How New Property Firms Can Learn From the Way Tech Startups Grow Their Business

The UK property industry has seen a constant wave of boutique firms - spin-offs led by former agents, fund managers and analysts who’ve decided to back themselves. It’s an exciting period. But while the asset might be property, the way you build and grow your business doesn’t have to follow the traditional playbook.

In fact, there’s a lot new property firms can learn from how tech startups grow - especially when it comes to hiring, tooling up, and building resilience early on.

1. Build a lean, high-trust team (not a bloated org chart)

Tech startups know that early headcount is all about fit, not flash. Rather than hiring five juniors to “build capacity”, they invest in people who can think independently, wear multiple hats, and grow with the business.

From April 2025, employer National Insurance contributions have risen to 15%. That’s a serious bump to the cost of hiring. Keeping your team lean isn’t just strategic - it’s financially sensible.

Start with people you trust to own outcomes, not just execute tasks. And keep an eye on your overheads - every new hire just got pricier.

2. Set up your stack early

Startups don’t wait until chaos sets in to get organised. They build systems from the start - CRMs, modelling tools, shared workflows - because time is their most valuable currency. In property, it’s tempting to keep things “manual for now” or "the same as how we've always done it" but that often leads to messy ops and missed opportunities.

Don’t wait until you’ve got 10 active deals to realise your spreadsheet isn’t cutting it. Choose tools that reduce friction and scale with you.

3. Build culture intentionally - even if you’re only 3 people

Culture isn’t about hoodies and beer taps. It’s about how decisions get made, how people communicate, and how they feel about coming to work. Startups bake culture in early because it’s hard to retrofit later.

Be clear on your values and your working style, especially if you’re hybrid. The tone gets set long before your first HR hire.

4. Don’t default to hiring. Default to efficiency

As workload piles up Startups ask: is this a people problem or a process problem? Often, a well-configured tool or a better workflow solves more than an extra pair of hands.

Before bringing in headcount, look at your systems. You might not need more bodies, you might just need fewer bottlenecks.

5. Give your team a stake in the game

Equity and options are standard practice in tech not just for founders, but for early team members too. It shows trust, drives alignment, and builds long-term loyalty. In property, we tend to reserve rewards for the top floor. But that’s shifting.

EMI options or even profit-sharing schemes can go a long way in keeping good people engaged, especially when salary/bonus increases are tough as business owners keep a keen eye on cashflow.

6. And one thing not to copy from tech…

Property has always prided itself on relationships - actual conversations, not just click rates. So please, don’t take a page out of the startup handbook that says “blast a generic email to 100,000 people and pray for leads.”

Picking up the phone is still your unfair advantage. No AI tool can replicate the value of a good old-fashioned chat.

Conclusion

You don’t need to look or sound like a tech startup to think like one. If you’re launching a new property firm today, borrowing a few lessons - lean teams, the right tools, shared ownership - could help you build something more resilient (and enjoyable) from day one.