Proptech Espresso

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. 

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How can technology empower the property experience and improve human interaction with the physical space? What stood out from the early success stories of the sharing economy as obvious lessons to apply to the vacation rental space? What are the challenges and benefits of selling to a strategic acquirer? What has been the catalyst for moving the mindset of vacation rental from a transaction to an experience? Why has the vacation rental space historically relied upon a single technology solution to run all aspects of the business instead of vertical solutions that manage specific operational functions? How has the Amazon effect transformed the vacation rental industry? Jeremy Gall - founder & CEO of Breezeway, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how his beginnings as a corporate lawyer exposed him to innovative tech companies and inspired him to become a multi-time entrepreneur.

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. 

Why is the Austin business environment so compelling for startups? What is iBuying and what innovation has occurred within this space since its inception? Why has Opendoor been successful in iBuying but Zillow and several others have been forced to exit the space? How does real estate data quality impact the performance of national iBuyers? What is the opportunity for local market knowledge to improve the performance of iBuyers? How will the changing macro market conditions impact iBuying? Adam Eldibany - founder of homebldr, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and share what drew a data scientist to the world of real estate and the emergent proptech center of the Silicon Hills.

Why has hospitality tech only recently started to address the short-term rental space? What unique hospitality challenges do short-term rentals face but traditional hotels do not? What are the scale advantages of launching a startup in the US vs Europe? How does speaking to hundreds of customers synthesize the underlying problems they face? Why are there so many different needs amongst mom & pop property managers? What prompts many property managers to release the software they build for internal use? Is there an advantage to raising capital from your customer base? Vincent Breslin - the co-founder of Uplisting, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how his love for problem-solving launched the entrepreneurial journey of another family member.

As an entrepreneur, what are the measures of success beyond an outsized financial exit? Which parties win most often in company sales? What is the attractiveness of real estate for a former tech founder? How will the lack of discipline in real estate investing be exposed by a bear market? Which real estate asset classes were most impacted by COVID? How does the ability to improve NOI contribute to proptech solution adoption? Proptech investor Zain Jaffer joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss the importance of being the type of investor that you wished you had when you were an entrepreneur.

Why do entrenched incumbents afford newcomers the opportunity to think about industry problems differently? How can established companies foster an ongoing entrepreneurial mindset? Why do entrepreneurs benefit from a lack of industry knowledge? How has data transparency and transaction process clarity empowered the homeowner in Canada? Does caring the most about the transaction result in homeowners selling above similar agent-led transactions? Lindsay Skabar - co-founder & CMO of Bōde, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss the opportune timing of launching a proptech business on the precipice of a global pandemic.

What are the myriad of layers and people involved in getting a successful real estate deal done? Why is there an information gap on how to successfully build a downpayment for a home? Why have lenders historically neglect long term prospective customers? What are the creative ways in which people can obtain financing in order to purchase their first home? How can technology accelerate the savings for home down payments? Pat McLoughlin- co-founder of Digs by OJO Labs, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss the importance of aligning the fundamental needs of users and customers to ensure a sustainable business model.

How is the shift in the way people are living and working driving interest in the short-term rental market? What defines turnkey short-term rental investing and why is the appealing to prospective investors? What are the differences in serving mom & pop investors versus professional investors in the short-term rental space? What are the toughest scale challenges that short-term rental investors face when expanding their property portfolio? Trent Hawthorne - COO of Rabbu, joins Proptech Espresso to answer these questions and discuss how solving problems with software and building a company that minimizes the problems you persevered through make for a great startup entrepreneur recipe.