Tangent - Proptech & The Future of Cities

Luis Poggi is the CEO and Co-Founder of HouseWhisper, a startup at the intersection of real estate and generative AI, building tools that transform how homes are marketed and sold. A seasoned tech executive with deep experience in product, marketing, and sales, Luis previously held leadership roles at Zillow and Expedia, where he helped scale industry-defining platforms in PropTech and travel.Now focused on shaping the AI revolution in real estate, Luis blends entrepreneurial vision with hands-on execution. He also shares insights on AI and business strategy through his newsletter at substack.com/luispoggi.(01:50) - Luis' Zillow journey & lessons(02:53) - The Birth of House Whisper(04:30) - The power of zero onboarding & personalization(05:11) - AI Agents & the Future of Real Estate(09:19) - Challenges & opportunities in AI for Real Estate Agents like Serhant(14:09) - Distribution strategy(16:29) - Will AI replace Real Estate agents like travel agents?(17:48) - Feature: CREtech: Join CREtech New York 2025 on Oct 21-22 for the largest Real Estate meetings program. Qualified Real Estate pros get free full event pass plus up to $800 in travel and hotel costs. See if you qualify and apply by emailing tangentcommunity@gmail.com.(19:14) - Avoiding the freemium pricing trap(22:48) - Usage & retention: 8K+ paying agents(29:22) - Collaboration Superpower: Andrej Karpathy (OpenAI Co-founder, Wiki)

Jason Griffith is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Synco, a centralized messaging platform designed to streamline communication for property management teams like LeFrak and Kaled Management. Synco addresses the challenges of fragmented communication channels by providing a real-time, collaborative environment that enhances operational efficiency across office staff, on-site teams, and external vendors. Prior founding Synco, Jason co-founded SiteCompli, a compliance automation platform utilized across over 1 million residential units and 70% of Class A office properties in New York City. SiteCompli became part of Inhabit, a collective of property management software companies backed by Insight Venture Partners and Goldman Sachs.(01:35) – Jason's Journey from SiteComply to Synco(04:48) – The chaos of property management communication(07:25) – Centralization & adoption challenges(10:24) – Integration & real-world use cases(23:59) – Feature: CREtech: Join CREtech New York 2025 on Oct 21-22 for the largest Real Estate meetings program. Qualified Real Estate pros get free full event pass plus up to $800 in travel and hotel costs. See if you qualify and apply by emailing tangentcommunity@gmail.com.(24:56) – Business model & growth(27:08) – ROI & future communication trends(31:14) – Venture scale business & exit strategies(34:22) – Zach & Jason origin story(37:16) – Advise for entrepreneurs & creative marketing (39:42) – Collaboration Superpower: Bob Faith (Greystar CEO), Stewart Butterfield (Slack Co-founder) & Jeff Bezos

Benjamin Kanner is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of 3V Infrastructure, a company accelerating access to electric vehicle charging in multifamily, hospitality, healthcare, and commercial real estate. 3V eliminates the steep upfront capital and operational costs that have historically slowed the deployment of Level 2 EV chargers, enabling rapid, scalable infrastructure expansion. With over a decade of experience in founding, scaling, and exiting startups, Benjamin is a revenue-driven operator known for building high-performing teams and systems that drive growth. Prior to 3V, he led sales and strategy at Loop Global, where his go-to-market leadership resulted in the company's highest-grossing quarter. He was also the founder and CEO of Worklete, an injury-prevention platform acquired by private equity, and has held leadership roles across fintech, SaaS, and sustainability-focused ventures. Passionate about doing well by doing good, Benjamin is committed to building solutions that make a measurable impact on the planet and society.(02:57) – 3V Infrastructure intro & Ben's career journey(05:12) – 3V's business model & market(09:56) – 3V's competitive advantage & partnerships(18:10) – Feature: CREtech: Join CREtech New York 2025 on Oct 21-22 for the largest Real Estate meetings program. Qualified Real Estate pros get free full event pass plus up to $800 in travel and hotel costs. See if you qualify and apply by emailing tangentcommunity@gmail.com. (19:54) – No-cost Multifamily partnership deployment(24:52) – Camden Property & Bridge Investment deals(28:24) – Trade war impact on global EV market & competition(34:10) – Collaboration Superpower: Bill Campbell (Trillion Dollar Coach, Wiki)

Julius Nyanda is the Founder and CEO of HouseKeys, unlocking housing opportunity for cities, developers, homeowners, and renters. HouseKeys is a civic tech platform that helps local governments manage affordable and mixed-income housing programs across ownership, rental, and finance. Through its Program Marketplace, Julius and his team streamline administration and expand access to community-driven housing solutions, supporting cities like Beverly Hills, Morgan Hill, and San Francisco in delivering scalable, equitable outcomes.(03:22) - Challenges in Affordable Housing Development(06:10) - Housing policy incentives for Investors(10:46) - HouseKeys Marketplace approach(13:04) - The Economics of Affordable Housing(14:10) - GovTech & VC Opportunities & Challenges(22:37) - Feature: Blueprint 2025: The Future of Real Estate - Register now (23:23) - California's New YIMBY Bills(26:29) - AI & the Future of Housing Solutions(37:07) - Collaboration Superpower: Robert F. Smith (CEO at Vista Equity Partners) & Jack Ma (Founder of Alibaba)

Mark Zurada is the COO and Co-Founder of PinPoint Analytics, an AI-powered platform transforming how public works projects are estimated and bid. PinPoint harnesses advanced algorithms and historical bid data to help contractors, municipalities, and engineering firms in the $200 Billion construction industry generate more accurate, competitive estimates with unmatched precision. At PinPoint, Mark leads daily operations, AI product development, data strategy, and go-to-market execution. He also drives sales, marketing, and customer acquisition, aligning product-market fit through deep analytics, customer interviews, and stakeholder feedback. With over a decade of experience as an entrepreneur, attorney, engineer, and consultant, Mark brings a cross-functional approach to solving complex challenges.(01:29) - AI in public construction works(02:36) - Challenges in public works bidding(6:07) - Guesswork in construction(08:17) Scaling AI solutions in local governments(13:47) - Feature | Market Stadium - Book a demo: Optimize your Multifamily & Single-family market analysis(14:58) - Scaling construction estimates in highly localized space(18:19) - Examples of bidding processes(24:17) - AI's Impact on Public Spending and Efficiency(28:20) - Feature: Blueprint 2025: The Future of Real Estate - Register now(29:06) - Collaboration Superpower: Historical Figures

