Robert Price had built something remarkable. At Axia, he helped grow a multi-billion dollar fiber optics company from the early days of cloud computing. Then, when the company sold, he'd earned the right to step back and think about what mattered.

Instead, he wrote a $50,000 check.

At the time, Robert was selling a home and buying another at the same time. By the end of closing, after all the broker fees, commissions, and processing costs, he'd paid $50,000 for what felt like nothing; a few signatures and some paperwork, all tied to a system that hadn't changed in decades.

"That's when it hit me," Robert realized. "Everything about buying and selling a home is now digital. We shop online. We see listings online. We find each other online. But somehow we still need two brokers to close the deal."

That question became B?de.

The Market That Time Forgot

Real estate is one of the biggest industries in the world, while also being one of the least modernized. The commissions are standardized across provinces, the regulatory environment is locked in, and often the barriers to entry are insurmountable for anyone trying to innovate.

And the cost to homeowners could be crushing; especially when home affordability is already a crisis.

Robert's insight was simple but powerful: If the shopping is digital and the buyer-seller connection is direct, why do we need the middlemen at all?

Five years later, B?de has sold over 3,000 properties representing $2.25 billion in transactions. Homeowners and enterprise customers alike are saving $15,000-20,000 per transaction while B?de is expanding across Canada (with the United States soon in their sights).

Platform + AI: The Real Game-Changer

What's remarkable about B?de's vision goes far beyond the transaction. Once a homeowner owns the property, the real opportunity emerges.

What if AI could tell you which renovation actually increases your home's value? Which upgrades give you 2X returns versus 30% returns? Whether to rent out the basement? When to refinance? When to sell?

Right now, most homeowners make these decisions by feel. But Robert's team is combining proprietary AI, property-level data, and platform intelligence that can optimize every decision about your biggest asset.

The result: $50,000-60,000 in additional financial benefit for typical Canadian homeowners through smarter decisions.

For Robert and his team, the use of digital tech and AI is about amplifying human expertise, not replacing it. Which sounds a lot like what Boast does with R&D tax credits—using AI to make our experts better at what they do, not replacing them.

The Ethos

What struck us in this conversation was how Robert thinks about the problem. He's not anti-broker; he's pro-modernization. Simultaneously, he's not against human expertise, but rather giving people the intelligence they need to make smarter decisions.

That's a philosophy that resonates deeply with how Boast thinks about innovation, expertise, and about using technology to serve people rather than replace them.

Listen to the full episode to hear Robert's complete vision for transforming the homeownership journey and what happened when he decided that a $50,000 shock was worth solving.

About What the Tech from Boast

What the Tech features conversations with brilliant minds tackling some of the biggest problems in technology and business. Hosted by Paul Davenport, Boast.AI's Head of Content.