In today's episode of the podcast " Impactful Businesses”, a collaboration between CATÓLICA-LISBON and Rádio Renascença, we spoke with Rodrigo Bourbon, founder of Condoroo, a Portuguese startup that employs Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance the efficiency of condominium management.
Rodrigo initially aspired to become a veterinarian in his youth, but he envisioned his future in economics and discovered his true calling in the bachelor’s degree in business administration and management at CATÓLICA-LISBON.
He shares that he finds the greatest fulfillment in working with people he identifies with. "The journey of creating a startup is challenging and doing it with people we like makes it easier."
The name Condoroo, he explains, derives from the concept of combining "condominium" with "kangaroo," symbolizing the idea of jumping, moving forward, and advancing toward the future of condominium management. The company was founded in 2022 following an entrepreneurship program and a rotational internship at a property management firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Rodrigo recognized the potential for technological transformation in the Homeowners Associations sector.
Excited by this potential, he returned to Portugal and conducted a market study that allowed him to identify inefficiencies in the sector. He interned at a condominium management company to understand how technology could improve the experience, and in August 2023, after a year of development and preparation, he launched Condoroo with an initial team of four and a roadmap for technological execution, team development, and market strategy.
Rodrigo Bourbon also reveals that with the Condoroo app, "the client is essentially the condominium, to which we charge a fee and provide, through this service, all the technology."
The app is divided into three main components: the first functions as a CRM, helping managers increase productivity in daily activities by utilizing automation and AI to perform tasks more quickly and with higher quality. The second component features a WhatsApp chatbot, a "Chat GPT" specialized in condominiums, which answers general and specific questions, as well as allows for tasks such as voting in advance or consulting assembly topics. The third component consists of Smart Funnels, which are online journeys that enable residents to perform various actions independently, such as voting or creating proxies.
Rodrigo Bourbon acknowledges that the solid foundation provided by CATÓLICA-LISBON was crucial for his career start in the finance sector. In addition to fostering structured and organized thinking applicable to any business area, the degree provided him with the necessary knowledge to identify business opportunities, such as improving efficiency in condominium administration.
With approximately 100 condominiums currently contracted, Rodrigo Bourbon believes that Condoroo is revolutionizing condominium management in Europe, making it easier and more efficient. Given that 5 million people reside in 300,000 buildings in Portugal, he concludes: "If we can impact them, we will certainly have a business with significant impact."