Rahul Pande
Founder
1. Give us brief details about your educational and professional background and how do you leverage those learning to lead your organization?
I have a Masters in Economics and PGDBM in Marketing and I started my career with a Fortune 500 company called Johnson & Johnson Ltd. After four years, I moved to Kotak Life which was followed by a move to HDFC Bank after four years. Growing over the ranks and working in geographies as Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, NCR, Mumbai & Pune not only gave me exposure to diverse businesses but also to the local flavour and culture.
Understanding people spread across the length and breadth of India made me a better and more efficient professional. In 2013, after being the head (VP) of wealth management in HDFC Securities, post my stint as NSM Business Banking, I moved to Lodha Developers to head a portion of their ever-rising business. There I contributed to about 28% of their toppling. My multidimensional exposure and distribution skills made me an asset in the organisation.
Then I forayed into international real estate with DAMAC properties, one of the leading RE organisation in the world, as a Director of International Business. This exposure across the country and abroad spread over distribution and sales in addition to my marketing acumen, made me what I am today. 20 years of exposure across all premier organisations both in the financial and real estate segment made me a chosen one for this venture called JUSTO Realfintech.
2. Can you elaborate more on your entrepreneurial journey and the inception story of JUSTO Realfintech?
Entrepreneurship is not easy, more so for someone to quit from a rewarding & successful career. 22 years of professional career and then suddenly one day, your dreams over rules your mind and you take the leap of faith. A leap to make a difference to the industry and the society at large. When I thought about starting a business of my own, what I set off to create was an organisation that will serve as a means to an end and addresses the challenges that present itself to the not so matured real estate organisation across the country.
I wanted to bring together professionals extremely matured and skilled in the sphere of strategy, marketing, communication, sales, finance, facility, legal, compliance and technology to create an edge for the developer partner. Today, JUSTO is an amalgamation of very talented, experienced professionals, aimed to make a difference in this industry.
3. Can you throw some light on the various opportunities that you foresee in the real estate industry and where are you positioned in the market?
There is a huge scope for mandate business in our country. Indian real estate is backed by a broker driven strategy and this is not enough. In the truest sense, we hardly have mandate organisation in our country, the very few that we have can be counted in the fin-ger. Except for the top few developers in each market, all others are challenged and that's the opportunity.
There are also a plethora of challenges that is plaguing the growth of the sector including the fixed cost of sales & marketing, challenges when it comes to attracting good resources in the industry, challenges to justify senior quality resources as they have sporadic projects, and the challenges to attract quality manpower as there is hardly a long term career opportunity in the industry.
As far as our company is concerned, over the last 2 years, we have stabilised ourselves in MMR and Pune. Now we take our expertise into two more markets in Maharashtra - Nashik & Nagpur. Post establishing ourselves in these
Entrepreneurship is not easy, more so for someone to quit from a rewarding & successful career. 22 years of professional career and then suddenly one day, your dreams over rules your mind and you take the leap of faith. A leap to make a difference to the industry and the society at large. When I thought about starting a business of my own, what I set off to create was an organisation that will serve as a means to an end and addresses the challenges that present itself to the not so matured real estate organisation across the country.
The biggest satisfaction comes from the fact that I have been able to attract very senior resources from the industry
I wanted to bring together professionals extremely matured and skilled in the sphere of strategy, marketing, communication, sales, finance, facility, legal, compliance and technology to create an edge for the developer partner. Today, JUSTO is an amalgamation of very talented, experienced professionals, aimed to make a difference in this industry.
3. Can you throw some light on the various opportunities that you foresee in the real estate industry and where are you positioned in the market?
There is a huge scope for mandate business in our country. Indian real estate is backed by a broker driven strategy and this is not enough. In the truest sense, we hardly have mandate organisation in our country, the very few that we have can be counted in the fin-ger. Except for the top few developers in each market, all others are challenged and that's the opportunity.
