Catching Up with Nicole Dong from HonestDoor

We’re taking a journey down memory lane and catching up with some of past Summit winners and companies that have received funding from our syndicate. 

Today, we’re checking in with Nicole Dong (ND) from HonestDoor. 

TNT: Hi Nicole! How’s life been since winning the Summit? 

ND: It’s been a rollercoaster! We used the Summit to kick off our financing round and raised $2.2M. It was a LOT of work to close, as you can imagine. 

We also expanded the platform. We launched in Edmonton, expanded to Calgary in 2020, and now we’re all across Canada. We can now estimate the value of properties across all residential neighbourhoods, coast-to-coast. We’ve accumulated more data and expanded user submissions. 

We increased our data team and now have dedicated data science employees, as well as more members on our developer team. We’ve also hired interns and worked with students from universities across the country. 

TNT: Sounds like a very busy couple of years! What are some other major goals that HonestDoor has accomplished? 

ND: We had a great surge in website traffic over the past year, and now people all across Canada know about HonestDoor! At the time of the Summit, about 70-80% of our website traffic was Alberta-based. It’s now close to 50% from Alberta, and 50% from across Canada.So now we can provide the most accurate marketing housing information across Canada, for anyone to view. 

A big goal over the next year for us is to continue to make our website UX even better, and to make the website even more attractive for users. We want to be the go-to website for Canadians to obtain real estate information that they otherwise can’t attain about their neighbourhood or the market in general. 

And even more exciting - we’ve added listings to our website! 

TNT: That’s so awesome! I love doing real estate browsing and looking at houses I either can’t or can afford, haha. 

Ok, so HonestDoor had a pre-seed round of family and friends capital in 2020. And this was the bigger round, with $2.2M. So tell me, what are some lessons you’d like to pass onto other founders as they try to raise capital? 

ND: Well, with the TNT Summit, the process was rigorous and Tim and Zack really made us prep and finalize details. We went through the data room a lot, and there was a comprehensive list of items to provide to investors. We had to make sure that we had all the info and had all the details. The process made us more prepped to continue doing fundraising post-Summit. Dan and I spent months working on our pitch deck, thinking about all the angles - what questions would be asked, what would someone want to know, what information could appeal to them. 

I also think it’s really important that you ask for referrals. Raising capital is really all about who you know. You have to use your network, and be loud about the fact that you’re raising money, because you never know who might be looking to invest. 

TNT: 100%, always develop and use your network. So what are some of the biggest mistakes you think startups can make while fundraising? 

ND: I think startups can sometimes overestimate the excitement in the market for a product/company and take their foot off the gas. We hear of some startups that get verbal agreements or a lot of really great meetings, so think they’ve  got it in the bag. I say, until that money is in your account, don’t take your foot off the gas. 

I also think that assumptions can be made about the size of your market or customers, and you need to correct your assumptions and look at the hard data instead. Make sure you know what you’re estimating vs what the reality of the situation is. 

TNT: Great point. Alright, last question. What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned as a COO?

ND: Well, this is my first time being part of a startup, and I think, in small startups, ones that are under 10 people, it’s not really about your title. Everyone has to pitch in, everyone is treated the same, and everyone contributes. 

I also think that startups need to really focus on culture. We were fully remote before the pandemic, so we needed to focus on making sure our employees were thriving and that no one felt siloed in their roles. You want to create a culture where people are going to enjoy coming to work and be productive. You want to hire someone who aligns with your mission and vision, and not just hire for the job. It’s really important to think about and it’s an ongoing process. 

TNT: I fully agree. Culture is definitely something that needs to be top-of-mind for leaders on a continuous basis. 

Well, Nicole, this was a blast to talk and catch up. Thank you so much for your time, and congrats on the new listings on the site! 

ND: Thanks so much!