Sweetly

Ed DePrato and Ryan Hittle, co-founders of Sweetly Real Estate from Edmonton, asked for $1,000,000 for 8% of their real estate brokerage. Sweetly operates as an 'I Buyer', appraising a home and paying the seller 90% of market value upfront, then reselling on the open market and returning the balance once sold, keeping a traditional commission. In 2020 the company did 150 transactions with $860,000 in top-line commission and lost $400,000; in 2021 it did 350 transactions with $5.7 million in top-line revenue and about $180,000 in net income, with roughly 30% of deals using the I Buyer model. The founders stated the company made $250,000 in profit between March 1 and April 7 of this year and are on track for 500 transactions this year.

All five Dragons declined to invest. Robert Herjavec said he mistrusted the founders' math after they claimed a $12.5 million valuation based on a short profitable period. Arlene Dickinson and Michele Romanow both cited a confusing, poorly delivered presentation that obscured how much of the business was still traditional real estate. Manjit Minhas and Vincenzo Guzzo were unconvinced by the growth projections and the unclear transition to the disruptive model, and no deal was made.

Sweetly is still operating and sells through its website.