Russian entrepreneurs with global ambitions tend to dream of conquering Europe or the USA. However, Denis Nemtsev decided to try something more “outside of the box”. He travelled to Thailand to set up HipFlat, a real estate search startup which has just secured $335,000 from international angel investors.
The funding round, which was oversubscribed and closed in September, was only made public today. Backers include Singaporean funds Crystal Horse Investments and 8capita, a group of Thai angels led by Kris Nalamlieng, and Chang Ng, a Dutch serial entrepreneur and investor.
The project, which describes itself as “the smart and simple way to search for property in Thailand” allows users to search over 20,000 up to date property listings on an interactive map. Property seekers can use it for free, but agents must pay to receive enquiries from potential tenants or buyers.
The company has grown rapidly over the past six months, with monthly double-digit percentage growth in number of searches, users, enquiries and revenue.
In an interview with Expert.ru, HipFlat CEO Denis Nemtsev explained why SE Asia is a good option for Russian entrepreneurs.
“SE Asia is full of opportunities. Innovative internet companies are about 5 years behind Russia, which means that there are lots of untapped niches and relatively little competition. It is also a big market – the population of the region is 600 million. In the next five years explosive growth is expected in all sectors connected with internet technology. Developed markets have passed this stage already, and hopefully SE Asia is going to follow the same trajectory.”
Nemtsev’s ambitions extend beyond the Thai market. His goal is to become the most consumer friendly property search site in the region, and is already seeking more funding so that the project can expand into more SE Asian countries, starting with Malaysia.
