Selling or buying a house can be a slog. And that goes for both real estate agents and folks in the market. It’s an industry ripe for revolution. Many have tried. And the results have favored one side of the transaction over the other.
The MLS — multiple listing service — added tremendous value to the role of the real estate agent. Then Zillow came along and empowered the buyer and seller. Barret Blondeau wanted to find a way to empower both.
Barret Blondeau, his Falaya platform lets anyone buy or sell a house online, including real estate agents
Barret’s startup platform Falaya — like Atcha-falaya — tries to make real estate transactions flow smoothly like a river. The platform gives customers the cost efficiency of flat rate, which in turn gives the real estate agent the stability of a steady income — not just a one-time commission.
Since launching the concept, Falaya has sold 210 properties valued at $50 million and saved buyers and sellers $1.5 million on typical commissions.
A good real estate agent gets the personal touch. Think of the smell of cookies wafting at an open house. Well, Pam Flugence is all about the personal touch. Her company, Let’s Create, helps folks create custom gifts for their friends and family on their own.
Pam Flugence, after a couple of decades at Stuller she decided to take her own advice and DIY with a DIY business, Let’s Create
Let’s Create lets you customize anything: t-shirts, cups, koozies and crafts. Not into DIY? Well she’s got classes for that.
Pam puts the personal touch herself, teaching customers how to make creations of their own. It’s called Let’s Create after all.
Pam has worked for almost two decades at Lafayette jewelry manufacturing powerhouse, Stuller Inc. and is a 2021 graduate of the business incubator, Accelerate Northside, at the Moody College of Business at UL.
Audio engineer Dylan Babineaux, Pam Flugence, Jan Swift, Barret Blondeau and researcher Lea Urdiales, Out to Lunch at Tula Tacos
Jan Swift sits in for Christiaan Mader on this edition of Out to Lunch Acadiana, recorded live over lunch at Tula Tacos and Amigos in downtown Lafayette. Photos by Astor Morgan.
