Proptech Luxembourg: Why Do We Outsource to Europe

AscendixTech is a proptech software development & consulting firm originally from Dallas, where almost 3 decades ago it was set up by two lifetime friends, Wes Snow and Todd Terry, who were driven by the idea of automating business processes in the historically under-digitized real estate industry.

Today, we are still very much committed to this goal, but on a much larger scale – both geographically and in terms of the proptech services we offer. The push to success for us was tapping into the Europe proptech scene by setting up outsourcing offices in Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, as well as Ukraine – the first destination in our outsourcing story.

Each of these locations has opened up an immense array of opportunities to enhance our proptech software development capabilities and deliver cost-effective solutions for clients. But let’s have a look in more detail at how outsourcing to these countries add value to proptech firms, Luxembourg first on the list.

Proptech Luxembourg: How & Why Did We Set Up an Office There?

The second smallest country in Europe, proptech Luxembourg is probably not the first destination that comes to your mind when you think of proptech software development outsourcing. However, there are plenty of reasons how offshoring to this country can benefit your proptech initiatives, just as it did with ours.

We set up a proptech office in Luxembourg in the early beginning of 2022, but at the time we had been already doing business with our clients there, one of which was a longtime partner of ours – Flibco – one of Europe’s biggest transportation companies offering shuttle services. We developed a booking application for them and are still supporting their technology needs.

Read the whole case study to find out how our partnership evolved over the years.

So, what are the reasons that drew us to the Proptech Luxembourg scene?

• Attractive Investment Climate for Our Clients. Luxembourg’s government has implemented initiatives to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship, and the growth of the digital sector. One notable example is Luxembourg Future Fund – a public investment fund that provides funding and equity investments to startups and technology-driven companies. For our clients, many of whom are proptech startups, this means easier access to potential funding opportunities and support for growth.
• Adding to the above and continuing the topic of a favorable investment climate, it should be noted that Luxembourg is home to some of the top proptech VC funds. Husqvarna who shapes green spaces and urban environments, Rise PropTech dedicated to Late-Seed and Series A startups active in the PropTech Luxembourg sector, 2150 aiming to shape the sustainable cities of the future, and many others – all reside here.
• Vibrant Luxembourgish Proptech Community. When we first set our sights on proptech in Luxembourg, we found out that the local community was booming with creative minds eager to disrupt real estate with technology. For example, LuxPropTech is the Luxembourgish community of innovators in construction & real estate. Not so long ago they merged with PropTech Lab, the Belgian proptech network and now gather more than 300 company members in Luxembourg & Belgium. Additionally, there are corporations that are active in the Real Estate or technology sector such as Deloitte, BPI, Panhard Luxembourg, Wildgen, LBH, Inowai, Telkea.
• Easy Company Setup: Luxembourg offers a business-friendly environment with straightforward procedures for company formation. The country provides clear guidelines, online platforms, and dedicated support services to facilitate the setup process. Additionally, Luxembourg has a robust banking sector that makes it convenient to open a corporate bank account. These factors contribute to the overall ease of establishing a company in Luxembourg and attract businesses looking for a hassle-free setup experience.
• Convenient Time Overlap with Europe and America. When setting up an office in a new geography we always pay close attention to how our teams will be communicating timewise. We already have learned our lessons of what poor communication and time overlap can lead to when we tried outsourcing to India and China a decade ago and arrived at the conclusion that Luxembourg would be the ideal option as it would allow us to serve Europe with close to zero time difference as well the US where time difference is typically 6 hours depending on where exactly you are in the US.
• Finally, Impeccable English Skills. As a US-based company with clients primarily from America and Europe, effective communication across our five geographies is essential. In our experience, outsourcing to regions with language barriers, such as East Asia, can lead to challenges in aligning project understanding and objectives. The strong English language skills in Luxembourg enable clear and efficient communication, a crucial aspect in the highly regulated and complex real estate industry.