Julie Kheyfets is the CEO of Block Renovation, an AI-first marketplace platform revolutionizing the home renovation industry by connecting homeowners with contractors and streamlining project planning. She assumed the CEO role in January 2025, following seven years as the company's COO. ​Before joining Block, Julie led North American growth for Tractable, an AI company specializing in accident and disaster recovery solutions, where her efforts contributed to the company's valuation surpassing $1 billion. ​Beyond her professional achievements, Julie is an accomplished ultramarathon runner, having secured first place in the women's category at the Habanero Hundred in 2021. (01:13) - Challenges in home renovations(02:31) - Julie's journey to Block(03:43) - Building trust with AI & data(05:49) - Contractor vetting process(08:17) - Feature | Market Stadium - Book a demo: Optimize your Multifamily & Single-family market analysis(9:28) - An AI architect in every investor's & homeowner's pocket(12:07) - Growth playbook(16:34) - Industry Trends & Homeowner Mistakes(20:11) - Homeowners & contractors :: Landlords & renters(21:55) - Feature: Blueprint 2025: The Future of Real Estate - Register now(23:45) - Business Model & Marketplace Trust(25:51) - Collaboration Superpower: Courtney Dauwalter (Wiki) & Brian Chesky (Wiki)

Frederik Hendriksen is the co-founder of Rensair, pioneering the world's first air quality ecosystem to cut carbon, costs, and pollutants through next-generation ventilation technology. Rensair's connected solutions optimize existing HVAC systems, reducing energy costs while delivering cleaner, healthier indoor air—without expensive infrastructure upgrades. Their tech traces back to Frederik's father, a ventilation engineer, who originally developed a standalone air purification system for hospital operating rooms, and to help Frederik's twin brother manage severe asthma. Inspired by this innovation, Frederik and his team are now hacking HVAC to tackle the climate crisis and transform building ventilation, ushering in a new era of carbon efficiency, cost savings, and clean indoor air.(01:49) - The tech behind Rensair(04:29) - Impact of HVAC on building energy consumption(06:00) - Rensair's energy efficiency solutions(13:31) - Feature | Market Stadium - Book a demo: Optimize your Multifamily & Single-family market analysis(17:51) - Business model & partnerships(19:20) - Challenges & opportunities in Climate Tech(24:23) - Leveraging AI for indoor air quality(29:44) - Feature: Blueprint 2025: The Future of Real Estate - Register now(31:55) - Greenland & Climate change(34:16) - Collaboration Superpower: Niels Ryberg Finsen (Wiki)

Amit Gupta is the CEO of Aeroseal, a cleantech leader revolutionizing building efficiency through patented sealing technologies. Under his leadership, Aeroseal has secured nearly $100 million in private equity funding, including backing from Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The company has sealed 300,000 homes, enhanced performance in 500M+ square feet of commercial properties, and expanded to 90+ countries with a 1,500+ dealer network. Aeroseal's innovations help reduce HVAC losses and aim to eliminate one gigaton of CO₂ emissions annually, accelerating the net-zero building movement worldwide. Previously, Amit served various product management roles at Carrier, a global leader in intelligent climate and energy solutions.(01:35) - Amit's background & mission(04:10) - Challenges & innovations in building efficiency(05:57) - Aeroseal's growth & fundraising (9:41) - Feature | Market Stadium - Book a demo: Optimize your Multifamily & Single-family market analysis(10:52) - Commercial & Residential Real Estate applications(21:15) - Investment & future plans(24:34) - Feature: Blueprint 2025: The Future of Real Estate - Register now(25:20) - Advice for Real Estate investors, operators & developers(29:33) - Collaboration Superpower: Benjamin Franklin

Sean Miller is the Chief Revenue Officer at Lessen, leading sales and marketing to expand its tech-enabled property maintenance, repairs, turns and capital improvement services platform, with 3 million work orders completed annually. With deep expertise in real estate technology and IoT, he currently serves as Built Environment advisory board member of SIA, and previously served as CRO at Sensor Industries, CEO and Co-founder of Griot, and President of PointCentral (an Alarm.com subsidiary). He has also held leadership roles at Belkin and Generac, driving smart property and remote monitoring solutions.(01:26) - Sean Miller's Career Journey(03:50) - The Evolution of maintenance in Real Estate(09:29) - Feature | MarketStadium - Book a demo: Optimize your Multifamily & Single-family market analysis(10:40) - Lessen's revenue levers & tech investments(14:56) Labor shortages & operational efficiency(16:42) - Data-Driven Decisions: Repair vs. Replace impact on insurance(21:10) - Cost-efficiencies from Water leak detection tech & asset tagging(27:16) - Feature: Blueprint: The Future of Real Estate - Register now(29:14) - AI & automation for Maintenance(33:17) - Collaboration Superpower: Thomas Jefferson, Michael Jordan & Croesus (Wiki)

Dennis Lee is the co-founder and CEO of MarketStadium, a real estate data platform transforming how investors analyze multifamily and single-family markets. His journey began as an urban planning researcher in South Korea, where he identified key locational advantages driving gentrification in Seoul. This insight led him to explore how urban planning research could be applied to real estate investment decisions.After studying at NYU's Schack Institute of Real Estate, Dennis joined Lionstone Investments, where he helped manage a $9 billion real estate portfolio using a location-first investment strategy. Recognizing the potential to bring urban planning insights and data analytics to the broader real estate industry, he co-founded MarketStadium with a team of urban planning PhDs, tech developers, and industry experts.(02:57) – Dennis Lee's background & MarketStadium's Origin(05:11) – Market Stadium's Vision for Offerings(07:07) – Multifamily sector insights(13:19) - Feature | MarketStadium - Book a demo: Optimize your Multifamily & Single-family market analysis(17:55) – Leveraging data for Real Estate investment decisions(25:10) – Climate Risk & AI in Real Estate(28:46) - Feature | Berkadia's BeEngaged - Connect with the team: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the Commercial Real Estate space.(30:20) – Advice for founders looking to partner with institutional players(31:15) - Lessons from the Korean market(31:50) - Collaboration Superpower: Leonardo Da Vinci & Sandro Botticelli (Wiki)

