Fully Occupied

Lauren Bahr, VP of Finance at Occupier, was recently a guest on The Role Forward Podcast, hosted by Joe Michalowski from Mosaic. Lauren talks about why people still use spreadsheets and Excel, despite technological advances. She also discusses how to keep the finance and accounting professions alive. Tune in to learn why the future of finance and accounting is all about automation and how to optimize your lease accounting and management processes leveraging technology.

Disclosure: This episode originally aired on The Role Forward Podcast on November 28th, 2022.

Paul Stanton is the Co-Founder and Partner at Proptech Bankers, a boutique investment bank focused exclusively on the property technology industry. Paul joins Matt to talk about the current state of the capital markets for proptech companies including recent valuations, M&A activity, and future of the industry. Tune in for Paul's predictions for consolidation, M&A, valuations, and fundraising in the proptech space for the next 12 months.

Real estate and proptech have only recently begun gaining traction in universities. Robin Barone, adjunct professor at NYU, sits down with Matt to talk about why it’s important for these topics to be embraced in school. Tune in if you're interested in pursuing a career in the proptech space and technology in the built world, or if you're already in the real estate industry and curious about how technology impacts your career.

Christophe Garnier is the Founder and CEO of Upflex, a premier SaaS provider for the hybrid workplace. Christophe sits down with Matt to share Upflex's story and solutions to the continuous uncertainty on what the future of the office looks like, what the future of the office building looks like, and how flexible working space factors into all of this. Tune in to hear his perspective and predictions on the future of flex and how Upflex is embracing it.

Brandon Medeiros is the Co-Founder of Alidade, where they transform readily available data into an actionable real estate strategy to achieve company goals and accelerate decision making. Brandon joins Matt to share how he's seen remote/hybrid work models impacting office demand. They discuss what tenants demand from a physical space, how they expect to use it, and how owners are reconfiguring the way office buildings are being built, structured and deployed to tenants.

Colman Edwards, Senior Director of Technology at Countsy, manages the implementation team where they setup technology startups on their platform tools. He sits down with Lauren Bahr to discuss the steps in typical vendor selection processes, the most crucial considerations to take into account, and what red flags to look out for. Tune in for his insights on how to find the right software vendor for your firm.

Michael Yang is a Managing Partner at OMERS Ventures, a VC that invests in fintech, healthtech, construction & proptech. Michael joins Matt to share what they look for in a proptech company, how investors are navigating the down market, and what it means for the commercial real estate industry. Tune in for his insights and predictions on the future of proptech.

Dave Ribando, Partner and Founder of Valuations I/O, joins Lauren Bahr to break down the impairment process for leases. He shares common indicators of impaired leases and common pitfalls he's seen in impairment assessments. Tune in to learn how you can avoid those pitfalls in the future and what assumptions you need to make during your impairment assessment.

Tyler Thompson, Managing Partner at Second Century Ventures, joins Matt to discuss the ins and outs of proptech fundraising in economic uncertainty. Tyler shares what he's seeing from both a venture capital investing standpoint and an operational standpoint on what makes for a successful proptech company during these rough times. Tune in for his insights and advice for how early stage proptech companies should adjust and prepare.

On this week's episode, Matt is joined by Nyasha-Harmony Gutsa, CEO and Founder of Billy. Billy is a modern digital insurance agency on a mission to make construction insurance fair, fast, and accessible for every contractor in America. Nyasha and Matt discuss why is general liability insurance important for commercial leases and why is construction at such risk. Tune in to learn what construction teams should look for in their insurance provider and the best way to organize and track a company’s insurance.