Why Luxembourg for Proptech

Considering the above, our presence in Luxembourg can potentially benefit our clients in the following ways:

• Our proptech startup clients can relatively easily tap into the European proptech community and access VC funding. In the meantime, we would make sure their product is up to market, solves the real estate players’ pain points, and follows the industry’s best practices and workflows.
• Similarly, proptech investors can find promising startups and leverage our expertise to ensure their technology solves the market’s needs, their code is clean, and the team is capable of executing their vision.

Proptech Luxembourg: Top 5 Proptech VC Funds

As mentioned above, proptech in Luxembourg is booming and the reason (or maybe a result) of this growth is a big pool of VC funds focusing exclusively on proptech and propelling the innovation forward by investing in promising startups that strive to offer new ways of how real estate transactions are executed.

1. Husqvarna VC Fund

• Investment Focus: Internet of Things, Apps, SaaS
• Geographical Focus: United States, Finland, Luxembourg

Husqvarna VC Fund focuses on shaping green spaces and urban environments through user-centered and sustainable solutions. With a passion for innovation, they invest in proptech startups with expertise in Internet of Things (IoT), Apps, and proptech Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Their portfolio highlights include Moleaer, a nanobubble generator for efficient gas injection; GAMMA AR, a construction app using augmented reality for improved building processes; and Soil Scout, offering advanced soil monitoring solutions for agriculture and sports turf maintenance.

Portfolio Highlights:

• Moleaer: Offers a market-leading nanobubble generator for efficient gas injection into liquids.
• GAMMA AR: Provides a construction app that brings BIM models to the construction site using augmented reality.
• Soil Scout: Offers advanced soil monitoring solutions for professional agriculture, golf, and sports turf maintenance.

2. Extantia Capital

• Investment Focus: Renewable Energy, Energy, Solar
• Geographical Focus: Germany, Israel, Luxembourg

Extantia Capital invests in renewable energy, energy, and solar startups. With a commitment to sustainability, they support innovative solutions in the green energy sector. Their portfolio includes MAGNOTHERM, developing next-generation cooling systems; Luminescent Solar Power, offering super-efficient, low-cost waste heat engines; and RepAir, which develops a Direct Air Capture system for large-scale CO2 capture using renewable energy.

Portfolio Highlights:

• MAGNOTHERM: Develops next-generation cooling solutions with zero GWP, no toxicity, and no explosivity.
• Luminescent Solar Power: Provides a super-efficient, low-cost, waste heat engine for sustainable power generation.
• RepAir: Develops a Direct Air Capture system for gigaton-scale CO2 capture, powered solely by renewable energy.

3. Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund

• Investment Focus: Software, Renewable Energy, Energy
• Geographical Focus: United States, Luxembourg, Kenya

Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund is committed to investing in software, renewable energy, and energy startups. With a focus on sustainability, they support innovative solutions addressing climate change. Portfolio highlights include Mitiga Solutions, mitigating risks from climate-driven perils; AMP Robotics, developing scalable robotic systems for smart recycling; and BlocPower, providing all-electric heating and cooling solutions with energy-saving incentives.

Portfolio Highlights:

• Mitiga Solutions: Mitigates risks from climate-driven perils to business assets worldwide.
• AMP Robotics: Develops scalable robotic systems for smart recycling facilities, reducing recycling costs.
• BlocPower: Provides all-electric heating and cooling solutions with big incentives for energy savings.

4. Rise PropTech

• Investment Focus: SaaS, Software, Scheduling
• Geographical Focus: France, Luxembourg

Rise PropTech Fund is a venture capital fund dedicated to supporting late-seed and Series A startups in the PropTech sector. Their investment focus lies in SaaS, Software, and Scheduling. Noteworthy investments include TEAMOTY, a cloud-based Schedule Management Platform for the Construction Industry, and Leko Labs, accelerating the transition to carbon-negative construction with AI-optimized building materials.

Portfolio Highlights:

• TEAMOTY: A cloud-based Schedule Management Platform for the Construction Industry, optimizing resource management and project accuracy.
• Leko Labs: Accelerates the global transition to carbon-negative construction through AI-optimized and robotic manufacturing of building materials.