Lior Abramovich is the Co-Founder & CEO of Blanket, a platform transforming the single-family rental market backed by RE Angels. With over a decade of experience, he's overseen $200 million in acquisitions for more than 1,000 investors. Beyond real estate, Lior is dedicated to impact-driven initiatives—he co-founded Golden, a nonprofit renovating homes for senior citizens in need, and a foundation committed to providing clean drinking water to children worldwide. A graduate of the University of Haifa with a degree in Political Science, Lior also served eight years in the Israeli Navy, holding leadership roles as Executive Officer of the Naval Academy and Chief Engineer of a Navy warship.(03:10) - Lior's & Blanket's Origin Story(06:03) - SFR Property Management Landscape(10:20) - Blanket's Business Model & Growth(17:57) - Challenges & Opportunities in SFR Property Management(24:11) - Feature: Pacaso - Luxury vacation home ownership, elevated. Join Pacaso's growth and become an investor of the venture-backed company at Pacaso.com/invest25:59 Challenges and Insights in Property Management(26:40) - Expanding Across Markets(32:48) - Feature: Blueprint - The Future of Real Estate 2025(35:53) - Leveraging AI in Property Management(40:40) - Blanket's Media Strategy & Industry Impact(44:08) - Collaboration Superpower - Winston Churchill & Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (Wiki)

Ben Borton is a Co-Founder of PodPlay Technologies, where he oversees go-to-market strategy and leads the Sales and Marketing teams. He also serves as Chief Strategy Officer and was the first external investor in PodPlay's parent company, PingPod Inc. Before joining PodPlay, Ben held several leadership roles in the finance and technology sectors, including as Head of Digital Fund Services at Figure Technologies, Partner at Mountaineer Partners, and Partner at MM Capital. Throughout his career, Ben has been a founder or partner in multiple investment management firms and an active technology angel investor.(01:00) - Ben Borton & Podplay Technologies(06:06) - PingPod, the autonomous sports venue(09:50) - Real Estate opportunities with Podplay(14:26) - Feature: Pacaso - Luxury vacation home ownership, elevated. Join Pacaso's growth and become an investor of a venture-backed company at Pacaso.com/invest(16:13) - Enhancing building & company culture with sports(18:24) - Revenue sharing model with landlords(19:40) - Podplay vs. Topgolf(25:54) - Autonomous operating model(28:28) - The rise & trends shaping third places(34:48) - Feature: Blueprint - The Future of Real Estate 2025(35:35) - Office-to-retail conversion opportunity(41:17) - Inspiration from ServiceTitan's IPO(47:16) - Collaboration Superpower: Charles Dickens (Wiki) & David Foster (ITTF)

Ross Piermarini is the co-founder of symmetRE, a Chicago-based proptech firm specializing in automating data aggregation and reporting for commercial real estate investors. Prior to founding symmetRE, Ross worked in the Leveraged Finance group at BMO Capital Markets, focusing on real estate clients. His firsthand experience with the challenges of manual data aggregation and reporting in the real estate sector motivated him to develop solutions that streamline these processes. Under Ross's leadership, symmetRE has launched an AI-enabled platform designed to eliminate the time-consuming aspects of data collection and analysis, allowing real estate professionals to concentrate on optimizing asset performance. Ross also shared his insights into the integration of AI in commercial real estate, and he discusses the necessity of adopting advanced technologies to enhance efficiency and decision-making in the sector.(01:13) - Ross's & symmetrRE's origin(04:42) - Challenges in Real Estate data management(08:06) Symmetry's solutions & client success(13:54) - Feature | Berkadia's BeEngaged - Connect with the team: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the Commercial Real Estate space.(17:45) - symmetry's long-term vision(22:48) - Marketing vs. product delivery in Proptech(26:07) - Feature | Blueprint - The Future of Real Estate 2025(26:55) - The Role of AI in Real Estate(29:20) - Collaboration Superpower: Marc Benioff (Salesforce CEO)

Austin is CEO of Pacaso and co-founded the company with Spencer Rascoff (co-founder and former CEO of Zillow) to make the dream of second home ownership a reality for more people after experiencing the profound effect it had on his own life. Pacaso is Austin's second startup. In 2009, he founded dotloop in his hometown of Cincinnati, a company that created software to seamlessly manage real estate transactions. Zillow acquired dotloop in 2015, and Austin continued to run dotloop as a Zillow executive until 2018. Austin started selling real estate at the age of 18 and worked in residential and commercial real estate for a decade.(01:38) - Housing market update(05:26) - Rise of fractional investing & ownership(9:06) - Feature: Pacaso - Luxury vacation home ownership, elevated. Join Pacaso's growth and become an investor of a venture-backed company at Pacaso.com/invest(13:52) - Pacaso's Reg-A offering(16:16) - Pacaso vs. timeshares vs. shares of Hotel companies(21:38) - Property management & owner benefits(26:27) - Community impact & housing affordability(29:39) - Pacaso's Business Model(35:22) - Feature: Blueprint - The Future of Real Estate 2025(36:12) - Reg A investments, transparency & compliance(53:41) - Collaboration Superpower: Steve Jobs

