Pittsburgh Homes Daily

Last month, Pittsburgh-based mobile media company MoGoes  created a buzz around Pittsburgh when it announced that it would be working with Visit Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to create mobile content for downtown Pittsburgh.  It turns out that this story was just the tip of the iceberg for our local startup.  It has grand plans in the real estate mobile content market as well.

In the first of what will hopefully be a series of blog interviews covering new business ventures in real estate, I had the pleasure of meeting Christa Ross, President of MoGoes, for a demonstration of the MoGoes product.  If you are a real estate agent that hasn’t taken a moment to check out how mobile content providers can help your business, you should do so soon!

Here’s what Christa and MoGoes had to say in response to my questions:

1. What’s the story behind MoGoes?

We are a company that is building a business that will distribute video, audio and other types of information on mobile phones. We think that mobile technology can be a great tool for travel and tourism, education and real estate.

2. Pittsburgh is becoming known for technology startups.  How have you found the support system in Pittsburgh for startups and what advice would you give to other Pittsburgh residents looking to startup a company?

We have found great support and advice from organizations like the Pittsburgh Tech Council and great response to our product from groups like VisitPittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. My advice isn’t just for a Pittsburgh startup, it’s for anyone with a great idea. Nothing happens unless you jump in with both feet and do it.

3. Congratulations on your Phase I award at Pittsburgh Technology Council’s EnterPrize Business Plan Competition.  What’s the next step?

Well, Phase 2 and 3! But seriously, we joined the competition because it has focused us on preparing a rock solid business plan that we can take out to potential funders. We are looking to build a national company, based here in Pittsburgh, in the next 5 years.

4. Tell us a little bit about the application of the MoGoes product to the real estate sector:

MoGoes wants to make it easy for home buyers to immediately get information on a property they are interested in simply by texting a message to a specific shortcode number. And we aren’t planning to just send them back a text message but instead will give the user a complete listing, as well as the ability to watch a video of the property, send it on to a friend and instantly call or email the agent –  all right from the palm of their hand.

5. When can we expect MoGoes entry into the real estate mobile content market?

Soon. I expect to launch with a few companies later this summer.

6. The mobile content market in real estate looks pretty competitive.  How will you differentiate yourself from the competition?

I won’t deny that mobile is a highly competitive field. It reminds me a bit of the dot-com boom. Some competitors are marketing themselves to realtors, some are just text, some are only offering real estate search, some are created for individual agents. Everyone is looking for their niche and MoGoes is, as well.

I think we are different because we offer video tours, so that buyers can really get a look at the inside of the house before they call the agent. I also believe that if they call the agent, they are likely to be a more qualified lead, since they have already seen this house inside and out and are interested enough to take it a step further.

Thank you Christa & MoGoes for taking the time to meet with me and demonstrate your product!  Keep in touch with the latest developments on the MoGoes blog.