Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenixSaskatoon's Point2 Technologies Inc., an employer of 113 people, is beginning to take its product in a new direction. The software development company is moving away from promoting its online real estate programs to individual agents, instead looking to regional real estate agencies for contracts.
SP reporter Cassandra Kyle recently sat down with Point2 CEO Saul Klein to learn about the company.
SP: If the average person in Saskatchewan came up to you on the street and said what's Point2, what do they do and who knows them in Saskatoon, what would you say?
SK: Primarily (we work in) the real-estate industry. We develop software for the heavy equipment industry and the real-estate industry.
SP: And what's its presence like in the city? I know most of your business is in the United States.
SK: Now that we have the sign (on top of the Eighth Street office), if they don't know they're going to wonder. I know that in the real-estate community in the city it's very good, and I know in Saskatchewan it's very good because I talk to the people who run the real-estate associations here, so they know about Point2. But I'm not stopping anybody on the street and asking them what they know about Point2. I would bet at the university in the technology fields -- because we get a lot of inquiries for employment from the university -- I would think there's a pretty good presence there.
SP: Why is Point2 better known in the United States than it is in Saskatoon?
SK: I would say No. 1, the United States marketplace is bigger for Point2 products. . . . There are more Realtors, by huge numbers, in the states then there are in Canada, that's the primary reason.
Since I got here we've started to do more to gain more presence in Canada because I know people who run the associations here because I've been a speaker at CREA (the Canadian Real Estate Association) a number of times.
SP: That kind of answers my next question, but I'm still going to ask it. Do you plan on increasing the company's profile in Saskatoon?
SK: Yes. And part of that will be through the sponsorships and relationships we have with the (real-estate) associations. We have a very good presence in Saskatoon with the agents on the street. Saskatoon is probably, and I don't know for sure, but I would say that Saskatoon is probably one of our best markets from a penetration perspective. It's home and it started here.
SP: Last December, I'm going to go back almost a year, eight of Point2's executive officers resigned from the company for personal reasons. Has Point2 recovered from that?
SK: I think dramatically. Revenues have increased, staff has increased, the organization -- its structure is different now than it was, the methods we use to develop software (have) changed dramatically. So from my perspective, and I was not an intimate part of the company prior to that, but I do know based on talking to people the morale of the company, output, productivity has never been better. That's what I'm told. I feel very good about that.
SP: One of the changes to come out of that management change was your appointment as CEO. What have your experiences been like with the company so far?
SK: It's been great. They're very open, as I mentioned they're very friendly, they take care of me. They make sure I have the tools I need to do what I need to do. There's an ownership structure and a board of directors and I have the ability here to do what I need to do to get the job done and their full trust and confidence, so it's great. Not to mention the personal stuff -- they make sure I have all the things I like to eat in my refrigerator when I come to town.
SP: We also know you're the CEO of a San Diego-based real-estate company (Internet Crusade) and you split your time between the two cities. How can you give Point2 the attention that it needs while you're away?
SK: It's very interesting that this is the age of technology. . . . Instant messaging, e-mail, cellphone, so when I turn my computer on I have instant messaging, so I talk to the people in my office in San Diego all the time, all day long. When I have a question, it's an instant message. So when I'm not here and I need to contact somebody, it's instant messaging -- or it can be a phone call or it can be an e-mail.
And then another thing people don't think about, I guess, and if they thought about it they'd realize it, but CEOs of most companies aren't there day-to-day. . . . That's why you have a president of the company, that's why you have an HR department, right? The job of the CEO is more visioning and direction and strategy. . . . For me, I have ample time to devote to Point2 everything that it needs to be successful.
SP: Will there be a time when you'll have to choose between these two companies?
SK: I don't think so. What I think is over time we'll discover more synergies and we'll see more ability for companies to work together, and my wife would probably never move to Saskatoon.
SP: Recently, Point2 has started targeting the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) agencies instead of individual Realtors. Why make that change?
SK: Quantity. You get lots of listings faster by going right to the multiple listing services. In addition to that, it's a valuable tool for a Realtor to put their listings everywhere.
SP: So what direction is the company headed in now?
SK: Up. It's in a growth mode, one we'd hopefully like to describe as a hockey-stick. All projects have phases . . . I believe that Point2 is on its way to breakthrough.
SP: Thanks for going through that with me. I have one more question for you. Is there a funny story or experience you can tell me about working in Saskatoon?
SK: I'll tell you an odd situation. Two times now my cellphone won't work here -- two times -- and this is one of them. Well, you know there's no reason to have a landline in my apartment because everybody has cellphones. This week, I can't call my wife, I'm stuck, I'm all alone, so I have to e-mail my wife. . . . Next time I come they promised me I'd have a land line in my apartment.
SP: Thanks for your time.
SK: Yeah, you bet.