Brandon Wright is the Co-founder and CEO of Tongo, the company he co-founded to help Real Estate agents address cash flow challenges by providing financial tools such as a commission line of credit and a payroll solution to help stabilize their incomes and automate savings. With a deep understanding of the challenges faced by agents and commission-based earners, Brandon has led Tongo in creating innovative solutions that provide liquidity and flexibility, empowering users to manage cash flow effectively. He began his career at Smith Barney in Seattle, Washington, working under renowned contrarian value investor Jamie Dimon, current CEO of JPMorgan Chase. He then ventured into entrepreneurship, starting a coffee shop in Seattle. Brandon then pursued an MBA at Cornell and joined private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, where he implemented best practices across their software portfolio. Leveraging his experience, he co-founded a company that used AI to build decision engines for lenders, ultimately transitioning into developing a buy now, pay later solution for e-commerce called Catapult.(01:09) - Brandon's Journey in Financial Services(06:28) - The Birth of Tongo(07:48) - Challenges in the Real Estate Market(11:09) - Tongo's Financial Solutions for Agents(16:26) - Feature: Pacaso - Luxury vacation home ownership, elevated. Join Pacaso's growth and become an investor of a venture-backed company at Pacaso.com/invest(18:12) - Success Stories & Future Plans(21:32) - Lowering risk with data availability & efficient distribution(27:27) - Impact of NAR Lawsuit on Real Estate agents & investors(35:07) - Feature: Blueprint - The Future of Real Estate 2025(35:54) - NYC Housing Market & FARE Act(40:43) - Collaboration Superpower: Jamie Dimon (Wiki)

Robert Cooper is the President and CEO of Embue. After two decades in high tech, Robert decided to follow his passion and use his experience to help solve the climate crisis and improve people's lives. He decided to focus on Multifamily after recognizing the huge opportunity to simultaneously reduce carbon emissions, improve residents' health and comfort, and make the buildings' staff's work easier across all Multifamily classes. Previously, Robert co-founded Ithaca & NYC based startup IDS after grad school. IDS sold mission critical software used by NYSE, Swiss Exchange, semiconductor plants and telecom providers and was acquired by Stratus Computer for 24X revenue. He also co-founded energy management company Coincident. Robert holds a PhD in computer science from Cambridge University and a MA in sustainability from Harvard University, as well as two patents.(01:27) - Robert's background & journey to Embue(02:05) - Innovations in Multifamily(04:59) - Opportunities from Berkadia's BeEngaged program(07:58) - Energy Efficiency & Operational Improvements(11:13) - Smart Building Multifamily Solutions & Technology(17:20) - Feature | Berkadia's BeEngaged - Learn more: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the Commercial Real Estate space.(30:15) - Future of Decarbonization & Climate Tech(34:03) - Feature: Blueprint - The Future of Real Estate 2025(44:37) - Collaboration Superpower: Jigar Shah (Wiki)

Caren Maio is the CEO and co-founder of 100, a Proptech company tackling rental fraud for Multifamily owners and operators. A staggering 93% of operators have experienced fraud in the last 12 months, and Caren and the 100 team are on a mission to stop it. Prior to this role, she led Moved, and co-founded and led Funnel (previously Nestio), a leasing and marketing platform for Multifamily properties, where she served as CEO and President for 11 years. Under her leadership, Funnel was recognized as one of Entrepreneur Magazine's "Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America." Caren's expertise has earned her features in publications like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Forbes. Caren is also a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council and, before her entrepreneurial ventures, she held sales and marketing positions at The Wall Street Journal and Nike.(02:01) - Inman's Proptech Awards(04:52) - Caren Maio's Journey to 100(06:27) - Understanding Renter Fraud(10:44) - Tech stack & Partnership with CLEAR(14:41) - Feature: Pacaso - Luxury vacation home ownership, elevated. Join Pacaso's growth and become an investor of a venture-backed company at Pacaso.com/invest(17:22) - Business Model & Market Strategy(21:53) - Unexpected Proptech Alliances(22:52) - Proptech fundraising: challenges & advice for first-time founders(34:04) - Feature: Blueprint - The Future of Real Estate 2025(38:42) - Collaboration Superpower: Betty White

Dan Wenhold is an early stage investor in built world technology and Partner at Fifth Wall, where he co-leads the Real Estate Technology Investment team. Dan has led investments in innovative CRE tech companies like Fractional, Cottage and Neighbor.com. Prior to joining Fifth Wall, Dan was the first employee and Director of Retail at The Black Tux and a growth equity investor at Battery Ventures. (01:46) - Dan's Journey to Fifth Wall(03:19) - Evaluating PropTech Startups(05:26) - The Role of AI & Interoperability in PropTech(07:19) - Challenges and Opportunities in PropTech Investment(17:31) - Feature: Pacaso - Luxury vacation home ownership, elevated. Be part of Pacaso's growth as an early shareholder at Pacaso.com/invest(20:15) - Impact of Trump & Republican Administration on Proptech(30:00) - Spotlight on Neighbor.com & Self Storage(33:55) - Spotlight on Cottage(37:19) - Collaboration Superpower: Michael Jordan (Wiki) & Ion Țiriac (Wiki)

Taylor Hou is the CEO and Chief Happiness Officer at APM Help, a company serving over 300,000 single family homes nationwide dedicated to professionalizing the single family property management industry by bringing clarity and efficiency for accounting and operations. A serial entrepreneur and tech investor, Taylor is passionate about applying lean startup principles to create process efficiencies in tech and startups. With a focus on streamlining products and services for an optimal user experience, Taylor thrives on improving systems and building better processes to make them more effective and impactful.(00:56) - Taylor Hou's Background and Journey(02:43) - Evolution of Property Management(04:34) - Challenges in Property Management Roll-ups(13:45) - Feature: Blueprint - The Future of Real Estate 2025(14:35) - Institutional SFR's Impact on Housing(18:46) - APM Help's business(28:36) - Current Success & Future Innovations(31:25) - Embedded Banking Opportunity(34:23) - Unlocking Liquidity in Rental Housing(42:34) The Future of Property Management Tech(47:45) - Collaboration Superpower: Masayoshi Son (CEO of SoftBank, Wiki)

A Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur, Eli Harris is the Co-Founder and Partner at One Dream Ventures, a venture studio developing cutting-edge enterprise SaaS and AI startups for the global energy transition in real estate and construction sectors. Previously, he co-founded R-Zero, backed by investors like Mayo Clinic and John Doerr, to revolutionize disinfection with hospital-grade, UV-C technology, and served as CEO of EcoFlow, a portable power leader supported by Sequoia China and Hillhouse Capital. With a background in tech roles at DJI and FLIR Systems and fluency in Mandarin, Eli brings a global, innovative approach to real estate, energy, and technology solutions.(01:38) -  Eli's Journey: From Foreign Service to DJI(03:10) - Founding EcoFlow: A Battery Innovation(05:12) - Launching R0: Healthy Buildings Infrastructure(06:29) - NewCo: AI for Construction Projects(9:10) - Feature - Blueprint: The Future of Real Estate 2025(09:59) - Pre-seed Strategy & Validation(12:07) - Advice for Founders & Investors in the energy transition(14:31) - Collaboration Superpower: Rick Rubin (Wiki - co-founder of Def Jam).

