Keepingly is a platform that aims to make owning a home easier. By combining tech expertise with insight into what homeowners need, they want to make homeownership simpler, more empowering, and sustainable.
In this interview, Keepingly’s founder, Daniel Smith discusses how the started, what makes it unique, and where it’s headed, showing a new way to think about owning and caring for a home.
What motivated you to create Keepingly?
Keepingly was birthed out of my personal experiences as a homeowner, coupled with a noticeable void in effective tools to streamline the homeownership process. Conversations with fellow homeowners revealed a common thread: the journey of managing a home, with its myriad responsibilities from routine upkeep to financial management, often felt daunting.
Having spent several years in technology and previously managing Product for the Internet of Things, reinforced by research, highlighted the intricate challenges homeowners face, particularly in maintaining their most significant asset. Conceived as a direct response to these challenges, We aim to simplify various facets of homeownership, rendering it more accessible, manageable, and sustainable for families and individuals.
At the heart of our mission is our commitment to Homeownership Sustainability, focusing on equipping homeowners with the necessary knowledge and tools to make well-informed decisions regarding their properties.
Our platform offers a centralized system for document storage, ensuring documents are easily retrievable, with features that aid in maintenance tracking and property appraisal. Our goal is to encourage homeowners to embrace practices that assist them to manage, maintain, and grow the value of their largest asset.
How does Keepingly differentiate itself from other home management platforms?
Keepingly sets itself apart by emphasizing the entire homeowner journey, equipping homeowners with comprehensive tools and insights from the initial purchase to long-term management and eventual sale.
Our platform is designed to empower homeowners at every stage, providing an intuitive, accessible, and engaging user experience. Some of the features we are really proud of include:
- Data-Driven Appraisal – Keepingly’s focus on the appraisal process ensures homeowners can capture the full value of their investments, collaborating with appraisers to account for property enhancements. Our distinct approach positions Keepingly beyond mere maintenance or financial management platforms, we offer a holistic solution for homeowners.
- Our maintenance checklist offers a structured approach to property upkeep. This empowers homeowners to make informed decisions, fostering proactive property management.
- Homeowner Score – Our unique scoring methodology delivers deep insights into the impact of homeowners’ actions on their property’s value and health. Keepingly rewards homeowners with a tangible metric that reflects their efforts, encouraging ongoing engagement.
- Keepwize with Keepingly – Our podcast in Season 1 has become a Top 20 Podcast for homeowners. It is designed to really discuss the issues that are relevant to the Homeowner’s journey and experience. We discuss what homeowners should be focused on and how they can make the best decisions around their most important asset.
How do you ensure the security and privacy of users’ sensitive home-related information?
At Keepingly, safeguarding our users’ data is a top priority. We employ robust encryption methods to protect data both in transit and at rest, ensuring that all communication is secure and stored data is shielded from unauthorized access.
Our security measures include regular system audits to identify and fix vulnerabilities, strict access controls to limit data access and two-factor authentication for an added layer of account security.
Keepingly upholds a strict policy against selling user data, emphasizing our dedication to user privacy. Users retain full control over their data, with clear consent required for any data collection, the ability to easily export, and transparent policies that govern data sharing.
Our approach not only ensures compliance with data protection standards but also fosters trust and transparency with our users, reinforcing Keepingly’s position as a secure and user-centric Homeownership Sustainability platform.
In what ways does Keepingly support collaboration and communication among homeowners, contractors, and other relevant parties involved in home management and improvement projects?
Keepingly focuses on the relationship between Real Estate Agents/ Brokers and Homeowners and lays a solid groundwork for document management and organization.
The platform’s ability to store and categorize essential homeownership documents like closing documents, mortgage details, insurance policies, utility records, maintenance receipts, expenses, and renovations is crucial for enhancing homeowners’ efficiency and peace of mind.
This is instrumental in ensuring that homeowners can access critical information swiftly and reliably, thereby streamlining the post-purchase phase of homeownership.
Future functionality for contractors includes
- Real-Time Document Sharing will be implemented in future versions of the platform.
- Allowing vendors and other stakeholders seamless access for sharing documents into the platform.
- Vendor-planned features would allow better management of the relationship with the homeowner
Could you share any success stories or notable instances where Keepingly has helped homeowners manage and maintain their homes effectively?
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with stories that highlight the real impact Keepingly has had on simplifying homeownership and reducing the stress that often accompanies it. The feedback also allowed us to hone in on the experience and what we needed to enhance the platform.
One new homeowner spoke about the volume of documents and the ongoing maintenance her new home required. Keepingly became their go-to solution. They were particularly impressed by how the platform stored and allowed them to consolidate all her homeownership documents in one secure, easily accessible location.
Another client shared how Keepingly’s maintenance checklist feature was eye-opening and helpful for him as he didn’t realize all the things that he needed to be aware of. It helped him establish a proactive maintenance schedule and to ensure that his home’s systems were serviced thus preventing costly emergency repairs.
One homeowner was especially happy with the expense feature which allowed them to know exactly what they spent on their home.
For our theme these instances embody our core mission: to empower homeowners by providing the tools, resources, and support homeowners require to manage their homes efficiently. The Keepingly team is committed to evolving and improving the Keepingly platform and ensuring homeownership sustainability.
Where do you see your company in the next 5 years?
In the next five years, Keepingly is set to define Homeownership Sustainability, establishing our platform as the leading platform for homeowners. Our vision is to make Keepingly synonymous with simplicity, efficiency, and empowerment in the realm of homeownership.
This journey will be characterized by relentless innovation, enhancements centered around user needs, and a steadfast dedication to fostering a sustainable and supportive ecosystem for homeowners.
Our commitment will not only enhance the homeownership experience but also contribute to a more sustainable and community-oriented approach to managing homes.
Interested in investing in Black founders? Please complete this 
