TECH TALK RADIO

On this week's Tech Talk Radio podcast Emily Wright is reunited with original co-host and esteemed EG editor Sam McClary to celebrate EG Tech Week. OK, so EG Tech Week might not be its official title but an apt one for a week in which we have a Tech Live event, a TTR and a special tech-themed issue of EG. 

 

Coyote's Oli Farago and Rob Bould join Wright and McClary on this week's episode as they reveal what 2020 holds for the business as the plan for ambitious overseas expansion.

On this week's Tech Talk Radio, co-hosts Emily Wright and Lucy Alderson (temporarily) slow down and take stock as they discuss all things mental health ahead of this week's special issue of EG. As our survey of nearly 700 real estate professionals  - including those from the tech sector  - has revealed some "tough to read" statistics, Alderson digs into some of the contributing factors that working in a fast-paced industry can have on those operating within it. 

Also this week we speak to Jess Ford, co-founder of the new property management start-up Herddle, about giving up a career in investment banking to become a founder, why acquiring a company two years ago to trial the concept was "crucial" and what the future holds for the fledgling firm. 

Also on this week's episode find out more about the tech special of EG due out before Christmas and the final Tech Live event of the year where the man behind Google Maps will be speaking and answering your questions.

Redmayne, who has moved to New York with the connectivity ratings business to take on a new role as senior director joins EG for the final instalment of the Big Apple Breakfast series to talk Brooklyn, relocation and the “idiosyncrasies” of doing business in the US.

 

Tune in to hear his take on getting used to a new way of doing business, which major company’s AI committee he pitched to last week and why he believes that while US might be ahead on tech, the UK leads the way when it comes to building communities.

Leila Collins, former enterprise investor at Metaprop VC, joined Emily Wright for a breakfast podcast to discuss her plans to step into affordable housing with her new company EqualRoot where she is working with affordable housing organisations to introduce them to technology companies and solutions to help “streamline their operations” and deliver more houses, more quickly.

Is real estate still comprised of assets? Or is it becoming an operating business? Dror Poleg poses some big questions in the first episode of our Big Apple Breakfast podcast series 

 

Dror Poleg joined EG bright and early on day one of Mipim Proptech New York to as his new book, Rethinking Real Estate launches worldwide this week. 

 

The co-chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Technology and Innovation Council in New York explained that book, which he fondly refers to as his “love letter to real estate” examines the history of how humans have lived and how the assets that support those lives have changed over time. It then looks forward to how technology and digital disruption look set to transform lives and, by default, assets in the future. “I want people to rethink the meaning of location, the meaning of visibility, the meaning of accessibility, the power of zoning laws...and at the asset level I want people to think is it real estate still what we assume to is when we allocate capital against it? Is it still a safe bet against inflation? Is it still a source of very stable income? Is it still an asset and not an operating business? Because it looks like real estate is becoming much more hands on and increasingly reliant on its operators.”

 

He added that the wider impact of tech on asset classes from residential through to retail, commercial, leisure and industrial is a story everyone in technology and real estate should be plugged into.

NYC Real Estate Tech Week: Investors told are beginning to swerve away from the US proptech market to score better deals amid sky-high proptech company valuations.

Speaking at MIPIM Proptech New York, Concrete VC partner Taylor Wescoatt said finding a good investment deal in the US has become increasingly difficult, describing current valuations as being “bananas”.

Wescoatt said Europe was a better place for investors to seek a good deal for investing in proptech companies. 

“There is so much money here [in US] and the market is so big, there are so many funds competing for any hit deal that Valuations are bananas,” he said.

He added that in Europe there are “lower valuations and there is less people competing for each deal which drives them [valuations] down[…] there’s good deals to be had”.

Meanwhile, JLL Spark head of growth Americas Andrea Jang said that one of the most attractive areas to invest in was Canada.

She said that there was “a lot of very good tech talent” in the country and that the government in Ontario and Quebec are funding the salaries of that pool of talent. 

“It’s much cheaper to start a company in Canada than it is in the US, the valuations in Canada are significantly lower and you can benefit on the exchange rate of the US and Canadian dollar,” Jang said.

Jang added that proptech companies in Canada can also be more easily deployed to Asia Pacific and Europe.

Mitsui Fudosan executive manager Takeshi Kodoma said that Israel presented the best opportunities, especially in the cyber security space.

On this week’s Tech Talk Radio, Emily Wright and Lucy Alderson bring you two podcasts from New York as Real Estate Tech week kicks off in the city.

 

First up, Emily visited the new Sandbox space at the Zaha Hadid Residences to speak to Related Companies’ Greg Gushee about the launch of this tech education space. As the man behind the concept, Gushee said that he hopes other developers will follow suit and that a plethora of fresh, new maker spaces will emerge around the world. 

 

A dual space incorporating a public area as well as one reserved for residents at 520 West 28th Street in New York, Related Companies’ The Sandbox space has been created to help encourage people, and children in particular, to learn about all aspects of technology. 

 

“It’s like a Soho House for mad scientists in one way,” said Gushee. “But equally we want spaces like these to be open to everyone so we have our public area too.”

 

Then Lucy met with Carlos Valverde, VP real estate development at Silverstein Properties to talk about bringing fresh tenants to the World Trade Center site, the power of tech and why developing in New York is a “headache.”

This week on Tech Talk Radio Sam McClary is back in the studio. EG's editor joins Emily Wright a week after the roaring success of the new look EG Awards where black tie was banned and light-up footwear positively encouraged. 

After an all-important awards round-up, our TTR co-hosts are joined by Evan Petitt, director of operations and events for MetaProp NYC. On this episode he gives a sneak peek into what delegates can expect at Mipim Proptech New York next month. Part of NYC Real Estate Tech Week, this will mark the fourth year since the event was launched as Petitt reveals who will be speaking and what has been added to the ever-evolving programme in 2019.

It’s all very well having access to data, but where does the real value lie? Is it in being able to analyse that data? Yes, to a degree. But the real returns come when you know how to use it. This was one of the overriding points made by two people who know their stuff when it comes to applying data to real estate and the wider world; Savills director of urban design Andy Dowding and chief executive of VU.CITY Jamie Holmes.

This dynamic duo join Emily Wright on this week's Tech Talk Radio to talk data, delivery and how to avoid falling into the trap of "analysis paralysis".

On this week's Tech Talk Radio Emily Wright is joined by guest co-host EG publisher Damian Wild to talk all things offices in a sparser than usual space as the studio prepares to go on the road. 

Then Smart Spaces CEO Dan Drogman makes his TTR debut as he joins the podcast to talk about the growth of the IoT platform and what it means for office space in and around London and beyond. 

Tune in to find out about his future plans as well as why he recently drove from one side of London to the other with a robot in the boot of his car.