Proptech Espresso

Which industries rely on real estate data beyond the home transaction itself? Why has almost no one heard of RELS? What are the benefits and downsides of being acquired by a co-owner? Why did the appraisal industry need innovation and what was fundamentally broken with it? How did the modern appraisal project come about at Clear Capital and what were there the challenges the team faced? What was it like partnering with the GSEs (Fannie and Freddie) to transform the home appraisal process? Why are floorplans critical in appraisals and why is this a linchpin in the process? What lessons from prior acquisition experiences did leadership apply to Clear Capital's deal with CubiCasa? Were there unique challenges due to the global pandemic around acquiring a company on another continent? Why has the US not digitized floorplans as much as Europe and Australia? What property data attributes are not common today but are likely future elements?
Jeff Allen - President of CubiCasa joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how the freedom granted to him by his first employer to explore housing data led to spinning out his first company building market reports for the broader MLS community.

Has Amazon morphed into a proptech company? Is the US transforming into a warehouse nation? How did getting punched in the face by the 2008 financial recession force a career pivot into managing bank owned real estate assets? What learnings came from working through the foreclosure process with multifamily properties? Were virtual tours happening in New York City as early as 2006? How a lightbulb moment led to launching a startup developing storefronts into touchscreens for real estate companies and landing Ryan Serhant as an early customer? Did the desire to invest in a resilient real estate sector lead to uncovering profitabile opportunities within affordable housing? Are government contracts around real estate a lucrative opportunity and provide a pathway to positively impact local communities? How will blockchain technology revolutionize the financing of real estate in the future? What is the best way to educate oneself about web3? How can helping disadvantaged families get access to safe housing positively impact communities?
Vernon J - Co-founder & CEO of EquityCoin, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how a scholarship opportunity to attend a New England prep school led him to uncover a recurring theme of family real estate businesses amongst his peers which he parlayed into real estate jobs during his high school years where he earned monthly commission in excess of five figures.

For those listeners interested in learning more about the intersection of real estate and web3 check out the REw3 newsletter!

Ray Wu - Cofounder and CEO of Wynd Technologies, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how his curiosity as a child led him to constantly take equipment apart and pretend to invent things, creating his later desire to start and build a technology company from scratch.

Anya Chrisanthon - Chief Brand Office at Anewgo, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how her discovery that there were no women producing podcasts about selling real estate despite women being the majority of employees in real estate led her to fill this void.

Is the underlying purpose of proptech to make our lives better by improving the places where we live and work? Why are marketplace businesses so fascinating? How do network effects help create outsized economic value? Why are mercenary founders not as loved in the media as missionary founders? What caused the flurry of services companies working inside the home to fail? Why did working with local service companies prove more successful for Spruce rather than relying on gig workers? How did transforming into a logistic company fundamentally change the success of Spruce's service company partners?
Ben Johnson - Founder & President of Spruce, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how the skillsets he developed as an investment banker allow him to take a set of numbers and craft an entrepreneurial narrative that describes his business in a way that draws investors in.

What compelled a successful construction entrepreneur to pivot and move into technology? Why have legacy construction businesses shied away from digitizing many of their paper processes? What are the supply chain challenges that exist today in construction that technology could help solve? Will construction's increasing adoption of bleeding edge technology draw a broader workforce into the industry? Can the rise of technologists within construction company leadership further accelerate the adoption of technology within the broader construction industry? How does blockchain technology and smart contracts solve the inherent trust issues that plague the construction industry?
Robert Salvador - CEO of DigiBuild, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how his humble beginnings working for the family drywalling business gave him firsthand experience into the tough tactics big firms exert on smaller industry players and the opportunities to digitize significant elements of the construction business that will level the playing field.

For those listeners interested in learning more about the intersection of real estate and web3 check out the REw3 newsletter!

Why can you order food delivery in a few clicks but resolving workplace building issues takes days? How do office environment issues impact productivity for office workers? Will return-to-work be an opportunity or an obstacle for building owners and operators? Where does technology aid employers and building operators in return-to-work? Given that 'returning to the way things were' is not an option, how do you positively convince workers that there are advantages to coming back to the office? What are the advantages and challenges to opening 7 new European companies in quick succession? Eliane Lugassy - founder & CEO of Witco, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how early careers as a lawyer and investment banker proved to be great training ground for being an entrepreneur.

What compelled a rising star in GE's management training program to pivot and jump to the real estate industry? How did mortgage servicers look to find positive housing outcomes during the great financial crisis and help keep people in their homes? What is the importance of access to capital for real estate? Are there unique challenges you encounter when taking over a company from a founder CEO? How does a finance professional get deeply knowledgeable about the fundamental technology of an organization so they can challenge and support an engineering team? Are there environmental impact differences between new home construction and renovation? What does it mean to re-invigorate the aging US housing stock? How do speed and scale benefit the real esate investor? Is it possible to recreate the experience of dealing with personal finances for the real estate investor? How does Kiavi help real estate investors make money over 20% more often than other lenders?
Michael Bourque - CEO of Kiavi, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how a 15 year career at General Electric gave him the toolset to dig in and understand new and complex businesses, as well as allowed him to travel the world and experience many diverse cultures.