In 2023, Austin Beveridge bought a house in Tahoe. Less than a year later, he needed to sell it when life changed unexpectedly.
He called the realtor who helped him buy the place.
“They weren’t nearly as good at selling,” Austin remembered, “as they were buying. The selling process, which typically takes just 60 days on average, took nearly six months.”
The emotional real estate rollercoaster taught him a crucial lesson: the importance of the right realtor.
It also helped him co-found one of the nation’s most innovative real estate startups.
“Signing with the right realtor would have alleviated much of the stress,” he said. “They would’ve understood the outcome I was looking for from the get-go – which is exactly what the second realtor I signed with did.”
That’s the impetus of Goliath: the startup he and Max Yuan launched in early 2024. Goliath connects homeowners who are looking to sell with realtors that can guide them through the selling process.
Despite working with just over 200 realtors today, Goliath has a waitlist of over 11,000 realtors throughout the Southeast and is rapidly expanding its operations to meet this growing demand.
“It’s basically Match.com for homesellers and realtors,” Max said.
“We connect homeowners with the best realtor in their area,” said Austin.
In September 2024, Goliath relocated its headquarters from San Francisco to Chattanooga, specifically, to Brickyard, the venture capital firm on the Southside. For the Goliath team, working in Chattanooga is, well, a perfect match.
“It made sense to move here,” said Max. “It was where a lot of our customers were, and it’s where the institutions were buying, so we packed our things and made the move. Since then, we’ve spent time in person with our customers and learned how real estate works, which was quite different from our understanding on the coast. It’s been transformational for our business.”
Brickyard offered early investment plus immersion into the broader startup ecosystem. Plus, Max and Austin were surrounded by like-minded entrepreneurs in a community that is growing.
“We’re surrounded by people who are incredibly motivated, capable and humble—they’re willing to help one another and that’s something really special,” said Austin. “It’s a group of people you know you can rely on who will push you to become your best self. When things are going well they’ll cheer you on and when things aren’t going so well, they will hold you accountable.”
Goliath aims to create a real estate experience similar to Uber.
Homeowners share details about the property – its condition, a desired selling price, timeline for selling and available dates for showings.
“Realtors receive a notification with this information, and claim the appointment, much like drivers claiming their next ride,” said Sutin. “The realtor meets with the homeowner, and once the listing agreement is signed, they help sell their home.”
Goliath is available in a handful of markets; the team travels constantly, looking for the next appropriate city and realtors. And on every trip, they learn something new.
“We thought a realtor is a realtor is a realtor,” said Austin. “But each realtor is different and operates completely differently. They may specialize in a particular area, price point or property type. For example, an agent in Chattanooga may only sell houses in East Lake or Highland Park.”
“Or Signal Mountain,” said Max.
“The agents are the experts. They know all the intricacies of a neighborhood, the schools, the restaurants and the parks. Agents have a mental map of a neighborhood and can tell you what properties have traded hands recently and why two houses that are on the same street, but opposite sides have drastically different prices. That’s the real value they provide.”
To find potential sellers, Goliath created technology to track the “Four D’s” of real estate: diamonds, diapers, divorces, and deaths.
“People sell because life happens,” said Austin. “They get married, get divorced, have a kid, their kid goes to college and so on. Life happens, and when it does, people move on to the next phase of their life, which often involves parting ways with their largest financial asset—their home.”
The Goliath team says this is why it only matches homesellers with a curated list of trustworthy realtors.
“We have this litmus test,” said Austin. “If we wouldn’t let a realtor sell our grandma’s house, we wouldn’t introduce them to any homeowners.”
“It comes down to knowing what someone’s great at, where they shine, and—most importantly—how they’ve treated people along the way,” he continued. “Most homeowners only sell once or twice in their lives. So, we make sure they’re matched with someone who treats it like the most important deal of their career because for us, delivering the best possible experience isn’t just a goal, it’s the bare minimum.”
A good match between a realtor and a homeowner?
“Feels like magic,” said Austin. “They get each other instantly. The homeowner feels seen, the agent feels heard and suddenly the whole process, which is usually stressful, feels less so. Like someone finally turned on the lights in a dark room.”
For Goliath, the future looks potentially like this:
“You buy with Zillow,” said Max, “and you sell with Goliath.”
Currently, the Goliath team is working long days to make this vision a reality. The team is opening markets throughout the Southeast, signing agents, and supporting homeowners through the home-selling process. That’s thanks in part to the support of Brickyard and Chattanooga’s entrepreneurial scene.
“You’re trying to push the edge—build something most people don’t see yet. You’re charting a path through uncharted waters,” said Austin. “That’s why it matters who’s in the boat with you. I’m incredibly grateful to our team for showing up every day to guide homeowners through this journey. Brian, Ahmed, Zach, Tommy, Ramiro—we couldn’t do it without you.”
“What Brickyard has done is bring together people from all walks of life, from all over the country, into one place,” Max said. “Each one of them has said, ‘I don’t know if this will work—but I’m all in.’ That’s the magic. Put a bunch of people in a room who are crazy enough to believe they can change the world … and eventually, they will.”
See Goliath Data featured on WDEF News 12 below.
