The Viking Chats: navigating the choppy waters of property, technology and business
Welcome aboard The Viking Chats—the podcast where property, tech, and business collide in candid, no-fluff conversations. Hosted by Kristjan Byfield—lettings veteran, proptech pioneer, and co-founder of Base Property Specialists and The Depositary—this show dives deep into the real-world challenges and bold innovations shaping the future of the housing sector and beyond.
Each episode, Kristjan drops anchor with industry leaders, disruptors, and entrepreneurs to unpack the messy, inspiring, and often chaotic reality of running a modern business in a rapidly evolving landscape. Expect sharp insights, honest stories, and the occasional Viking metaphor—all served with Kristjan’s trademark wit and big-hearted honesty.
Whether you’re in lettings, launching a startup, or just love a good story about navigating change—this podcast is your compass in the storm.
Episodes
60 episodes
'If You Make It Look Easy, People Assume It Is' with Mouna Patel
If you’re really good at what you do, there’s a strange problem: you can make it look so easy that people start wondering what they’re paying you for.That dilemma sits at the heart of this episode of Viking Chats, as Kristjan sits...
The People Writing the Rules Need to Understand the Game with Rachel Hanniquet-Brooking
Rachel Hanniquet-Brooking has had one of those careers that makes considerably more sense when you look backwards than it probably did while she was living it.She grew up internationally, spending parts of her childhood in Singapore, Ame...
Stop Being a Fanny and Back Yourself with Lucy Noonan
Lucy Noonan started working in estate agency a week after her 16th birthday. Since then she’s been a negotiator, worked in lettings and franchising, managed the integration of acquired businesses, become an acquisitions director and, eventually...
Buying PropTech Is the Easy Bit with Taylor Coleman of Tapi
The property industry has never had more technology to choose from. CRMs, maintenance platforms, deposit solutions, referencing, inventories, AI tools, automation and an ever-growing collection of integrations all promise to make agents more ef...
Why Does Everything Reward You Except Your Rent? with Josh Pavis
We collect points when we fly, shop for groceries, stay in hotels and even buy a coffee. Yet for millions of renters, their single biggest monthly expense traditionally gives them absolutely nothing back.Why?In this episode of
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There with Sam Olliver
What happens when the processes, systems and structures that helped build a successful agency are no longer the ones it needs to keep growing?In this episode of The Viking Chats, Kristjan is joined by Sam Olliver, who has...
What You Don't Know Can Cost You with Paul Conway
How confident are you that your lettings business is fully compliant?If your answer is "pretty confident", this episode might make you think again.In this episode of The Viking Chats, Kristjan is joined by Paul Conway, fo...
The Industry Never Stands Still with Ed Mead
How much has the property industry really changed over the last 50 years?In this episode of *The Viking Chats*, Kristjan sits down with one of the industry's most recognisable figures, Ed Mead. From his early days learning the ropes in ...
Because We've Always Done It That Way with SJ Taylor
Why do so many businesses keep doing things in ways that no longer make sense?In this episode of The Viking Chats, Kristjan is joined by SJ Taylor of Greenhouse OS for a wide-ranging conversation about estate agency, lettings, t...
If Not Now... When? with Nicola & Paul Broomham
There comes a point in many careers where success stops being measured by job titles, turnover or the size of the team you manage. Instead, you begin asking much bigger questions.Am I enjoying this? Is this still what I want? What am I a...
The Best Ideas Challenge Assumptions with Anna & Paul of TaskHer
Sometimes the best business ideas aren't born from complex technology or revolutionary inventions.Sometimes they're born from a simple question.Why?Why do we accept things the way they are? Why do we continue doing s...
You can't train someone to care! with Clare Yates & Jo Bourne
What if the biggest problem facing estate agency isn't regulation, technology or even the market itself?What if it's people?Not because we don't have enough of them, but because we're still asking the wrong questions when we recru...
Success Doesn't Come From Staying Comfortable with Verona Frankish
What does great leadership actually look like?Is it having all the answers? Being the loudest voice in the room? Always appearing confident? Or is it something much simpler- and much harder- than that?In this episode of The Vi...
Property, AI & the Future of Trust with Sandra Jones of PriceHubble
There’s a fascinating shift happening across the property industry right now.On the surface, most of the conversation appears to revolve around legislation. The Renter’s Rights Act. Tribunal reform. EPC targets. Compliance changes. Data ...
Stress, Survival & the Cost of Trying to Be Everything to Everyone with Heather Foster
There are some conversations that end up becoming far more personal, reflective and emotionally honest than either person expected when the microphones first switched on.This was one of those conversations.In this episode of T...
“The Mountain Didn’t Break Me” - Sarka Wilde on Survival, Failure & Starting Again
When Sarka Wilde first joined me on The Viking Chats, the focus was very different.She was preparing to take on Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of Asia, raising money for the Propertymark Trust through what would become ...
Renter’s Rights, AI & the End of ‘Winging It’ in Lettings with Rajeev Nayyar
There’s a moment in this conversation with Rajeev Nayyar where the discussion stops being about the Renter’s Rights Act and starts becoming something much bigger.Because beneath all the headlines around tribunals, rent reviews and compl...
“We Don’t Have a Tech Problem – We Have a Thinking Problem” with Sammy Pahal, MD of UKPA
🎙 We Don’t Have a Tech Problem – We Have a Thinking ProblemThere’s a lot of noise in the property industry when it comes to “PropTech”.New platforms, new tools, new promises about transformation… and yet, if we’re honest, much of ...
Stop Guessing, Start Planning - The Truth About EPCs, MEES & Retrofit with Simon Bones
This week on The Viking Chats, I’m joined by Simon Bones, founder of Genous - a retrofit specialist on a mission to bring clarity, logic and (frankly) some much-needed honesty to the world of energy efficiency.Becaus...
Support When It Matters Most - Megan Eighteen & The Propertymark Trust (Podcasthon Special)
This episode of The Viking Chats is a little different.It’s part of Podcasthon - a global movement bringing podcasts together from across the world to shine a spotlight on charities and the incredible work they do....
From Bedroom Startup to Boardroom Influence - Theresa Wallace on 30 Years of Lettings Change
This week on The Viking Chats, I’m joined by someone who has quite literally grown alongside the modern private rented sector - Theresa Wallace, Compliance Director at Savills and Chair of The Lettings Industry Council (TLIC)...
Digital Offers, Human Value: Phil Farrell on the Future of Estate Agency
This week on The Viking Chats, I’m joined by Phil Farrell of Offr - former agent, industry operator, and now one of the most thoughtful voices in the PropTech space.And this isn’t a fluffy “tech will save the world” co...
From Foxy Beginnings to Founders: Liana & Ollie Unfiltered
What happens when you mix two award-winning agents, a shared love of doing things differently, and the guts to leave the corporate world behind to launch something with your name on the door? You get Liana and Ollie Loporto-Browne -...
Mintz Condition: Property, Podcasts & Saying What Needs to Be Said
This week’s Viking Chat is full of big energy, blunt truths, and a big dose of Northern charm - because joining Kristjan is none other than David Mintz.If you’re in agency and haven’t come across David yet, ...
Not Just a PropTech: Why Street Group Thinks Like a Tech Giant – with Stella Nicol
What happens when a psychology student-turned-estate agent walks into the fast-evolving world of proptech? You get Stella Nicol- former Reeds Rains branch manager, Barrett New Homes sales manager, Spectre pioneer, and now one of the longest-sta...