Homebot: What's Next?

Today we’re excited to announce that Charlie Pratt, former Homebot CRO, is stepping into the CEO role, while Co-founder and former-CEO Ernie Graham will become Executive Chairman of Homebot’s Board of Directors.

We caught up with Ernie and Charlie as they reflect on Homebot’s success over the past several years, and why they’re energized by what’s next.

Ernie:  Six years ago, we were a small team with big dreams. Frustrated by the emphasis of lead gen in real estate and mortgage tech, my co-founder Ira and I left realtor.com energized to revolutionize the homeownership experience. We set out on a simple mission: to educate and empower homeowners to build wealth through homeownership. We wanted to create technology that educated homeowners while also deepening relationships with their lenders and real estate agents. The first year of our journey was spent with friends, family, and Starbucks-gift-card-induced strangers that owned a home to hear what they thought about our crazy “Homebot” idea. It’s now 2022 and what began as a tech startup has morphed into something else - a team of over 100 employees empowering millions of homeowners and first-time buyers to build wealth through homeownership. We’ve done this by helping tens of thousands of loan officers and real estate agents become advisors to their clients for making smart home finance decisions, from buying to refi to maximizing their home equity.   

I have so much gratitude to our initial investors that helped us get Homebot off the ground. Picus Capital, Mizan Rahman, Axel Springer, 500 Global, Black Knight, Moderne Ventures; Thank you for believing in our vision and placing a bet on our passion, hustle, and mission. What seemed like dreaming six years ago looks more like audacious goal setting today. When our current financial sponsor, ASG (Alpine Software Group), joined us at the beginning of the pandemic, they jump-started my brain to dream even bigger. ASG always asked the same question: “What do you need for Homebot to accelerate its mission?” A couple of years ago, growing tired from 80-hour workweeks, my answer was: “A group of leaders who can take us to the next level.”

I have loved working at Homebot because I love everyone on our team.   It’s also been my life’s great privilege to collaborate with the group of compassionate and talented people that represent Homebot’s leadership. As we look to 2022 and beyond, we know that our Homebot leaders will bring a range of perspectives and experiences together in a way that will make all of us stronger. That’s why I’m excited for Charlie Pratt to step into the CEO role.

Charlie has led our sales and marketing team as CRO over the past two years, helping to 3x the size of our business and our team, and I value the partnership we’ve built. He’s incredibly determined and humble, he brings consumer finance and SaaS operating experience, and most importantly, he bleeds Homebot hot pink. I look forward to Homebot’s continued growth and success under Charlie’s leadership, and I’m stoked to support our next chapter in my new role. 

-Ernie Graham, Executive Chairman

Charlie: Homebot’s growth and impact under Ernie’s leadership has been nothing short of incredible and I’m excited to have him on our board. I admire his grit and his passion (and the big shoes I have to fill). All it takes is one conversation with Ernie to know that he’s a visionary and his fingerprints are all over this company. Ernie spearheaded a movement that changes how lenders and agents support people by emphasizing education and technology as a means to deepen relationships. “Honored” isn’t a big enough word for how I feel about taking the baton.

As CEO, our people will always come first. I’m dedicated to building teams that work well together, value their growth and development, and are passionate about our mission. This next chapter is not just about torch-carrying, it’s about all of our people coming together to take Homebot beyond what any of us can imagine today. The last two years have been highlighted by tons of growth, but it has been my professional highlight because of the people I get to work with every day.

The Homebot team can’t wait to educate millions more people. We will continue to build new and simpler educational experiences for them while making it easier for our customers to start timely conversations and identify signals of intent. In 2022, we're going to take the homeownership journey to the next level by amplifying our home buyer experience. Our laser focus on the homeowner has gotten us to where we are today and has also given us priceless insights on how to innovate for buyers moving forward.

This year represents a major transition towards record purchase volume and further away from the refi-wave. Relationships, retention, and quality referral partners have never been more important. We promise to relentlessly innovate while remaining committed to helping people through their homeownership journeys. 

-Charlie Pratt, CEO

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