There are also a plethora of challenges that is plaguing the growth of the sector including the fixed cost of sales & marketing, challenges when it comes to attracting good resources in the industry, challenges to justify senior quality resources as they have sporadic projects, and the challenges to attract quality manpower as there is hardly a long term career opportunity in the industry.
As far as our company is concerned, over the last 2 years, we have stabilised ourselves in MMR and Pune. Now we take our expertise into two more markets in Maharashtra - Nashik & Nagpur. Post establishing ourselves in these
markets, we then explore markets as Bengaluru & Kolkata in the year 2021-2022. Our market study has started in these markets and soon we will foray into these markets.
4. In your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you utmost satisfaction both as an individual and as a founder? Also, can you mention a couple of awards received by the organization?
The biggest satisfaction comes from the fact that I have been able to attract very senior resources from the industry. Justo is what it is today only because of the people that we have. Their relentless commitment to the organisational goals and eye on the future is why we have reached here so fast. We are lucky & privileged to have received three awards in this short time including Best Real Estate start-up of the year 2020-2021by ET NOW, Innovative technology in Real Estate Distribution award by CNBC TV18, and Most Innovative Communication & Distribution Platform.
5. How does your vast experience help you to chalk-out efficient business modules at JUS-TO Realfintech?
As my partner says, Real estate is all about cash flows and I strongly believe that real estate cannot be sold, it needs to be marketed. This philosophy is the core of our business. All our strategies are built in a way to ensure smooth cash flows for the developer. My experience in finance helps in this domain. We derive our entire marketing strategy based on the cash flow requirement of the project of the developer. Also, every product is different and we tend to create a unique marketing communication for every launch / pre-launch / activation that we undertake. Also, each activity for marketing & sales is backed by a unique thought proposition.
6. Do you have any advices/suggestions on your mind for the budding entrepreneurs in the same segment?
Two of the most important things that is required to thrive in the present-day corporate world is to be innovative and to have leadership qualities. Both these are equally important and it can make a huge difference in determining your success in the industry. Also, try to bring in disruptive changes and that way you will be able to not only a build a positive reputation in the industry but it will also allow you to carve out a niche in the market.
Rahul Pande, Founder, Justo Realfintech
His professional expertise has helped him to guide Justo Realfintech to greater heights in the industry and create a unique business model for the sustained success of the company.
4. In your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you utmost satisfaction both as an individual and as a founder? Also, can you mention a couple of awards received by the organization?
The biggest satisfaction comes from the fact that I have been able to attract very senior resources from the industry. Justo is what it is today only because of the people that we have. Their relentless commitment to the organisational goals and eye on the future is why we have reached here so fast. We are lucky & privileged to have received three awards in this short time including Best Real Estate start-up of the year 2020-2021by ET NOW, Innovative technology in Real Estate Distribution award by CNBC TV18, and Most Innovative Communication & Distribution Platform.
5. How does your vast experience help you to chalk-out efficient business modules at JUS-TO Realfintech?
As my partner says, Real estate is all about cash flows and I strongly believe that real estate cannot be sold, it needs to be marketed. This philosophy is the core of our business. All our strategies are built in a way to ensure smooth cash flows for the developer. My experience in finance helps in this domain. We derive our entire marketing strategy based on the cash flow requirement of the project of the developer. Also, every product is different and we tend to create a unique marketing communication for every launch / pre-launch / activation that we undertake. Also, each activity for marketing & sales is backed by a unique thought proposition.
6. Do you have any advices/suggestions on your mind for the budding entrepreneurs in the same segment?
Two of the most important things that is required to thrive in the present-day corporate world is to be innovative and to have leadership qualities. Both these are equally important and it can make a huge difference in determining your success in the industry. Also, try to bring in disruptive changes and that way you will be able to not only a build a positive reputation in the industry but it will also allow you to carve out a niche in the market.
Rahul Pande, Founder, Justo Realfintech
His professional expertise has helped him to guide Justo Realfintech to greater heights in the industry and create a unique business model for the sustained success of the company.