Austin Next Spotlight: Tokenizing Real Estate with OwnProp

02/09/23 • 10 min

Ethan Blumenthal is the CEO of OwnProp, a platform that enables investors–large and small–to invest in commercial and multi-family real estate. They do this by leveraging the power of the blockchain and NFTs. In this Spotlight episode, Ethan describes his background as a blockchain engineer and how he found his way to Austin to pursue a career in the crypto industry. He then explains OwnProp’s aim to lower the minimum investment and create a liquid secondary market for investment stakes. Ethan also shares the story of OwnProp's journey from its founding to its current stage, and its plans to open up investment opportunities to retail investors. He also discusses the difference between OwnProp and other tokenization startups in the market, emphasizing OwnProp's focus on prime assets with lucrative upside.

Episode links

OwnProp Website

OwnProp Twitter

OwnProp YouTube

Ethan Blumenthal Linkedin

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Episode links

OwnProp Website

OwnProp Twitter

OwnProp YouTube

Ethan Blumenthal Linkedin

Previous Episode

Making Quantum Computing Accessible to All with William “whurley” Hurley, Founder and CEO of Strangeworks

William Hurley, better known as whurley, is the founder and CEO of StrangeWorks, a quantum computing startup that makes the power of quantum computing easily accessible and available to all. He shares expertise on the topic and explains what quantum computing is, how it works, and its potential impact on industries such as healthcare, material science, and artificial intelligence. We also dive into the democratizing power of technology and Austin’s growth as a deep tech hub.

Episode Highlights

“Quantum computing is the future of humanity. It is the computational ability that we need to build other forms of computing... They'll be amorphic, neuromorphic, DNA-based things.”
Quantum mechanics’ unique properties allow computation of formerly intractable problems that classical computers require evaluation times of millions of years.
2023 may be to quantum technology what 1963 was to the space race.
When they launched Strangeworks, it was about humanizing quantum. The idea is to get into as many hands as possible.
ChatGPT’s rapid massive adoption has shown the power of UX innovation on top of complex technology and quantum is ripe for such an innovation.
What’s next Austin? “It needs to be community-focused, collaboratively driven with a cause, with a purpose. And that would be to build an ecosystem that supports an entrepreneur, whether they're me, or you, or some kid at UT or ACC or whatever that has an idea so that everybody can get a chance.”

Episode Links

Strangeworks: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

William Hurley: LinkedIn, Facebook, Website, Twitter, Instagram

Next Episode

Where's the Next Terawatt? Powering the Future With Bill McCamley and Christy Cardenas

The combination of a booming population and an accelerating business sector, as well as the desire to "de-carbonize" creates a real challenge. In this episode we talk with Bill McCamley, the Executive Director at Transit Forward and Christy Cardenas, the Managing Partner at Grit Ventures. The discussion delves into the diverse and rapidly changing world of energy generation, the role of transportation in energy consumption, and how Austin’s power grid will change over the next five years.

Episode Highlights

Texas has a unique and diverse generation mix with a strong focus on natural gas and coal, but a growing interest in renewables like wind, solar, geothermal, and hydrogen.
The advancements in battery storage technology, government funding for better batteries, and the emergence of new business models for mature battery technologies.
The shift from gas stations to electric vehicle (EV) charging points and the challenges in figuring out the infrastructure for EV charging points.
The impact of individual decisions on power consumption in a city like Austin and the role of transportation in energy consumption.
The impact of housing development on the generation, distribution, and usage of power, with a focus on ETOD, multi-use development near transit lines, and reducing compatibility restrictions.
What’s next Austin - Bill believes that building more density around transit corridors, changing housing ordinances to allow for multi-use development, and reducing compatibility restrictions will be key in the next four to five years for the generation, distribution, and usage of power in Austin.
What’s next Austin - Christy “There is so much money and so much brain power chasing these solutions, whether it's fusion, nuclear fusion, better forms of generation, better forms of storage that we, as a state, with a huge component of our economy tied to oil and gas, best get in front of it and be a part of that energy revolution.”

Episode Links

Bill McCamley: Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Christy Cardenas: Linkedin, Twitter

Grit Ventures: Website, Linkedin, Twitter

Transit Forward: Website, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube