There’s a moment every founder remembers – the problem so obvious and painful that ignoring it becomes impossible. For Gemma Young, that moment was rooted in one of life’s most emotional milestones: moving home.

“It’s the biggest thing you’ll ever buy or sell. And yet, in the UK, 1 in 3 transactions fall through. That’s wild. Imagine showing up for a flight and it just doesn’t take off 1 out of 3 times. It’s unthinkable in aviation, but somehow accepted in property.”

That disconnect was the spark behind Moverly, a PropTech platform Gemma co-founded to bring clarity, speed, and sanity to the UK home-moving experience. But her story isn’t just about software, it’s about experience, timing, and building with empathy.

From Google to the Ground Floor

Gemma’s journey into startup life wasn’t a straight line. With early roots in the property industry and a career stint at Google, she saw the best – and worst – of how complex systems operate.

“At Google, I saw how products launch at scale. But before that, I worked inside the property sector. So I knew firsthand how disconnected and frustrating it can be to buy or sell a home.”

Her first startup taught her even more.

“In my last business, I had to push hard to create demand. Everything was uphill. This time, the market is pulling the product. That shift in energy is massive.”

It’s one of her biggest pieces of advice to aspiring founders: don’t try to force product-market fit, find a problem where the demand already exists.

Building a Product the Market Was Already Asking For

Moverly didn’t start with flashy branding or a big marketing push. It started with a known pain, an emerging regulatory shift, and a clear path to impact.

“We knew the UK was moving toward new material information standards for property listings. We built Moverly to help professionals prepare homes for sale digitally, from collecting legal documents to streamlining compliance.”

That foresight paid off.

Moverly aligned early with National Trading Standards and became one of the few startups shaping the Property Data Trust Framework, a foundational initiative aiming to bring the same kind of transparency and interoperability to property that Open Banking brought to finance.

But Gemma doesn’t lead with buzzwords. She leads with outcomes.

“In our pilots, we saw transaction fall-through rates improve by 44%. This is a huge stat for the industry, and improving this gives much more peace of mind for people going through huge life changes.”

No Growth Hacking. Just Trust, Timing, and Thought Leadership.

You’d expect a startup with Moverly’s growth to have a full-stack marketing engine. Instead, they’ve barely scratched the surface of traditional growth.

“We’ve actually been really reactive. The demand has come to us. Our growth has been led by reputation, partner conversations, and thought leadership, especially on LinkedIn.”

Instead of performance marketing or outbound sales, Moverly leaned into credibility and clarity, showing up in the right rooms with the right message at the right time.

“We’re not selling vaporware. The product solves a real industry headache. That’s what drives our inbound.”

And while many startups chase scale with bloated teams, Gemma’s playing the long game.

“We’re building a business for the AI age. That means staying lean and automating wherever we can. We’re passionate about keeping the team small and agile.”

A Founder Who’s Paying It Forward

In a sea of founder advice, Gemma’s message cuts through: Don’t try to invent a need. Solve a real one.

“Find a niche where the demand is already there. Ideally, where something external, regulatory, behavioral, or societal is already pushing change forward. Then build with clarity and empathy.”

And when you find that space?

“Go niche, go deep, go small. Then grow from there.”

Moverly’s journey is proof that early traction doesn’t need to come from ads, hacks, or hype. It can come from intimacy with the problem, credibility in the market, and the discipline to build slowly but smartly.

“We’re already doing thousands of transactions. We’ve captured over 1% of the market in under a year. And we’re just getting started.”

With a recent strategic investment from LMS, the creators of the National Property Transaction Network, Moverly is now accelerating its mission to make home-moving in the UK faster, fairer, and more transparent.

“We’re not just growing, we’re transforming how people move home in the UK.”

Final Takeaway for Aspiring Founders

If you’re still on the sidelines, sketching ideas in your notebook or waiting for the “perfect moment”, let Gemma’s story be your signal.

You don’t need to be loud. You don’t need to be everywhere. But you do need to solve something real.

And if you can, the market will pull you forward.