FOUNDER OF THE MONTH
MEET THE FOUNDER
TRUSTY
BY Russell Nichols
If you ’ re looking to buy a house , Tim Hyer believes the key is to be more social . His Sacramento-based social network for real estate , Trusty , gives potential homebuyers a platform to do that .
“ I think a lot of times , listings are rosier than reality ,” says Hyer , cofounder and CEO of Trusty . “ We want to be a place where you can get the real story , not just the Photoshopped pictures and flowery description .”
Launched in spring 2021 , Trusty provides an online space for people to talk in real time about homes , neighborhoods and the broader market . They can share opinions , read reviews on properties and connect with real estate agents . Think Zillow meets Yelp with a Facebook-style stream . The platform is free . Trusty , which has a team of eight and offices in both Sacramento and the Bay Area , receives a referral commission if a real estate agent secures a deal from a buyer they found through Trusty . As of August 2021 , the platform has 350 real estate agents with active accounts , covering about 80 percent of California , Hyer says . Last year , he adds , Trusty raised $ 1.6 million from two lead investors and four angel investors .
PHOTO BY TERENCE DUFFY
Doma ( “… a word that My backup name for the startup was ............................................
means ‘ home ’ in several languages . But Trusty embodies .................................................................................................
our brand even more ” ). .................................................................................................
If I could have any other job , I ’ d be a .......................................... scuba instructor .
The movie that best represents my approach to business would be .. “ Cool Runnings ” since the underdog can always win . ...............................................................................................
like a never-ending school : There ’ s I believe life is ........................................................................ always one more thing to learn . .............................................................................................
If I could give my younger self a word of advice , that would be . to stop worrying about what others think . Trust .............................................................................................
in yourself and you ’ ll succeed . ..............................................................................................
HAS THERE BEEN RESISTANCE FROM LISTING AGENTS ? “ The listing agent can respond to any feedback that isn ’ t positive and clarify any misunderstandings . But there has been resistance from listing agents who don ’ t want anything but a perfect picture of their house showing up online .”
DO YOU SEE TRUSTY AS A GAME-CHANGER ? “ It ’ s a big shift . This is not the way the industry has operated for 100 years . It has always been one point of view . The fact that we ’ re opening it up to other perspectives is pretty transformational .”
For more on Trusty , read Russell Nichols ’ Startup of the Month column at comstocksmag . com .
130 comstocksmag . com | October 2021