Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa March/April 2020 | Page 9

G
GIL SPERLING
il Sperling, a visionary and serial entrepreneur is
the CEO of Flow - a proptech platform which is
revolutionising how people rent and live. Sperling
started his career as an engineer, and was one of three
founding partners of Popimedia. A pioneering ad-tech and
performance marketing in Africa. Popimedia went on to be
bought by French based global communications group,
Publicis, in the largest deal of its kind. Real estate disruptor
To be a disruptor is to create a product, service, or way of
doing things which displaces the existing market leaders and
eventually replaces them at the helm of the sector. Disruptors
are usually entrepreneurs and most importantly, idealists.
Sperling’s motivation to make property more accessible and to
have a tangible effect on people’s lives is what motivates him
to keep innovating.
The impressive CEO considers his time with Popimedia to be
his most significant personal achievement. Not only because of
the impressive deal, but because he helped to build it from the
ground up. Taking Popimedia from start-up and developing it
into the largest ad-tech and performance marketing business
in Africa. “I am motivated to create value. Identifying the opportunity
to impact people and their lives, and building the tools to make
that happen. There’s so much potential and opportunity for
the property industry when it comes to innovation through
technology. There is so much value to unlock for everyone in
the ecosystem and the impact can be huge because housing
is a basic human need.”
“The whole experience showed me that when innovative
spirits and pioneering are focused on a purpose-driven vision,
incredible things can happen. This in large part is what drives
all of us at Flow.” His experiences helped to shape his next start-
up, as he used the experience capital of those around him to
his advantage. A variety of people, with diverse backgrounds
and experiences with a shared goal is what Sperling attributes
the success of Flow to.
“I am motivated to create
value. Identifying the
opportunity to impact
people and their lives, and
building the tools to make
that happen.”
“My Flow co-founders, Jonathan Liebmann, Daniel Levy
and I come from three very different industries, yet all have
key expertise in our respective fields. After exiting Popimedia,
Daniel (a lawyer) and I identified opportunities in the proptech
space and joined forces with Jonathan, a property disruptor
and innovator. As three serial entrepreneurs looking to pioneer
and drive innovation within the proptech space, Flow is the
vehicle that brings our various expertise together into one
offering and looks to be something that will innovate and
disrupt the proptech market globally.”
Flow is a South Africa proptech startup, which made headlines
for receiving the biggest proptech seed investment in the
country. With an impressive R20 million, with Kalon Venture
Partners as the lead investor of R10 million.
The financial success of Flow is impressive, but should not
overshadow their progress within the property sector, more
specifically the rental sector. Flow echoes the importance of
working smarter, not harder. Optimisation at every corner and
a constant search for tech solutions to problems within the
rental industry.
PROFILE
Position: CEO and Co-founder
Company: Flow
Years company has operated: 13 months
Age: 35 years old
Marital Status/Family: Married, father
Education: B.Sc Electrical engineering
Books you are currently reading:
Matchmakers by David S. Evans and Richard
L. Schmalensee (brilliant read and very
relevant for the supply/demand of the
property industry)
Who do you consider to be your most
important mentors/role models? Elon Musk
is a constant inspiration of someone who
has a huge, clear vision & executes it with
precision & clarity.
What is your life motto? Work hard. Play
hard.
What would you still like to achieve? For
Flow to be the household rental brand. For
tenants and landlords to have the most
seamless end-to-end experience for renting
and living - which impacts their life and gets
them into flow.
As a disruptor in the proptech industry, Sperling
understands that innovation for the sake of progress is
meaningless. Understanding the shortcomings of the sector,
coupled with tech-based solutions is the only way innovation
can become disruption. By also understanding the importance
of the real estate sector within the economy, Sperling is eager
to see transformation.
“The property industry, locally and globally, is one of
the least progressed verticals, technologically making it an
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