Winners in Our Midst: Progress Through Partnership – The Property NXT Story
Welcome to the fourth edition of ‘Winners in our Midst’, the series where we celebrate the entrepreneurial drive lighting up the AustCham Singapore community. This month, we’re sitting down with Cilla Burgmann, co-founder of Property NXT, a business born from lived experience to serve a specific niche with a distinct need: Australian expats seeking to build their property portfolios back home.
In just over a year, Cilla and her co-founder Luke Pervan have created a business that is not just closing a gap in the market but is building significant wealth for its clients back home.
An Expat-Sized Opportunity
For the 15 years Cilla and Luke had cumulatively lived in Singapore, they noticed a recurring theme - while Aussie expats were often savvy investors in stocks and shares, they often stopped at one property back home, unsure how to build a strategic portfolio from afar.
“We are all about understanding the market dynamics of Australian real estate, which are constantly changing,” Cilla explains. “We are here to enable the opportunity of property portfolio building for expats; something that isn't always presented to them.”
The spark for Property NXT came from a conversation between Cilla’s husband, Jamie Burgmann, and Luke, who has over 20 years of real estate experience. Jamie, like other financial advisors in Singapore, was looking for partners on the ground who could give his clients strategic, objective advice on property investment and portfolio building, as part of his holistic approach. Luke and Jamie realised that Property NXT could be the bridge – a Singapore-based firm dedicated to helping expats navigate the nuances of the Australian property market with an education-first approach.
The Architect and the Engineer
Starting a business is never a straight line, a fact Cilla is refreshingly honest about. “I had personal experience and success in real estate, but no professional experience.”
There was definitely a moment of “Am I able to do this?” she admits. The key was combining complementary skills. “What I was able to do was lean on my strategy, marketing and operational experience, whilst drawing on Luke’s deep real estate expertise. Our ‘superpowers’ have combined to create a great business.”
Entrepreneurial anxiety is a familiar feeling for any founder. As Cilla notes, you are suddenly responsible for every pillar of the business, from finance and compliance to brand building and digital marketing. You can feel stretched and sometimes wonder what you are doing, but her take on it is pragmatic: “Even with all the skills, expertise and confidence in the world, to some extent, you need to be comfortable with building the plane while you fly it.”
The Power of the Pivot
Validation of their model came early, from one of their first clients. A couple purchased a property off-the-plan in Queensland for $875k and, within six months, it was revalued at $1.05 million – a 15% equity gain before their mortgage even kicked in. This incredible result sparked one of those “Aha!” moments, to which founders become accustomed.
Initially, Property NXT offered services across three types of property investment: commercial, residential and principal place of residence. After seeing the powerful growth in new builds, they made a bold move. “We decided to scrap being a business that would find the perfect existing property for someone,” Cilla says. “We zeroed in on new builds because that is where we see the most capital growth.” It was a brave pivot, which still allows PropertyNXT to focus on its vision: creating wealth through property for Australian expats.
The Founder's Playbook
If Cilla could share one piece of advice over a coffee, it would be to embrace “progress over perfection.”
“Luke and I are fortunate enough to be the kind of partners who are OK with things being a bit scrappy,” she says. “You don't need to have things at 100% perfect before launching.”
However, Cilla wishes someone had told her to prioritise more ruthlessly from Day 1. In a sentiment many entrepreneurs will recognise, she reflects, “The empowering thing about being an entrepreneur is that you have the ability to decide what you take on and what you don't, whilst the biggest challenge is having the ability to decide what you take on and what you don't!”
Get in Touch
Cilla and Luke are self-confessed extroverts who love building networks and relationships, and they are keen to connect more broadly and deeply with the AustCham Singapore community.
So, if you are an Australian expat curious about strategically building your property portfolio back home, don’t hesitate to start a conversation. They are also eager to explore mutually beneficial partnerships with other Australian-owned businesses serving the expat community.
You can contact Cilla at cilla@propertynxtaustralia.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Feature in ‘Winners in our Midst’
Are you a small business owner or entrepreneur within the AustCham Singapore community with a story to tell? We’d love to hear from you! Please register your interest in being featured in our series by contacting members@austcham.org.sg.