5. Benoit Schaus

• Investment Focus: SaaS, Software, Real Estate
• Geographical Focus: Luxembourg

Benoit Schaus is a Partner at Deloitte and an angel investor. He specializes in investments related to SaaS, Software, and Real Estate. Benoit Schaus has a seed investment focus and is actively involved in the Luxembourg startup ecosystem. One of his portfolio highlights includes kodehyve, a B2B management software that streamlines workflows and enhances transparency in the real estate industry through a powerful multi-sided collaboration platform.

Portfolio highlights:

• kodehyve — kodehyve is a B2B management software that helps real estate developers, agencies and funds to remove workflow inefficiencies and get rid of transparency issues through the use of a powerful multi-sided real estate management collaboration software.

Proptech Outsourcing to Portugal: Yes or No?

A few years ago, we made the strategic decision to establish an office in Porto, Portugal to enhance our CRM consulting services. Although our office primarily focuses on Salesforce and business automation rather than proptech exclusively, we quickly recognized the significant potential for proptech growth in Portugal.

Key facts about Outsourcing to Portugal

The Proptech in Portugal is just unfolding, with scores of foreign buyers, the property prices. Demand for real estate services has strengthened and fueled a demand for proptech players. There are some very interesting startups working in proptech in Portugal. Just take Casavo for example – a startup that is among Europe’s largest iBuyers and has raised over €400m to date in equity and debt from the likes of Goldman Sachs, Greenoaks and Exor seeds. Other notable proptech startups in Portugal include:

Infraspeak – software for facility and asset management, leveraging advanced web, mobile, and IoT technologies to improve control and productivity. The startup received €1.6 million in funding for international expansion.

• CORKBRICK – a real-size modular system inspired by Lego, aiming to revolutionize living spaces and provide benefits such as better indoor climate and sound isolation.
• Look4homes.eu – a website specialized in promoting holiday rentals, long-term rents, and real estate sales. They aim to provide user-friendly tools and options for successful estate promotion and facilitate direct contact between parties.

Overall, Portugal became a worthy destination to further extend our real estate software development capabilities for us and may become one for you because:

• It is still an emerging market for real estate technology. Despite the existence of some startups and solution mentioned above there is still a lot of untapped potential when it comes to digitalizing real estate services.
• It has a very business-friendly environment with its “Golden Visa” program introduced in 2012 that has further boosted the real estate tech market by attracting foreign investors and developers.
• Competitive cost. According to our previous research, proptech software engineers usually charge 25-50 Euro / hour, which is much lower than the rest of the Western Europe and definitely less than the US.
• Portugal has great time alignment with the rest of Europe and only 6 hours with our Dallas-based office.

Real Estate Software Dev Outsourcing to Poland: Our Story

In the year 2022, we also set up a proptech development center in Warsaw, Poland. This decision was swift but apparently correct and was made following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where our first software development office was established a decade ago.

Facts about IT Outsourcing to Poland

We had to act swiftly. Poland was an area we had previously considered when establishing our CRM practices center in Portugal. Poland, much like Ukraine a decade ago, remains an untapped market with significant IT outsourcing potential, competitive rates, and skilled tech resources.

Poland offers compelling reasons for considering proptech outsourcing:

• The abundance of IT Professionals: Poland boasts the largest number of IT professionals in Eastern Europe, with approximately 450,000 tech specialists, including 295,000 software developers. The country produces 80,000 ICT graduates annually, ensuring a steady supply of skilled talent.
• Competitive Rates: The average hourly developer rates in Poland range from $25 to $50, which compares favorably to rates in the US ($55 to $85). This cost advantage allows companies to optimize their development budgets without compromising on quality.
• Tech Talent and Foreign Investment: Poland has a strong pool of tech talent, with 66% of professionals employed by foreign capital. The presence of foreign investments in the tech industry highlights the country’s attractiveness for global companies.
• Favorable Time Zone: Poland is only one hour ahead of Western Europe and five hours ahead of the US (EST), creating significant overlap in business hours. This enables seamless collaboration and communication with clients in Western Europe and the US.
• English Proficiency: Poland ranks 16th out of 112 countries in the EF English Proficiency Index, indicating a high level of English language skills among the population. This proficiency facilitates effective communication and minimizes language barriers for international clients.
• Cultural Proximity: Poland’s Slavic culture shares a degree of cultural proximity with Western European regions, making collaboration and understanding easier for companies based in the West.
• Cost of Living and Rent: The cost of living in Poland is approximately 49.68% lower than in the United States, with rent prices being 70.14% lower. This cost advantage translates to competitive rates for outsourcing partners while maintaining a favorable standard of living for employees.