Connie Lee is the Founder of Reffie, a centralized leasing platform designed to help Multifamily operators streamline their leasing processes and lease units faster. Reffie helps automate the 'boring', so real estate operators can focus on closing more renters. Before launching Reffie, she served as Strategy & Operations at Mosaic.tech and also managed Finance and Business Operations at ZipRecruiter. Connie is also a Real Estate investor in Los Angeles and an angel investor in various startups.(02:40) - Connie's entrepreneurial journey to Founding Reffie(05:49) - Challenges in Multifamily Leasing(07:24) - Leveraging AI in Real Estate(15:11) - Feature | Berkadia's BeEngaged - Learn more: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the Commercial Real Estate space.(16:47) - Reffie's Business Model(28:50) - State of the Housing Market(33:52) - Feature | CREtech NY Conference & Expo - Sign Up: Tangent listeners get a 20% discount using code PARTNERTANGENT20 at checkout.(35:24) - Rental Trends & Amenities(39:07) - Collaboration Superpower: Taylor Swift

Brendan Wallace is CEO & CIO at Fifth Wall, where he guides the firm's strategic vision. Fifth Wall is the largest venture capital firm focused on technologies for the global real estate industry, including those which decarbonize the sector. Wallace has described the impact of the real estate industry on the environment as "the single-biggest lever we can turn on to mitigate climate change.” Prior to founding Fifth Wall in 2016, Brendan co-founded Identified, a workforce optimization data and analytics company that raised $33 million of venture funding and was acquired by Workday (NYSE: WKDY) in 2014. He also co-founded Cabify, the largest ridesharing service in Latin America, and has been an active investor, leading more than 60 angel investments including Lyft, SpaceX, Dollar Shave Club, Bonobos, Philz Coffee, and TriNet Zenefits.(1:28) - Why Fifth Wall built a dedicated team for Climate Tech investing(6:22) - Feature - Blueprint: The Future of Real Estate(7:10) - Selling software vs. Climate Tech to Real Estate LP's(9:10) - Proptech investing & adoption across different markets(13:15) - US presidential election impact on Climate Tech(16:10) - Fifth Wall's role and legacy in Climate Tech(20:27) - What would Brendan do if he was a founder today(25:00) - Collaboration Superpower: Sam Zell (Wiki)

Remen Okoruwa is a former strategy consultant and product manager, and now Co-founder and CEO at Propexo. His company helps property owners, operators, and proptech companies deliver better resident experiences through the power of data. Propexo provides tools for connecting property management software with other technology in a streamlined way. Propexo is a customer-centric organization that focuses on data strategies that delight residents, improve NOI, and make Multifamily real estate a better place for everyone.(2:06) - Remen's & Propexo's origin story(4:47) - Building the Plaid for Proptech(8:32) - State of Propexo today(12:02) - Propexo's model & ROI in Multifamily(16:04) - Serving diverse use cases & customer base(17:22) - Feature | Berkadia's BeEngaged - Learn more: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the commercial real estate space.(18:59) - How Proptech VC looks at integratability(24:26) - Building a collaborative & customer-centric product road map(26:54) - RealPage v. US Justice Department(29:27) - Feature | CREtech NY Conference & Expo - Sign Up: Tangent listeners get a 20% discount using code PARTNERTANGENT20 at checkout.(33:42) - Collaboration Superpower: Cyrus the Great (Wiki)

Bryce Nyberg is the VP, Corporate Development at Berkadia and the Head of BeEngaged. Bryce focuses on advancing innovation in our industry through BeEngaged, partnerships, investments, and acquisitions. His influence in and out of Berkadia, business acumen, and effective program leadership skills lead to remarkable outcomes for the organizations he works with. Startups that have gone through BeEngaged include Esusu, Propexo, Rabbet, Market Stadium, Symmetre, Reffie and Embue.(2:00) - What is Berkadia's BeEngaged(6:58) - What startups are ideal candidates for the program(11:13) - Real Estate no longer a tech laggard?(14:56) - Feature | Berkadia's BeEngaged - Learn more: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the commercial real estate space.(16:33) - Berkadia's BeEngaged's case studies(21:12) - Feature | CREtech NY Conference & Expo - Learn more: Tangent listeners get a 20% discount using code PARTNERTANGENT20 at checkout.(22:45) - Role of collaboration & integration in the Proptech ecosystem(28:16) - Collaboration Superpower: Warren Buffett (Chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway)

Michael Rudin joined Rudin in 2008 and, together with his sister Samantha, represents the fourth generation to work at the family business founded in 1925. Michael focuses on new developments, capital markets, commercial leasing, sustainability and technology. He also helps lead the family's alternative investing business, Rudin Ventures, where they've invested in companies like Bilt, Jones, VTS and Nantum OS. Rudin Management oversees the daily operations of 32 properties in New York City. The portfolio is comprised of 17 residential buildings totaling 4.7 million square feet and 14 commercial office buildings totaling approximately 9 million square feet.(1:19) - Amenities for today's workforce(9:50) - Feature: Blueprint Vegas 2024(10:50) - Making buildings profitable(14:19) - 3 Times Square case study(18:42) - CRE leasing & financing(22:34) - CRE Ops & risk mitigation(29:50) - Proptech's dirty little secret(37:45) - Lessons from Latch / Door.com(42:43) - Bilt Rewards: Fintech's hottest Proptech(47:20) - Collaboration Superpower: Michael's cousin Carlton

