Urbyo Talks

CEO Philipp Schormann on creating Urbyo

Philipp Cover

Our social media manager Vivien recently sat down with our CEO Philipp Schormann to ask him questions about how Urbyo came to be, what he did before Urbyo and how the co-founders met. You can read his responses here. 👇

Hey, Philipp! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. You're one of the three founders and the CEO of Urbyo. Why don't you start out by telling us what you did before creating Urbyo.

Hey, Vivien! Prior to the creation of Urbyo, I had already worked with my co-founders Oliver and Markus at DAA Deutsche Auftragsagentur. The goal of DAA is to make energy renovations of buildings more accessible in times of skills shortages. It does so by bringing property owners and relevant specialists together through its own specialist portals. It makes prices more transparent and helps projects to be implemented quicker. Same as with Urbyo, Oliver was the CMO, Markus was the CTO and I was CEO. In that sector, the company quickly became one of the most successful lead hubs in Germany. In 2017, we sold DAA to Bosch.  

Was Urbyo the first company you founded?

No, my first company was RENEWA. I founded it together with a friend from school in 2010. RENEWA is a one-stop shop for energy renovations. In 2022, the PlanetHome group took over the majority of RENEWA.

How did you come up with the idea to found Urbyo after selling DAA? What market niche did you see?

I've been working in real estate for 15 years now. First as a real estate fund manager, then at RENEWA and DAA. Through these jobs, I've developed a feel for the economic dynamic of real estate acquisition and its management. I knew exactly what I needed to keep in mind when selecting properties, how to draw up purchase agreements and how to negotiate with banks. I saw this immense potential in real estate investing and knew that real estate would comprise a large part of my retirement planning. Over the years (and with substantial loans) I could acquire several condos over time.

People around me started to notice that as well. Many of my friends that worked in other fields also started gaining an interest in real estate but had no idea how to go about it or what to keep in mind. But the problem was: Without extensive prior knowledge or contacts, ownership wasn't really attainable back then. I knew that I had to change that.

"Without extensive prior knowledge or contacts, ownership wasn't really attainable back then. I knew that I had to change that."

My goal was to make access to real estate investing as easy as possible, especially for younger generations. Since I has already worked successfully alongside Oliver and Markus for many years, I told them about my idea and they were immediately on board.

Exciting! So you're saying that Urbyo has the mission to make the access to real estate investing much easier. In which ways have you achieved that goal so far?

Up until now the purchase of real estate consisted of many different stations and contacts. First you have to find a property through a realtor or real estate agent and then secure the financing through a bank. Then the purchase agreement needs to be drawn up and you have to go to a notary. Especially as a beginner, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Urbyo combines all of these steps and guides you through them — and if you want, even beyond that. So we're not just a simple marketplace, we're an integrated marketplace that helps you buy and finance properties. In addition, we help you with the purchase agreement and are there to answer all of your questions. We've even accompanied several of our customers to the notary.

"The purchase of a property isn't everything — it's just the beginning for owners."

The purchase of a property isn't everything — it's just the beginning for owners. After that, topics like renting, follow-up financing or selling the property start being more interesting. And of course, we're here to support you with all of this as well. You can either talk directly to our experts, discover our podcasts, articles or webinars or become become part of our free Urbyo Community. Investors can discuss things amongst themselves or chat with us there.   

Thanks for sharing! I can't wait to chat with you again.