Apart from that, Poland has a vibrant proptech community led by ProptechPoland.org and Proptech Foundation Founders Board. While the former one serves as a platform for proptech firms and startups, the latter unites the most impactful managers and experts representing the CRE industry across the country.

Working with Ukrainian Developers Amidst the War

Amidst the war, our journey with Ukrainian developers has been one of resilience and determination. Nearly a decade ago, we saw the untapped potential in Ukraine’s IT services industry and set up an office for software development. As we transitioned to proptech, the collaboration only grew stronger, and the war did little to deter the dedication of our Ukrainian team.

Many of our developers have moved to safer locations in Western Ukraine, while some have relocated to our Western European offices. Despite the challenges posed by power outages and constant danger, our team meetings remained largely uninterrupted, and client projects were unaffected. The professionalism and loyalty of Ukrainian developers have been crucial in ensuring continuity.

The IT industry in Ukraine has shown remarkable flexibility and adaptability, making efforts to provide stable internet access and keep operations running smoothly. Despite a decline in new vacancies during the war, the majority of software developers returned to full-time work, demonstrating their commitment to their craft.

Amid the changing landscape, Ukrainian developers are actively seeking new projects, presenting an opportunity for companies to benefit from lower rates and access to highly skilled personnel.

Why Hire Ukrainian developers for proptech?

Key facts about software development outsourcing to Ukraine

• Development outsourcing rates range from $28 to $60 per hour
• Median software developer salary of $35,000
• 75% of European countries hire software developers from Ukraine
• Over 40,000 new tech specialists added to the industry yearly
• Over 1,000 events for IT specialists, startups, and investors held annually
• Ukraine is 1 hour ahead of Western Europe and 7 hours ahead of the US (EST)
• Ranked 11th in the top 50 world’s developers
• More than 150 tech universities and colleges
• Ranked 1st in Eastern Europe in terms of the number of IT professionals
• Ranked 7th globally in terms of quality and efficiency of the freelance workforce.

Despite the significant changes, we have taken measures to honor our commitments to clients and secure existing contracts:

• All our employees have been relocated to safe locations within the country, allowing our software developers to continue delivering top-notch products to consumers worldwide.
• As an additional safety measure, our Portuguese team is involved as a backup in the development process of customer projects, ensuring progress even in unforeseen circumstances.
• To safeguard clients’ sensitive data and code, they are encrypted and stored in the cloud outside of Ukrainian borders, providing an extra layer of protection.

Amidst the challenges of war, our partnership with Ukrainian developers remains strong, demonstrating their resilience and dedication to their craft, even in adverse circumstances. As a company, we stand in solidarity with Ukraine, and together, we continue to navigate through these trying times.

Final Words

At AscendixTech, we take great pride in being a go-to proptech partner in Luxembourg and Europe. Our decision to establish offices in Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine has allowed us to tap into the immense potential of these markets.

Luxembourg offers an attractive investment climate, a vibrant proptech community, convenient time overlap with Europe and the US, and strong English language skills.

Portugal and Poland, on the other hand, provide emerging proptech markets with competitive costs, abundant IT professionals, favorable time zones, and cultural proximity to Western Europe.

With this unique blend of multigeographical presence and expertise, we are able to provide the best possible rates for our clients for the best curated proptech development services. You can also benefit from our varied engagement models, giving you the freedom of choice on how close you’d like us to be involved in your project.

Contact us today for a free estimate and discover how AscendixTech can propel your proptech initiatives to new heights.