How to sell to Founders at Proptech companies
Founders in the Proptech industry focus on scaling their rental platforms and maximizing property utilization. They respond positively to outreach that demonstrates a clear understanding of market trends, such as the demand for smart home technology or sustainable building practices. Highlighting how your solution can drive user engagement or streamline operations will make them more likely to engage with you.
Written and maintained by the SoloRiff team, who build outbound software and run outbound with it. The figures below are our own: we measured 518 proptech company domains over public DNS on 2026-09-03. Last updated 2026-09-03.
What actually hurts
- inefficient tenant communication
- high operational costs
- difficulty scaling technology
- low user engagement
The playbook
- 01
Identify recent funding rounds
Use platforms like Crunchbase or PitchBook to find Proptech companies that have recently secured funding. Focus on those that have raised significant amounts, as they are likely looking to invest in solutions that can accelerate their growth and improve their platforms.
- 02
Research their technology stack
Investigate the technology stack of targeted Proptech companies using tools like BuiltWith or SimilarTech. Identify gaps or inefficiencies in their current systems that your solution could address, and use this information to tailor your outreach.
- 03
Address common scalability challenges
Craft your messaging around common scalability pain points in Proptech, such as managing tenant communications or integrating with third-party services. Founders are likely to respond when they see a clear connection between your offering and their operational hurdles.
- 04
Leverage industry trends
In your outreach, reference specific trends affecting the Proptech industry, such as the rise of virtual tours or AI in property management. Founders are more inclined to engage when they see that you are knowledgeable about the current landscape and can offer relevant insights.
- 05
Propose a pilot program
Suggest a low-risk pilot program that allows the Proptech company to test your solution without a large upfront commitment. This approach reduces perceived risk and can lead to a more substantial conversation about long-term collaboration.
Can proptech companies even receive your mail?
We measured the DNS of 518 proptech companies, sampled evenly across company sizes, to see how many authenticate their own email. It matters in both directions: a domain that does not authenticate is a domain whose team is used to mail going missing — and if your own domain is in the gap, yours is the mail going missing.
Publishes a DMARC policy of quarantine or reject — the domain actually asks receivers to act on failures.
The gap is the finding: 27% of 1–10-person companies against 55.6% of the largest — 29 points apart. Small companies are where the unauthenticated domains are, and small companies are who most cold outreach is aimed at.
Where does your domain sit?
Same three lookups, run live against your domain. Nothing is stored and nothing is emailed to you.
How this was measured
Company domains were sampled within employee-count bands, then queried over public DNS for SPF (TXT at the apex), DMARC (TXT at _dmarc.) and MX. One domain per company, deduplicated. Anyone can reproduce any single row of this with dig.
DKIM is deliberately absent. A DKIM key lives under a selector that cannot be enumerated from outside the domain, so a company with flawless DKIM under a name we did not guess would be counted as having none. That would measure our guess list, not the industry.
Domains with no MX record are excluded rather than counted as failures — parked and redirect-only domains would otherwise drag every figure down and make the result an artefact of the sample.
Sampled within bands, so this describes the population of companies, not of employees: a 10-person company counts once, as does a 10,000-person one. Each band is at least 60 domains; bands below that are not published. Figures are percentages of the sample, not of the whole industry, and we publish no company names — only counts.
Measured 2026-09-03. Re-measured monthly.
The full census across every industry — sortable, with sample sizes, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
Subject lines that fit
- Enhancing your rental platform
- Streamline tenant interactions
- Boost property utilization
Questions
- Why do founders in Proptech ignore outreach about generic software solutions?
- Founders often receive numerous pitches for software solutions that don't address their specific needs. If your outreach doesn't demonstrate a clear understanding of the Proptech landscape and their unique challenges, it is likely to be overlooked.
- What are common objections from Proptech founders when approached for a meeting?
- Common objections include concerns about budget constraints, the effectiveness of new tools, or a lack of time to evaluate new solutions. Founders may prioritize urgent operational issues over potential improvements, making it crucial to align your proposal with their immediate needs.
- How can I demonstrate value to a Proptech founder quickly?
- To quickly demonstrate value, provide specific examples of how your solution has improved key metrics for similar Proptech companies. Use concise case studies that highlight measurable outcomes, such as reduced costs or increased user engagement, to capture their interest.
- What trends should I highlight when reaching out to Proptech founders?
- Highlight trends such as the adoption of smart home technology, the shift towards remote property management, or the increasing importance of sustainability in real estate. Founders are likely to be more receptive to solutions that align with these trends, as they reflect current market demands.
Or have it run itself
SoloRiff does every step above on its own — finds the companies, finds the people, writes each of them individually, and handles the replies. Drop your URL and watch it work before you sign up for anything.
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