Entrepreneur and Colorado native Zach Garfias is determined to disrupt the real estate industry.
For the last seven years he has been building eGent, a Denver-based contract software for real estate agents, brokers, buyers, sellers and other industry professionals. Garfias describes eGent, which recently launched with a local real estate firm, as the TurboTax for the real estate industry.
“It is still important to know that the agent is still at the center, [in] the driver’s seat,” Garfias said. “[EGent] is not replacing the agent. This is giving the agent better tools to help them do a better job, and really to increase the standard in the way that they transact and write contracts for their clients.”
EGent helps agents and customers understand real estate contracts by explaining clauses in layman's terms, similar to how TurboTax explains documents needed to file your taxes. For agents, it also serves as a digital transaction database, with tasks and deadlines, and allows them to message their clients and send documents that need to be signed electronically. Agents and transaction coordinator can also upload documents for managing brokers to review, putting everything in one centralized place.
While eGent’s primary users are real estate professionals, the platform also helps buyers and sellers keep track of their contracts, deadlines and other documents.
Garfias said eGent brings every player of the real estate transaction onto one platform.
“The real estate industry badly needs this new technology,” Matt Hudson, CEO and founder of Colorado Home Realty, told Colorado Inno via email. “… The real estate industry is operating off of relatively antiquated technology. Zach and others are trying to resolve that issue while the dominant player, who has a monopoly position, has told the industry that they refuse to innovate.”
Although eGent launched in 2020, just days before the Covid-19 pandemic took Colorado and the world by storm, Garfias said the platform wasn’t ready for users.
For the past three years, Garfias has been enhancing the technology behind the platform and building an in-house development team and board of advisors. He said the platform is now ready for widespread adoption.
The buildup and the future
EGent is Garfias’ first tech company but not his first business.
At the age of 18, he began selling real estate. At 19, he founded demolition company Alliance Demo & Cleanup Solutions. And at 20, he started working on eGent.
During his time as a real estate agent, Garfias used a software called CTM eContracts, which has a monopoly in Colorado.
“The technology was outdated and didn’t serve the consumer — buyers and sellers,” Garfias said in a statement. “I set out to take on this monopoly and self-fund the venture with profits from the demolition company. [I] sold everything I had and moved back in with my mom to pursue this venture.”
Garfias told Colorado Inno he has invested $800,000 into eGent. He said this money comes from his savings, proceeds from the demolition company and a $100,000 loan on his mom’s house.
Now, eGent is officially live and being used by Denver-area realtors. Garfias said Denver-based Your Castle Real Estate started using eGent in May, with other real estate firms joining soon.
EGent now has four employees with plans to raise a seed funding round in the next six to 12 months.
Garfias said raising funds will help eGent scale across Colorado, although he has future plans to expand into other U.S. states.
“It will be a chaotic time for real estate professionals over the next couple of years as Zack’s company and four or five others enter the market, cause disruption and try to take market share from the current monopoly,” Hudson said.
