ideal flatmate is a disruptive startup founded on a seemingly simple yet significant concern people commonly face: finding suitable living partners and great homes. With their unique flatsharing platform, ideal flatmate aims to be the trusted and go-to flatsharing site in the UK.

Company name: ideal flatmate

Founders: Tom Gatzen & Robert Imonikhe

Headquarters: London

Launched: 2016

Q: In simple terms, what does your startup do?

Tom: ideal flatmate is the first flatsharing platform that uses an algorithm to match flatmates up based on their lifestyle and living habits. We help flatsharers find suitable living partners and great homes.

Q: What problem/s do you seek to solve or address?

Tom: We are solving problems from both sides of the marketplace. For flathunters, we are providing a platform to allow them to filter out potential flatmates whom they are not going to be compatible living with, sparing them the frustration from flatmate arguments.

For landlords and property developers, we are helping them fill their properties with suitable tenants who are more likely to live together for longer, therefore saving them money by avoiding void periods. People who find an ideal flatmate report themselves to be twice as happy as people who found someone to live with via a different site.

Q: Are you funded, and how?

Tom: Yes, we have raised two rounds of funding totalling £1.25 M. This has been mainly from High Net Worth individuals.

Q: What were you doing before you started ideal flatmate?

Tom: I had a range of careers in law, politics and financial PR. Although I enjoyed these roles and learnt a lot from them, I have found running my own startup far more exciting and challenging!

Q: What inspired you to start ideal flatmate?

Tom: We founded the company based on the personal experience of Rob, my co-founder, and I. We met and lived together while studying and when looking for flatmates after leaving uni, we quickly realised the challenges of using existing sites to find compatible people to live with.

Q: What are your goals over the next 5 years? Where do see yourself and ideal flatmate?

Tom: We are still at the start of our journey with ideal flatmate. We are on track to become the busiest flatsharing site in the UK by the end of 2020 and then we will look to expand internationally.

To learn more, visit the ideal flatmate website.

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