When Nova Scotia, Canada-based actual property agent Brynn Carmody burned out at 25 years previous, it wasn’t as a result of she lacked leads. It was as a result of she had too many — and no system to deal with them.
She was manually stitching collectively disconnected instruments throughout CRM, advertising and marketing, transactions and communication platforms. The consequence was lengthy days, longer nights and finally, a breaking level.
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“We had constructed an enormous pipeline — 1000’s of leads, large electronic mail lists — however no infrastructure to assist it,” Carmody informed Inman. “I used to be doing the whole lot, appearing as the mixing layer throughout a fragmented tech stack. That type of burnout is extra frequent on this business than individuals discuss.”
That have grew to become the inspiration for Her Market Lab. It’s a brand new entrant within the rising wave of all-in-one actual property “tremendous apps” aiming to simplify how brokers use know-how and truly make AI work.
Carmody is the solo founder and CEO behind the platform, which launched on April 13 with entry granted to founding members. Carmody mentioned Her Market Lab can substitute 5 or extra separate tech platform subscriptions for many brokers.
A gender hole emerges in AI adoption
Carmody’s frustration, which led to the founding of Her Market Lab, displays a deeper challenge throughout the business. Whereas AI adoption amongst brokers is widespread and persevering with to develop, she mentioned its real-world impression stays restricted.
She pointed to a latest National Association of Realtors Technology Surveywhich discovered that 46 p.c of brokers say AI has had little to no significant impression on their enterprise. Carmody argues it isn’t about willingness however about usability.
Brokers, she mentioned, are sometimes handed highly effective AI instruments with out clear steering on the best way to combine them into their workflows. For a lot of, the educational curve is just too steep.
The divide could also be even sharper when considered via a demographic lens.
NAR’s 2025 Member Profile exhibits that ladies make up 63 p.c of brokers. But a rising physique of analysis suggests girls are adopting generative AI at decrease charges than males, significantly in office settings.
A recent study from Lean Inthe nonprofit based by Sheryl Sandberg, which focuses on girls’s management and office fairness, discovered that males are 22 p.c extra possible than girls to make use of AI instruments each day or consistently on the job.
Carmody has a couple of theories on why an AI adoption gender hole persists.
“Essentially the most superior AI instruments being constructed for actual property brokers are undeniably highly effective. They’re additionally out of attain for many brokers,” she mentioned. “Establishing servers, managing cybersecurity risks and configuring open-source infrastructure isn’t lifelike for somebody working an actual property enterprise between showings.”
In keeping with Carmody, that’s the disconnect: The brokers who may gain advantage essentially the most — usually girls working unbiased, bootstrapped companies with out devoted tech assist — are among the many least prone to undertake these instruments.
“Not as a result of they’re unwilling, however as a result of the know-how hasn’t been designed with their actuality in thoughts,” she mentioned.
Why onboarding is the true differentiator
Carmody mentioned Her Market Lab’s method flips the standard proptech mannequin. As a substitute of main with AI options, the platform focuses on constructing a practical enterprise infrastructure first, then layering automation on high.
The product combines CRM, transaction administration, electronic mail advertising and marketing and lead funnels right into a single system, pre-configured particularly for actual property workflows.
However Carmody mentioned its key differentiator is onboarding.
Brokers are guided via a structured, seven-day setup course of designed to construct out a working enterprise system from the bottom up. Solely after that basis is in place do the platform’s AI brokers activate. The objective is to eradicate the fragmentation that causes brokers to fall behind within the first place.
Early customers say the distinction is noticeable, particularly in output high quality. Carmody mentioned preliminary suggestions highlights AI-generated content material that requires minimal modifying and higher displays an agent’s voice — a common shortcoming in generic AI tools.
Neighborhood as a function
Her Market Lab additionally leans right into a assist mannequin that goes past conventional onboarding. As a substitute of static tutorials or recorded walkthroughs, the platform consists of ongoing “lab” periods, the place customers can ask questions, troubleshoot workflows and refine how they use the system.
That neighborhood function is designed to handle a core business downside: Brokers usually fail not due to dangerous instruments however as a result of they lack the time or assist to implement them successfully.
“As a substitute of simply handing somebody a CRM or all-in-one platform — and perhaps a Loom video for onboarding — we’re creating one thing way more hands-on,” Carmody mentioned. “Our customers get weekly labs and implementation periods with clear, actionable takeaways for his or her enterprise, they usually can deliver questions on to us. That’s actually the place we bridge the hole.”
A bootstrapped wager on management
Her Market Lab isn’t venture-backed. Carmody selected to bootstrap the corporate, utilizing earnings from her actual property profession to fund growth. The choice, she mentioned, was about sustaining management over the product’s course and avoiding the compromises that may include exterior funding.
“Too usually, product selections get misplaced in translation in boardrooms, and when you begin including extra voices, it might probably rapidly turn out to be a slippery slope,” Carmody mentioned. “I had a really clear sense of my positioning from the start, and I didn’t need that diluted. The opposite issue was that I had the luxurious to take that method. I’d spent years in actual property and was capable of assist myself whereas constructing, so I leaned into it.”
The rise of the true property ‘tremendous app’
Her Market Lab enters a market that’s more and more consolidating. From CRM platforms to transaction instruments to AI assistants, the business has seen an explosion of level options. Now, many corporations are attempting to deliver these capabilities underneath one roof.
“Tremendous apps” for actual property brokers run the gamut from Rechat to Homie to Breezy — and extra are possible on the best way.
Carmody believes this development will proceed, however warns that not all “tremendous apps” will succeed. The differentiator, she mentioned, received’t be what number of contains a platform affords, however whether or not brokers can really use them with out changing into overwhelmed.
Why AI received’t substitute actual property brokers
As AI proptech options proliferate, many brokers may be questioning about their future within the business. Carmody, like many, believes it’s crucial for brokers to study AI whereas they will.
“I believe the truth is that brokers who don’t undertake AI are merely going to be outpaced by those that do,” Carmody mentioned.
Nonetheless, additionally like many within the business, Carmody softened this assertion with a caveat.
She famous that there’s loads of media hype about AI changing jobs and, particularly, that it’s going to replace real estate agents or that everybody will simply use instruments like ChatGPT to purchase and promote houses. However that was by no means actually the core worth of an agent within the first place.
“The true worth is in relationships and belief,” Carmody mentioned. “No offense to platforms like ChatGPT or Realtor.com, however a first-time homebuyer navigating a aggravating transaction or a deal that’s falling aside throughout inspection doesn’t need to depend on a chatbot. They need human steering.”
That mentioned, Carmody mentioned the agent’s position will shift. AI will take over loads of the transactional and administrative work.
“But when we get that half proper for each brokers and customers, it finally expands an agent’s capability to ship higher service and take higher care of their shoppers,” she mentioned.
