CR Magazine - Autumn 2016

Introducing Upstream
There are many questions about the National Association of REALTORS ® -backed Upstream.
Steve Baird is a member of Upstream’s Board of Managers. He breaks down Upstream for us:
what it is, and why REALTORS ® should be excited about this new technology platform.
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they leveraged one of their greatest assets – data – the question
arose: "If we could start over today with a clean slate, how would
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delivery of rich, relevant information to consumers, and to be
successful in this, they needed to expand upon the types of
data managed and have complete control of distribution.
Enter Upstream, a project conceived, owned and managed
by brokers.
What Is It?
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and various other platforms. Upstream creates a single entry point
for all real estate data and eliminates duplicative data entry costs
by cross-referencing many types of real estate data beyond a listing
data set. Upstream gives brokers full control so they can distribute
ti data i ad ffi it t a vait tat ta
helps brokers manage their costs and frees up precious resources
that are better used in serving clients and growing their business.
Upstream incorporates the RESO data standard, providing a single
data format for listings and acting as the model for new, related data
standards to be established. A single data format eliminates the
hidden cost of normalization and allows both internal and external
developers to innovate and meet consumer needs instead of focusing
on data transformation and forcing “square pegs into round holes.”
Who Can Access the Data?
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and the consumers they serve. Now, they can distribute all or partial
data sets as it best suits their business practices and strategies.
Only the broker can determine who receives their data and no one,
including Upstream, Realtors Property Resource ® (RPR ® ) or NAR
can access a broker’s data without express permission.
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brokers and local multiple listing services who struggle to enforce
compliance with national vendors. The platform will uniquely “tag”
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ownership better and facilitate optimal "exchange rates" when
negotiating use of their data. Additionally, the data is protected from
hacking, physical theft and natural disaster because it resides on a
platform that is secure, highly available and highly redundant. This is
a great value to many who do not have the resources or expertise to
maintain an enterprise-class ecosystem.
Upstream’s Relationship with Local Multiple
Listing Services
Upstream’s founders are united in the belief that the company
will not become, nor ever compete with, an MLS, and we have
embedded those beliefs into our agreements. Upstream will be
working closely with every MLS to ensure their business rules
are accurately implemented and maintained, ensure data errors
are corrected promptly, and ensure agent rosters are accurately
maintained in compliance with local and state regulations.
Upstream’s Partners
RPR ® was chosen to be the technology vendor after reviewing the
t idati a ® ’s platform, which
proved to be comprehensive, reliable and sophisticated. Second,
RPR ® understands the industry and the needs of each stakeholder.
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industry, as demonstrated by funding RPR's development and
launch activities through 2017. It is neither a loan nor an investment
and does not require repayment. Upstream will eventually begin
to pay RPR ® for ongoing operations and support in 2018. Brokers,
franchise systems and referral networks who embrace Upstream’s
vision continue to generously fund all other operations.
Upstream was originally envisioned as a cooperative where all
members shared based upon their participation and contribution.
It is governed by a tiered board of managers, requiring leadership
from brokerages of all sizes. Each broker is only allowed one unit
of membership. The cost of each unit is 100 dollars so as to not
create any barriers to entry, and so that no single member gains
an advantage. Upstream’s Operating Agreement mandates it to
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lowest possible cost. The Board of Managers is never compensated,
and there will never be an expectation of distributions or exit (IPO,
sale, etcetera). Any changes to Upstream’s charter require a full
board vote, and a quorum requires a majority with representation
from each broker sub-class.
In Conclusion
Upstream: conceived, owned and managed by brokers. You could
not ask for a better example of cooperative spirit than this diverse
group of often competitive stakeholders collaborating to improve
an industry.
Steve Baird
President & CEO
Baird & Warner
28 Chicago REALTOR ® Magazine