Salman Ahmad is the CEO and Co-founder of a16z-backed Mosaic, a construction technology company that builds software that makes homebuilding more scalable and efficient. Mosaic was founded in 2017 by Salman and Sep Kamvar, whom were two computer scientists working together at MIT and Stanford developing machine learning algorithms applied in the real world. Together, they developed a bold vision for the home building industry: construction as code. Mosaic uses their software themselves to manage construction on behalf of homebuilders, enabling them to build more homes. Salman has 20 technical publications and patents in the areas of software systems, programming languages, machine learning, human-computer interaction, and sensor hardware. He also worked with Microsoft developing virtualized datacenter solutions.  (3:33) - Mosaic's & Salman's origin story(8:35) - Feature: Blueprint Vegas 2024 - Tangent listeners get a $300 discount at BlueprintVegas.com/Tangent(9:30) - Housing construction pain points(12:40) - Construction productivity issues(15:12) - Mosaic's business model (23:26) - Aligning Contech with VC timelines & incentives(30:37) - Mosaic's biggest challenges(35:26) - Macro & micro factors of construction labor shortage (43:19) - Collaboration Superpower: Christopher Alexander (Co-author of A Pattern Language)

Eoin Matthews is the Co-founder at Point, a home equity investment company making home equity wealth accessible to homeowners without creating a monthly debt obligation. Homeowners get upfront funds from Point in return for a portion of your home's future appreciation. Point recently announced an oversubscribed $141M securitization, which marked it's second rated securitization and third overall, with its collaboration with Atalaya Capital Management. Eoin previously served as the VP of Business Development at Rakuten and has an extensive background in education.(2:20) - Point's & Eoin's origin story(5:43) - Potential HEI benefits for investors(9:20) - Point's securitizations strategy(11:42) - Capital stack evolution(14:17) - M&A activity in Housing tech companies(17:00) - Feature: Blueprint Vegas 2024(17:54) - State of the Housing Market(24:07) - Affordability of owning vs. renting a home(29:47) - Underwriting Proptech in the current rate environment(32:28) - Collaboration Superpower: Steve Wozniak (Apple Co-founder)

Lisa Rockefeller is the Chief Revenue Officer at Cortex Sustainability Intelligence, the decarbonization platform built for commercial real estate, where she's driving the go-to market strategy. Cortex's advanced AI helps CRE teams amplify operational effectiveness, make informed decisions about capital investments, and tactically address regulation risks. Lisa has spent over 15 years in the regulated and unregulated Climate Tech space, including at EnerNOC's, a leading provider of cloud-based energy intelligence software, and at Palmetto Solar. (0:25) - Lisa's origin story(1:18) - Quantifying the real estate decarbonization problem(5:40) - Defining sustainability goals for CRE players(10:25) - Cortex's data stack(13:23) - Types of asset classes & building sizes working with Cortex(20:11) - Feature: Blueprint Vegas - The Future of Real Estate Is Here. Tangent listeners get a $300 discount at BlueprintVegas.com/Tangent(21:02) - Driving Cortex's adoption & estimating ROI(23:33) - Has Real Estate done enough to cut carbon emissions? (32:04) - Collaboration Superpower: Neil deGrasse Tyson (Wiki)

Alon is the Founder and General Partner of RE Angels, a real estate technology angel fund solely composed of real estate experts with deep and diverse industry expertise focused on early stage startups. Alon also owns and manages several multifamily portfolios throughout the southeast (FL, NC & VA). Alon was the co-founder and managing partner of DTI Holdings, a vertically-integrated private equity real estate fund, which was established in early 2017 and successfully divested in 2021 - achieving 20% IRR. Previously, as a senior investment manager at MIO Partners, McKinsey & Company's Investment Office. Prior to MIO Partners, Alon worked as a strategic consultant for McKinsey & Company, managing private equity client engagements.(0:32) - RE Angels & Alon's origin story(2:27) - Is Real Estate slow to adopt tech(4:49) - Early-stage Proptech VC criteria(10:02) - Proptech VC challenges(13:25) - RE Angels investment criteria(17:49) - Feature: Housing Trust Silicon Valley(19:00) - RE Angels Real Estate Tech framework(25:00) - Driving behavioral change through innovation(30:24) - Feature: Blueprint Vegas - The Future of Real Estate Is Here. Tangent listeners get a $300 discount at BlueprintVegas.com/Tangent(31:16) - RE Angels PortCo's: Paraspot.AI (AI-powered inspections for real estate) & Waltz (Enabling foreign investors to invest in US Real Estate) (39:08) - Collaboration Superpower: Warren Buffett

Christelle Rohaut is the Founder and CEO of Codi (backed by a16z), where she's building the walk-to-work revolution. Codi offers turnkey, private office spaces with the most flexible terms on the market. In a matter of days, any company can find a space for their team, with full and part-time options, outsourced office management, and flexible leases. Codi has also created a Relief Fund to help businesses impacted by WeWork's struggles. Christelle is an Urban Planner who aspires to achieve positive social and natural impacts for happier livelihoods. She seeks to innovatively rethink urban systems to help cities be a happier place for all.(2:11) - State of Office market(13:58) - Feature: Housing Trust Silicon Valley(15:10) - What's wrong with traditional Coworking(21:43) - Types of buildings partnering with Codi(23:56) - Codi's WeWon't marketing campaign(29:34) - Collaboration Superpower: Brian Chesky (Airbnb CEO & Co-founder) & Conchita Martinez (Spanish tennis champion & coach)

Robert McDonald is the Managing Partner at Cherry Lawn Capital, on a mission to provide businesses with the real estate capital necessary to scale and the operational capital needed for a successful next venture round. Robert joins Edward, Jeff and Zach to also discuss lessons and takeaways from the previous Proptech boom cycle, and how should founders and investors think about structuring, financing and scaling tech-enabled and data-driven Real Estate business in the post-ZIRP era. (1:19) - State of Proptech VC(9:56) - Proptech finance incentives (14:24) - Feature: Housing Trust Silicon Valley(15:36) - Cherry Lawn Capital's & Robert McDonald's origin story(20:04) - Cherry Lawn solution(31:38) - 'The Great Transition' for Proptech valuations(36:01) - Collaboration Superpower: David F. Swensen's wiki & Paul Annacone's wiki

