Updater

By David Greenberg

Published Apr 7, 2018

Updated Jan 18, 2024

Updater is the pioneering ReloTech company, reinventing how Americans move by introducing groundbreaking technology. We are proud of several key defining characteristics that make Updater such a unique company in the industry.

Our core principles

At Updater, we prioritize the experience of our users (the relocating consumer using our technology). We turn a formerly painful process into an enjoyable and memorable life event. Others in the industry view relocating consumers as leads to be monetized to the fullest extent possible, which usually results in the selling of consumer data and a frustrating, painful moving experience. Unlike virtually all other offerings in the industry, we always prioritize our user, and we never sell the data of our users or our real estate partners. We’ve approached the industry from a new perspective; we’ve spent years building a sophisticated technology platform that enables all types of service providers to integrate with, and contribute to, our platform. This way, Updater can curate the moving experience, enabling seamless transactions within our platform and ensuring that all content that our users receive is perfectly relevant and helpful. We know which products and services are relevant for our users and we help them make informed decisions — all within our beautiful interface. We are the “user experience layer” for relocation, and users love it.

We offer a comprehensive and trustworthy platform

We’ve spent six years building relationships with thousands of service providers — from magazines, to airlines, to cable companies, to moving companies, to government agencies, and more — so that we can seamlessly help our users organize and complete all their moving-related tasks. Here are some of our most popular features:

• Mail forwarding. Updater is an authorized change-of-address filer with the USPS, and the largest third-party filer in the U.S. We’re able to optimize these filings and can quickly resolve any issues that arise. Filing with any other third party is risky because they can’t effectively resolve issues that arise.

• Home services. Updater has a proprietary technology system that matches each of our users with ideal providers and pricing specifically for their needs. We also have a full-time team of concierge specialists who do whatever they can to help our users find the best option at the best price, and then schedule everything for the user. On the other hand, other “moving services” are usually getting paid to convince your customers/clients/residents to sign up for certain services, regardless of whether those services are a good fit or a good value for them. In fact, these “pressure call centers” or online sign-up sites almost always have worse deals than if the user just called the providers directly.

• Moving services. Updater’s subsidiary, Dolly, enables Updater to offer users a seamless experience to find fast and affordable help with small local moves when a full-service moving company isn’t a practical solution. First, users tell Dolly when, where, and what they need help with and receive an upfront price quote. Then, within minutes, they will connect with a Dolly Helper, who will help them move their items. The entire experience can be tracked and communicated through the Dolly smartphone app, making moves easy, affordable, and safe.

Fantastic reviews and ratings

Founded in 2010, we have 10+ years of development, testing, and optimization under our belt, and we are constantly honing our product to incorporate hundreds of feature requests from users. The results are in! The NPS of our users who utilize our core features is consistently in the range of 70+, making Updater the clear industry leader for consumer satisfaction in the relocation industry. Updater is also highly-rated on the App Store, rated 4.8-stars by 1,000+ users. Numerous third party studies have proven that the other websites and call centers in the industry have awful NPS scores (often negative!) and poor Better Business Bureau ratings. Be careful where you send your clients/residents/customers.

Partners report tremendous value

We have spent years partnering and working with hundreds of real estate brokerages, property managers, moving companies, and others to build a dynamic product that allows our partners to co-brand, customize and take credit for delivering a great moving experience. Updater has been proven to help partners make more money, while simultaneously delivering a great experience. Therefore, getting a tiny kick-back from another company for sacrificing the happiness of your clients/customers/residents makes little sense.

Personalization, automatically

We have secured integrations with the most widely used and respected technology platforms in real estate and relocation. Our integrations enable our partners to seamlessly and automatically send a co-branded, customized, and personalized version of Updater directly into the hands of their customers/clients/residents. It all runs behind the scenes — with no work on the part of our partners. Every Updater user receives a personalized Updater experience, as we know where and when the user is moving and exactly which services are relevant for their move. We’ve already built the perfect product for each user before they even claim their account.

We have the brightest minds and industry icons behind our product

Our team includes some of the most seasoned leaders from the residential real estate and relocation industries. These professionals have led our industries through years of innovation and are frequently asked to speak on panels, teach education sessions, and share their knowledge with the industry. Our industry team includes Ash Bell, Jenna Weinerman, Greg Hicks, Chris Avery, Wade McGown, Chris Saad, Amanda Amato, and more.

Hundreds of the most successful real estate and relocation companies in the U.S. already use Updater and love it

A few of our wonderful partners include:

• NRT, LLC, ranked the #1 real estate brokerage in the nation for sales volume and transactions sides for 18 consecutive years.

• RE/MAX Results, the largest multi-office RE/MAX in the world; Edina Realty, the largest real estate company in Minnesota by sales volume and transaction sides.

• Fairfield Residential Company, LLC, the Bozzuto Group, and Village Green, ranked as 3 of the nation’s Top 50 Apartment Managers in 2017, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC). But, they’re not the only ones – we also partner with 15 NMHC Top 50 Apartment Managers and 10 NMHC Top 50 Apartment Owners, plus hundreds of incredibly talented partners that aren’t on the list.

• Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC, the largest apartment management company in the United States, according to the 2017 NMHC rankings. Greystar manages a portfolio of over 400,000 units across 1,800 properties, with a presence in all 50 states.

• Two major U.S. van lines: Wheaton | Bekins and National Van Lines. We also partner with most of the top-rated, award-winning van line agents and independent moving companies in the nation, including Hilldrup, Ace Relocation, Planes Companies, and many more.

We process 25% of all household moves in the U.S.

We have so many leading real estate partners that every month, 25% of all household moves nationally run through Updater. With that scale, we are able to negotiate better pricing and service for our users than available anywhere else. There’s a reason over one million households have used Updater.

We are well-funded and here to stay

Updater has raised nearly $500M and is backed by Fidelity International, SoftBank, the National Association of REALTORS®, and approximately 20 other major global funds.

We have the ultimate endorsements

We have the support and mentorship of the largest trade association in the country: the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The strategic investment division of NAR has invested millions of dollars in Updater, affording us the opportunity to learn from the absolute best in the real estate industry and perfect our product for the real estate and relocation communities. Our relationship with NAR and its members marked a special moment — when, for the first time, real estate and relocation truly came together for the benefit of the consumer.

Also, over the years, Updater has won a multitude of esteemed awards and honors, including:

• “Most Innovative Technology Company of the Year” — American Business Awards, 2015, 2016, & 2017

• “Best Technology” — American Moving & Storage Association, 2014 & 2016

• Summit Award – American Moving & Storage Association, 2017

• Apartment Innovator Award — National Multifamily Housing Council, 2015

• #3 Best Place to Work in New York City – Crain’s New York Business, 2016 – Ranked the #1 technology company and the #3 company overall

• #7 Best Place to Work in New York City – Crain’s New York Business, 2018

• Selected to ring NASDAQ Closing Bell in honor of NY Tech Day, 2015

• Top 3 Finalist in Realogy FWD Competition, 2013

• Selected as Charter Member of the National Association of REALTORS® tech accelerator, REach™

• Recognized by T3 Sixty as a top 5 best in class product in the moving systems category

David Greenberg

David is the Founder and CEO of Updater, the nation’s leading moving technology company. He works tirelessly to simplify the way over 12M US households move each year. He’s a die-hard Boston sports fan living in NYC.