into and, subsequently, an investor as well.

For more information on Landslo visit https://landslo.com