Matt Ellis is the CEO of Measurabl, the world's most widely adopted ESG solution for real estate. Customers use Measurabl to measure, manage, report, and act on ESG data on more than 15 billion square feet of commercial real estate across 92 countries. Measurabl empowers customers to optimize ESG performance, assess exposure to physical climate risk, drive decarbonization, and secure sustainable finance opportunities. Matt is responsible for overall company operations, product vision and investor relations. Before founding Measurabl, Matt spent 5 years with CBRE, where he led CBRE's Sustainability Practice Group. In this Climate Tech episode, Jeffrey Berman and Edward Cohen are joined by guest co-host Nina Mesalles, Climate Tech investor at Decarbonization Partners, a BlackRock and Temasek JV investing in next generation innovative decarbonization businesses.(3:40) - What is Real Estate supposed to measure in ESG(6:37) - Use cases across the Real Estate cycle(10:12) - Feature: Housing Trust Silicon Valley(11:24) - Players driving ESG impact(14:33) - Impact on market behavior(17:49) - Defining success in Real Estate Sustainability(22:02) - Building usage impact on efficiency & certifications(24:45) - Measurabl's Real Estate Sustainability data stack(27:19) - Levers for Real Estate investors & operators to improve sustainability(29:45) - Challenges to adopting energy optimization solutions(35:20) - Climate change impact on coastal Real Estate(37:42) - Where will Measurabl be in 5-10 years?(40:05) - Cities & countries leading Real Estate Sustainability(43:05) - Collaboration Superpower: Taylor Swift

Katharine Lau is the CEO and Co-founder of Stuf, a self storage startup delivering modern, tech-enabled storage to consumers and businesses. Stuf partners with real estate owners to monetize basements, garages, and other spaces in commercial buildings as storage, creating new cash flow opportunities for landlords while providing neighborhoods with a new amenity. Stuf was recognized by Fast Company as one of The World's Most Innovative Companies in 2022. Previously, Kat led the supply-side business of Industrious, the nation's leading premium workplace and coworking provider, where she pioneered an industry shift to asset- and liability-light agreements with property owners.(1:42) - Stuf origin story(5:46) - Target markets and type of buildings suited for conversions(10:00) - Business model & scaling CRE conversions(11:32) - Stuf's tech stack(15:02) - Feature: Housing Trust Silicon Valley(16:14) - Industrious transition from asset-heavy to asset-light(20:44) - WeWork's tumultuous office lease renegotiations(22:34) - Future of office uses(25:44) - Office-to-art space conversion(27:22) - Collaboration Superpower: Marie Kondo

Raunaq Singh is the founder & CEO of Roam, the platform for purchasing a home with an assumable, low-rate mortgage included. Prior to founding Roam, Raunaq spent a decade in various product and operations roles across Uber, Opendoor and Culdesac. He received a Bachelor's degree in Political Economy from NYU and currently resides in New York City.(2:26) - Lessons from Opendoor & Uber(5:01) - Roam origin story (7:36) - Feature: Housing Trust Silicon Valley (8:48) - Assumable mortgage mechanics(14:55) - Roam's Business Model(16:38) - Benefits for mortgage lenders(18:58) - Roam's homebuyers & sellers(21:10) - Impact of interest rates on the business(22:10) - Roam's New Closing Guarantee(27:54) - Housing market in 2024(31:59) - Collaboration Superpower: FHA, VA, Zillow, Redfin

Ryan Simonetti is the CEO and co-founder of Convene, a global hospitality company that owns and manages premium Meeting, Event & Workplace locations around the world. His unique expertise in real estate acquisitions, development, and finance has helped catapult Convene to become a pioneer in the commercial real estate industry. Ryan is also the co-founder & Chairman of Ease Capital, a digital-first commercial lending platform that combines data, technology & world-class customer support to streamline the multifamily financing process from end-to-end. Ryan has been recognized for his transformative achievements on Commercial Observer's inaugural Power PropTech List, Real Estate Forum's 50 Under 40 list, Inc. Magazine's '30 Under 30', a list of America's Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs; was named 'Top Entrepreneur' by Crain's New York, and was a finalist in Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year® New York Awards. (3:00) - WeWork's bankruptcy impact on the Office industry(8:17) - Tech vs Real Estate valuations(11:13) - Feature: Housing Trust Silicon Valley (site)(12:26) - Office Markets comparison(16:44) - Convene's performance & KPI's(18:07) - Innovative experience management(25:11) - Office AR & VR adoption(29:07) - Ease Capital - tech-enabled Multifamily lender(31:52) - Collaboration Superpower: Michael Jordan

Ryan Frazier is the Co-founder and CEO at Arrived Homes, the Real Estate tech company that Jeff Bezos and Marc Benioff invested in to make the wealth building potential of owning rental homes & vacation rentals more accessible. Ryan and the Arrived team believe they can do that by simplifying the process, and lowering the cost to get started. With Arrived anyone can buy shares in income producing rental properties starting at just $100. Arrived takes care of all the real estate operations so that investors can sit back and collect net rental income and their share of the home's appreciation. (2:42) - Arrived Homes origin story(7:49) - Arrived's end-to-end platform(9:14) - Investor returns with Arrived vs. REITs(14:44) - Seattle's Proptech Ecosystem(16:30) - Feature: Housing Trust Silicon Valley (site) (17:41) - Investing in single family homes vs. Residential funds(21:48) - Arrived's real estate investor community(24:35) - Proptech's strategy to competing with Institutional SFR(30:06) - Build-to-rent opportunity(33:57) - Housing market predictions for 2024(39:42) - Collaboration Superpower: Christina Tosi (Founder at Milk Bar - Wikipedia)

