It was with much trepidation that I set off for Celtic Manor last Thursday. estatecreate was one of four companies invited to pitch at RESI’s Next Big Thing.

The format was part Dragons’ Den, part conference. We were given a 4 minute slot to pitch to the audience of 1,000 delegates, followed by a grilling by the Dragons. I am not sure whether my nerves were down to the audience of 1,000 or the Dragon line up of:

• Bruce Ritchie, chief executive officer and founder, Residential Land
• Nick Candy, chief executive officer, Candy & Candy
• John Hitchcox, chair, Yoo
• Harry Handelsman, chief executive officer, Manhattan Loft Corporation

As with all these type of things, the nerves were worse than the reality and it was a lot of fun. The audience voted by text and the Dragons made the final decision – estatecreate is now officially RESI’s Next Big Thing.