Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n
Despite its vast size, the global real estate industry remains heavily dependent on manual processes and legacy systems. NUS Executive MBA alumnus (Class of 2025) <\/span>Saranyan <\/span>Rangarajan(Saran), Founder & CEO of Proplens AI, recognised an opportunity to challenge this inertia with a platform designed for scale, speed, and accuracy.<\/span><\/p>\n Drawing on more than 14 years in sales and marketing leadership, <\/span>Saran <\/span>enrolled in the NUS EMBA to expand his skills\u2014and gained far more than he anticipated. We talk to him to find out about his decision and how it helped him build Proplens.<\/span><\/p>\n From Specialist to Startup Leader<\/b><\/p>\n Before founding Proplens, Saran built a successful career in marketing and sales. However, as he considered starting his venture, he aimed to broaden his skills and chose to join the NUS Executive MBA (EMBA) program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>I was specifically from a marketing & sales background, and the EMBA opened my perspectives to learn all aspects of business building & management,<\/span>\u201d he reflects.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He explains his decision: \u201cThe programme succeeds in grooming functional specialists into generalist leaders.\u201d And more importantly for tech founders, \u201cthe modules on data management, analytics, and AI were a catalyst toward founding a tech startup.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He also believed that what distinguished the EMBA was its diversity, not only in terms of nationalities but also across various industries and functions. \u201cThe informal and formal interactions with batchmates from various industries were an eye-opener, and it provided me with practical lessons on process redesign and technology-led transformation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Spark Behind Proplens AI<\/b><\/p>\n But how did the idea for Proplens first come to mind?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Saran\u2019s vision came from years of witnessing inefficiencies in real estate sales\u2014fragmented processes, high costs, and inconsistent <\/span>customer<\/span> experiences. He saw a chance to reimagine the system using AI.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s disproportionate spend on marketing and sales\u2014up to 5\u201310% of revenue\u2014and a heavy reliance on external partners,\u201d he shared in a Money FM interview. \u201cInsights are anecdotal\u2026 teams often don\u2019t have a structured view of why buyers are converting or dropping off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Proplens AI was born to address these gaps. It\u2019s a vertical AI platform built specifically for real estate developers and agencies, designed to automate and personalise every step of the customer journey\u2014from first inquiry to post-sales support.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are building AI agents that can automate work done by customer-facing teams,\u201d Saran explains. \u201cThese agents qualify leads, schedule viewings, manage follow-ups, and respond to buyer queries in real time. It\u2019s not about replacing humans\u2014it\u2019s about scaling their capabilities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Unlike traditional CRMs that act as systems of record, Proplens functions as a <\/span>co-pilot for sales and customer service. <\/span>\u201cEach property buyer is different. It\u2019s terrible to send one standard message to everyone. With AI, we can now send 10,000 tailored messages at scale\u2014each unique to the buyer\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Built for real estate, Proplens also integrates industry-specific data, such as local market sale\/lease transactions, legal and regulatory information and Google Maps, to generate hyper-local, comparative insights. \u201cThere\u2019s a reasoning layer on top,\u201d Saran notes. \u201cIt helps buyers and sellers understand why one project may be better than another\u2014based on real data, not just sales talk.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Zooming Out to See the Big Picture<\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>So, how did the EMBA help build the vision for Proplens? We asked the dynamic founder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou need to zoom out from your ingrained approach to see clearly what can be improved,\u201d he says. \u201cThe EMBA helped me <\/span>see the industry from an outside-in lens<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That lens shift also helped shape Proplens\u2019 broader mission: to increase sales conversions, reduce selling costs, and free up teams for higher-value tasks.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe project a 2X uplift in sales\/leasing\u00a0 conversions and 30\u201340% reduction in costs with Proplens. But more importantly, we\u2019re helping firms sell smarter, not just harder.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The EMBA\u2019s most practical impact came through specific modules that translated directly into business action. For Saran, two stood out.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe sessions on Innovation & Creativity helped me put new AI tools to practice and shaped how we designed our product experience. <\/span>International business management was another timely module in influencing how to think about business partnerships for expansion outside the home market of Singapore.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Saran affirms, \u201cStartups need to plan and build for regional markets from Day 1.\u201d Today, Proplens is already operating beyond Singapore, with plans to serve markets such as the UAE, India, Thailand, and Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n Key Takeaways for Future EMBA Candidates<\/b><\/p>\n It seems that, based on Saran\u2019s experience, the EMBA is particularly valuable for professionals facing disruption in traditional industries. After all, Proplens is a direct result of the mindset shift Saran experienced during the NUS EMBA. From refining his leadership style to informing product design and go-to-market strategies, the programme became integral to every stage of his journey. With Proplens, that mindset is now helping to transform one of the world\u2019s oldest industries, one intelligent agent at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n Interested in a similar program to build your skills, broaden your perspective and help your startup grow? It’s time to explore the NUS EMBA<\/a>. Get in touch with us<\/a> today to find out more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Despite its scale, real estate remains reliant on legacy systems. NUS EMBA alumnus Saranyan Rangarajan (Class of 2025) saw an opportunity to transform the industry with Proplens AI. In this blog, he shares how the NUS EMBA shaped his journey from sales leader to tech founder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":811,"featured_media":326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-profiles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n