Nick Narodny is the Founder and CEO at Aalto, a real estate marketplace that lets people buy and sell homes online. Nick previously co-founded Grovo, a microlearning company for real estate agents that was acquired by Cornerstone on Demand. Real Estate runs in the family for Nick, after being raised and inspired by his real estate agent mother and father. Aalto combines modern technology with a centralized team of licensed agents. Buyers and sellers use digital tools to lead most of the process themselves. Aalto agents provide on-demand support, review offers, and handle closing. This online model aims to provide a consistent, high quality experience while costing less to operate, so buyers and sellers save money with low fees and rebates.(1:55) - Aalto, buy a home online(3:38) - Nick & Aalto's origin story(8:42) - Aalto vs. traditional broker(17:02) - Feature: Housing Trust Silicon Valley (site)(18:13) - NAR Lawsuit & it's ramifications for the industry(30:38) - Predictions for buyer & seller commissions in 2024(35:43) - Collaboration Superpower: Winston Churchill

Ben Miller is the co-founder and CEO of Fundrise, the largest direct-to-consumer alternative asset manager in the US. Under his leadership, Fundrise has grown to over 2 million active users and over $3 billion in real estate private equity, private credit, and growth-stage venture capital. Ben also serves as Chairman of the Board of three publicly-registered investment companies and, during his 25-year career, has acquired more than $8 billion of real estate assets, including 37,000 residential units and 5 million square feet of industrial and commercial space. (00:26) - Fundrise's journey to revolutionizing private market investing(8:13) - Benefits of end-to-end platform experience(12:49) - Growth-stage Venture Capital fund (Part I)(15:43) - Real Estate investment strategy(19:20) - Feature: Housing Trust SV (site) - Housing finance & public-private partnerships to create more equitable & affordable communities(20:31) - AI impact on Commercial Real Estate(28:14) - Macro trends impacting Real Estate(29:46) - Economy outlook for 2024(35:24) - Growth-stage Venture Capital fund (Part II)(46:25) - Long-term vs. short-term lessons(48:59) - Collaboration Superpower: Alexander Hamilton

Eliot Brown is the co-author of The Cult of We (with Maureen Farrell), a WSJ best-selling book, and winner of the Financial Times, Fortune, and NPR Best Book of the Year Awards. Eliot covers startups and venture capital for The Wall Street Journal in London. He joined the Journal in 2010, when he was hired to cover commercial real estate in the wake of the financial crisis. He previously worked at the New York Observer, where he covered economic development and local politics.(2:10) - From The Cult of We to WeCrashed(3:42) - Importance of the book and it's lessons(6:18) - WeWork's board of directors & enablers(8:02) - Valuations: Real Estate vs. Tech(14:20) - HostAI - (site) AI-powered guest messaging & Airbnb rental software(16:23) - Where did it all go down hill for Adam's WeWork(19:15) - WeWork's most impactful tricks(24:16) - Cult of the Founder & power of storytelling(40:14) - WeWork's tech acquisitions(43:29) - Private vs. Public market frenzy

Marshall Cox is a PhD in Electrical Engineering, and the Founder and CEO at Kelvin, winner of the MIT Clean energy prize, the Popular Science Innovation Award, and the Verizon Powerful Answers award. The Kelvin team has developed a system that eliminates overheating in pre-war buildings. The system, called the Cozy, is a wireless, low-cost, and easily installed retrofit that drops on top of radiators to control indoor temperatures in buildings with radiator heat. In individual installations the system can eliminate overheating and vastly improve comfort. By retrofitting whole buildings, the Cozy redistributes steam flow to heat up colder rooms faster, saving up to 40% in heating costs and yielding a potential cumulative annual savings of $7 billion over the 120 million residential and commercial radiators in the United States.(0:22) - Why should we decarbonize buildings (2:47) - Origin of heating tech(3:55) - Carrots & sticks for building decarbonization(7:17) - Kelvin origins(9:46) - Kelvin's smart radiator covers(11:37) - Improving operations' bottom line(12:55) - Financing decarbonization solutions(15:31) - Cozy's low maintenance (17:22) - Precision in estimating building savings(19:50) - Hybrid electrification adoption(25:30) - Elevating living experience for renters(26:38) - Collaboration Superpower: Jigar Shah (Director of Loan Programs in the US DoE)

Marcus Räder started his first company when he was 11 years old. Since then, he's been learning about the world of business, growing up in an environment where global communication and connectivity gets better each day. With 10 years of experience in EdTech and online marketing at various startups, he decided it was time to help others. By founding Hostaway, he helps Airbnb and short-term rental hosts improve their businesses. (0:50) - Hostaway origins(3:16) - State of Short-term Rental industry(8:37) - Airbnb regulation(14:32) - Marketplace fee monetization & consumer psychology(21:28) - Adam Smith's free market, market failure & regulation vs. monopoly(22:52) - All-in-one vacantion rental software(29:18) - Role of online travel agencies(31:26) - Proptech & Travel Tech lessons from EdTech(34:28) - Collaboration Superpower: Alice Cooper

Bryan McLaren is the Chairman & CEO at Zoned Properties, providing regulated Cannabis Real Estate and knowledge since 2014. Cannabis is now legal across 37 US states, and NYC's recent roll-out has put the industry under scrutiny. In this episode, Edward Cohen & Zach Aarons explore the opportunities for Commercial Real Estate investors and retail owners within the Cannabis sector. (0:42) - State of Cannabis Real Estate (6:07) - Retail opportunities & challenges(12:03) - Home prices & cannabis legalization (14:44) - Estimating market demand(17:26) - NYC Recreational cannabis roll-out

Groundfloor is a private real estate lending marketplace open to non-accredited investors. Groundfloor opens the door to short-term, high-yield returns backed by real estate. Their platform brings together individual investors looking for short-term lending investments and borrowers looking for short-term financing for their specific real estate projects. Borrowers get access to more flexible, faster and cheaper capital than a traditional bank or a hard-money lender. Investors get access to short-term, high-yield investments. Groundfloor earned a historic qualification by the SEC in August 2015 to sell private real estate debt investments to non-accredited investors.