Realtor: Doorsteps

Akshay Ruparelia: Young Trailblazer 

Akshay Ruparelia, a UK-born Indian, founded the country's third-largest online real estate agency as a teenager and garnered over £1 billion in house sales in a span of three years.

One of the few universal human experiences is struggle, whether for survival, at studies or work, or for achieving success. It may seem an inevitable part of life, making its mark on each individual’s life in some way at some point. 

Arguably, not all struggles are created equal, but they all require at least some degree of tenacity, patience, perseverance and relentless efforts to overcome. 

But the point of power is in the present. Optimism can help us to overcome struggle regardless of its seriousness or intensity. We can refuse to relinquish ourselves into the hands of defeat.

The common refrain, "Everything happens for a reason," may sound cynical to many who consider it being complacency to an unfair present, or at best a soothing consolation that tries to give some meaning to an inexplicable situation. However, the phrase isn't totally without meaning. The power to take control of our own future lies within our own thinking and perception of our current circumstances. Undeniably, optimism calls for courage, and in the face of despair and defeat to see the bigger picture is a difficult task. 

Teen Realtor 

Akshay Ruparelia’s parents have hearing impairment disability, but this didn’t discourage the teenager from moving towards his ambitions. Unlike other children, he utilized his school lunch-breaks for negotiating with those who evinced interest in his fledgling business. 

What triggered the real estate idea of a low cost bearing business seven years ago in Akshay was when his family had to shift residence to greater London. He noticed that his parents had to shell out money to realty agents. After some hard thinking and calculated risk-taking, he borrowed some money as seed capital to set up his business, Doorsteps. He launched Doorsteps in 2016, a unique realty business based on disruptive technology that overrode the traditional real estate business. 

Indian Origins

Akshay was born in Hemel Hempstead to Gujarati parents Kaushik and Renuka Ruparelia. They later moved to Harrow, London. He studied at Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet. His father is a care worker and his mother is a teaching assistant who works for children with special needs. Akshay received an offer to study Economics and Management at Oxford University, but he chose to build his budding business, Doorsteps. He always aspired to be an entrepreneur from a young age. His enterprising spirit often led him to engage in small businesses. Whenever there were some personal needs, he would sell sweets, colognes, etc. He always enjoyed the feeling of trading or thinking up new business ideas.

The substantial amounts of money real estate agents charged his parents for their services not only provided him a lowdown on realty agents but also triggered in him a business idea how he could bring down the service charges involved. By age 17 he had gathered considerable knowledge with regard to real estate operations. With prior preparation and equipped with sufficient knowledge, he set up Doorsteps. The strategy he used in the business proved to be disruptive in the field of real estate. He borrowed £7,000 from his relatives to set up a website, and even outsourced business calls to a few call centres while he attended school during the day. However, once back home, he would attend all business inquiries himself. His first business deal came through a Sussex-based client who wanted to sell his house and a piece of land. Doorsteps made the sale in a few weeks, and thus began his business journey. He soon expanded the business and appointed a few staff. His unique business strategy involved appointing housewives to book sales orders. And soon his clients developed goodwill and trust in Doorsteps. 

Doorsteps, Top Realty Agency

In a little over a year, Doorsteps attained the status of one of the top 18 real estate agencies in the UK. He continued to operate from a single office through local consultants while giving emphasis to customer care services. The cost-effectiveness of his operations gave him adequate leeway to charge only a fraction of the service fee to clients. Inspired by certain motivational books, Akshay always believed that if you can offer buyers any product at an impressive low price and deliver on your promise, you can win customer loyalty and goodwill for a lifetime. Thanks to his business acumen and strategy, Doorsteps soon hit a high trajectory. In 2020, Doorsteps was valued at £18 million, making the company the third-largest online estate agent and the 10th largest estate agent in the country. 

While Akshay managed the third-largest online agency in the UK, the company registered over £1 billion in house sales in a span of three years. The Sunday Times Rich List 2018 on asset value listed his name. In 2021, he was the youngest honoree featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe List, and his name became a byword for disrupting the market with a 500% growth in just four years. Akshay had proven his prowess as a businessman beginning from scratch. He soon expanded his team to 60 members while raising millions in equity funding along the way. However, Akshay's strategic differences with his company director in the following year led him to step down from his position at Doorsteps. He expressed his wish to move on to new ventures letting his director to take the business forward.

Akshay has been passionate about supporting disadvantaged people. He has been on the board of The Prince's Trust RISE programme, working with the Royal Association for Deaf People. Also, he set up his own social enterprise, AKR Growth, which is a consulting and delivering body on government contracts to support unemployed people into work, such as RESTART and Kickstart. Besides, he's at revolutionary Blockchain innovation agency as it's CEO, comprising the world's first invite-only digital private members' club. 

Awards 

• In 2018, Akshay Ruparelia was included in The Sunday Times Rich List as the sixth in the "Britain's Millionaire Entrepreneurs Under 30." He was included as one of the "15 Young Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2018" by Startups.co.uk, and later that year he was featured in the TransferWise "Top 20 Under 20."

• In 2019, Crowdcube listed Akshay Ruparelia as one of "Top 5 Entrepreneurs of The Year." He was featured in The Great British Entrepreneur Awards (GBEA) for the "20 Most Exciting Entrepreneurs to Watch For In 2019." In the same year, he was also featured in The Evening Standard's "25 Future Faces, 25 and Under" list.

Akshay's net worth is estimated at around £12 million. Currently, he is engaged in Coaching and Consulting through Social Enterprise/AKR Growth, which is an approved DWP Kickstart Gateway, aiming to place more than 1,000 young people into work and manage over £10 million of wage rebates for people in the age group of 16 to 24 years. He is no longer involved with Doorsteps, which is now owned by Upside Capital. A year ago, Akshay reportedly said in an interview that he expected to rejoin the real estate agency from which he resigned. 

We should not measure success merely by external achievements but also by personal growth, values, ethics and the ability to overcome challenges. True success emerges when we align our actions with values, and find fulfillment in our endeavours.

(Photo: Courtesy Company Report)

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