Business: Wilfi
Andrew Kay meets Douglas Snadden of Wilfi, the new online service that helps people find exactly what they’re looking for
Douglas Snadden is an architect with a big new idea. It’s not about designing buildings, but another business which Douglas has just launched, and one that is bound to set tongues wagging.
Which is exactly his intention with Wilfi – an exclusive online property networking concept unlike any I have seen before. Douglas has been working on the concept and developing the idea for a year and a half and Wilfi went fully live at the end of April this year.
The first thing I look at is the branding. The name has been applied to a dog: a fluffy, smiley mutt with a lot of character. Wilfi, an acronym for the full brand title, What I’m Looking For Is, is a witty ploy that gives the whole a friendly user interface. I like it immediately and can see the brand working on many levels, in animated advertising as well as press and web applications.
So what inspired Douglas to create Wilfi? ‘‘The idea was born out of frustration,” he says. “I was looking for a plot of land on the internet, as I am an architect by trade. So I was looking for land and also for a brown leather sofa. And the conventional search engines were not offering me the choices I had hoped for. It simply became frustrating.”
“I was looking for land and also for a brown leather sofa. And the conventional search engines were not offering me the choices I had hoped for”
How does Wilfi work in the context of property? ‘‘Well, in the property field it allows buyers and sellers to communicate their needs in an online networking format,” says Douglas. This does not mean it’s exclusively a service for the public to use when buying and selling property. “It can also be a useful tool for estate agents, to identify potential buyers for a property they already have on their books.”
The site is a place for buyers to post details of the kind of property they are looking for and where. ‘‘It advertises buyers; the buyers post a notice detailing the kind of property that they are looking for and sellers match their properties against them,” Douglas continues. “Then the software on the website will find suitable matches. The messages are private and work only within the site. Sellers can then message potential buyers and can add pictures and other details like floorplans.”
So, how do customers pay for the service? ‘‘When they send a message they will be charged a small one-off contact fee, from £1 to £2, depending on how much credit you purchase to use for messages. Credits can be bought in bundles, five credits will cost you £10, and 50 credits £50. The more credits you buy, the cheaper they are. And it is free to reply to a message you receive as a buyer; only the initial contact communication is charged.
‘‘When you register you get three credits free to get you started and to familiarise yourself with the site. The credits are valid for three months and although the credits are not refundable they are transferable, so you can easily pass them on to a friend.’’
Initially, this is a networking site for people who are on or entering the property market. And while it does offer an opportunity for members of the public to sell their property privately, it does not exclude the services offered by conventional estate agents. ‘‘There is still a role for estate agents as they are the property professionals who know the market and will undoubtedly be best informed when it comes to things like valuing a property. The intention of Wilfi is not to cut estate agents out of the process, it’s simply to offer people a better way of finding exactly what they want.’’
Will Wilfi be restricted to property sales? ‘‘Initially, that is what we are promoting, but in the long term we see Wilfi as a networking opportunity for other property professionals: surveyors, architects, builders, interior designers, garden designers… the potential is vast.”
Wilfi is a well thought out concept that, in its simplest form, allows buyers to say exactly what they are looking for rather than simply seeing what is available, more often than not based simply on location and the number of bedrooms. Wilfi allows you to be more specific and takes a more dynamic approach to finding your ideal home. And if Douglas Snadden’s concept can work for property, how long will it be before he applies the same thinking to cars, holiday lets or any number of other areas where people have things they wish to buy or sell?
Wilfi (What I’m Looking For Is), 01273 676765, info@wilfi.co.uk, www.wilfi.co.uk
