The AI Edge Podcast: CRE & AI

Most businesses think they're implementing AI.

They're actually just adding another tool.

Joel Bechtel believes the companies that win won't have better AI models, they'll have better workflows.

That's exactly what he built.

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Joel Bechtel, Founder of DealFlowPro and Co-Founder & CEO of Zuma Capital Group, to explore how AI is transforming commercial real estate underwriting and why workflow, not the model, is becoming the real competitive advantage.

With more than 35 years of real estate investing experience, Joel combined decades of operational knowledge with a software background to build an AI-native underwriting platform that helps multifamily operators analyze deals in minutes instead of hours.

Rather than replacing investors, DealFlowPro removes repetitive work so operators can spend more time making better decisions.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why most underwriting software is still "spreadsheets with a login"
• How AI-native workflows are changing commercial real estate
• Building software from an operator's perspective
• The biggest bottlenecks slowing acquisitions
• How to analyze multifamily deals faster without sacrificing accuracy
• Why workflow—not AI models—is the real competitive advantage
• Where human judgment still matters in an AI-first world

If you're a real estate investor, operator, founder, or executive looking to build practical AI systems that create leverage, this conversation is packed with actionable insights.

Joel Bechtel

Founder, DealFlowPro

Co-Founder & CEO, Zuma Capital Group

Joel Bechtel is a real estate investor, software entrepreneur, and AI operator with more than 35 years of investing experience.

After building and exiting a software company, he combined his technology background with decades of multifamily investing to create DealFlowPro, an AI-native underwriting platform designed to help operators evaluate opportunities faster, improve consistency, and build repeatable acquisition workflows.

Website
https://dealflowpro.io

Zuma Capital Group
https://zumacapitalgroup.com

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelbechtel/

Everyone loves talking about projected returns.

Almost nobody talks about cash flow.

That's exactly why so many investors get into trouble.

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Irwin Boris explains why the smartest investors focus on predictable income, not flashy projections.

After participating in more than $5 billion in commercial real estate transactions, Irwin Boris has seen every market cycle, investment trend, and underwriting mistake imaginable.

As Head of Acquisitions at Peykar Capital, he works with family offices and high-net-worth investors who think differently. Rather than chasing the highest IRRs, they prioritize long-term cash flow, downside protection, and disciplined underwriting.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• Why cash flow matters more than projected IRRs
• The hidden risks behind many value-add real estate deals
• Why industrial and shallow bay flex properties continue to outperform
• How family offices evaluate investments differently
• Conservative underwriting strategies that survive market cycles
• Where AI is helping—and where it still falls short—in acquisitions and asset management
• Why transparency builds investor trust over decades, not months

If you're an investor, entrepreneur, or operator looking to build durable wealth instead of chasing hype, this episode is packed with practical insights you can apply immediately.

Irwin Boris

Head of Acquisitions, Peykar Capital

Irwin Boris is Head of Acquisitions at Peykar Capital, where he oversees industrial and shallow bay flex investments for a multi-generational family office.

A former CPA, lender, underwriter, and advisor, he has participated in more than $5 billion of commercial real estate transactions and specializes in conservative underwriting, long-term cash flow strategies, and investor alignment.

Website:
https://peykar.capital

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/irwinboris/

Everyone is racing to build AI.

Einars Garoza is building something completely different.

His bet? As artificial intelligence automates more of our digital lives, the world's most valuable assets will be the experiences AI can never replicate.

Luxury safari camps. Conservation. Hospitality. Real estate. Human connection.

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Einars Garoza, Co-Founder & CEO of Conserve Safari, to explore one of the most unconventional investment opportunities we've featured on the show.

After a career in finance and fintech, Einars moved to Tanzania to build luxury safari camps inside some of Africa's most iconic national parks. Today, Conserve Safari combines real estate development, hospitality, conservation, and investor-backed capital into a business designed to create financial returns while protecting some of the world's most extraordinary landscapes.

We discuss:

• Why experiential travel is one of the fastest-growing global trends
• The investment thesis behind safari real estate
• How scarcity inside national parks creates long-term pricing power
• Why AI is making physical experiences even more valuable
• Building and operating luxury hospitality in remote Africa
• Raising capital for an unconventional asset class
• How AI is improving operations, guest experiences, and decision-making

If you're interested in AI, entrepreneurship, real estate, hospitality, or alternative investments, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on where opportunity may be headed next.

Einars Garoza

Co-Founder & CEO, Conserve Safari

Einars Garoza is the Co-Founder and CEO of Conserve Safari, a company developing luxury safari real estate inside Tanzania's premier national parks.

Combining a background in finance, fintech, and entrepreneurship, he is building an investment platform focused on experiential travel, conservation, and long-term value creation while leveraging AI to improve operational efficiency.

Website:
conservesafari.com

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/einarsgaroza/

Most companies don't lose deals because they have bad salespeople.

They lose deals because people forget to follow up, systems break, and consistency disappears.

Bill Beck decided to solve that with AI.

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Bill Beck, Co-Founder of Rise Home Buyers and Hey Rafi, to discuss why the future of sales isn't replacing humans—it's eliminating inconsistency.

After spending years building one of New Jersey's leading real estate acquisition companies, Bill realized the biggest bottleneck wasn't marketing.

It was human inconsistency.

That insight led him to build Hey Rafi, an AI-powered sales platform designed to improve follow-up, qualification, and operational consistency without sacrificing the human element.

In this conversation we discuss:

• Why most sales teams fail
• The psychology behind high-converting conversations
• How AI can remove operational bottlenecks
• Why follow-up is still the biggest competitive advantage
• Building systems that outperform individuals
• The future of AI in sales and real estate
• Why culture always comes before systems

Whether you're building a real estate company, a sales organization, or any service business, this episode is packed with practical lessons on scaling without losing consistency.

Bill Beck

Co-Founder, Rise Home Buyers

Co-Founder, Hey Rafi

Bill Beck is a real estate entrepreneur, sales leader, and AI operator focused on helping businesses build scalable acquisition systems.

Through Rise Home Buyers and Hey Rafi, he combines sales psychology, operational discipline, and AI automation to improve consistency across every stage of the customer journey.

Website:
risebuysfast.com

Hey Rafi:
https://heyrafi.com/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-beck/

Kenny isn't just using AI to save time—he's using it to save lives, build companies, write books, and completely reinvent how organizations operate.

Most people use AI to save a few hours each week.

Kenny Kane is using it to help cancer patients at 2 AM, build custom software without engineers, write books, grow multiple companies, and rethink how organizations operate.

The question isn't whether AI will change your business.

It's whether you'll adapt before everyone else does.

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Kenny Kane, CEO of FirmSpace, CEO of the Testicular Cancer Foundation, CTO & Co-Founder of Grit Health, author of Own Your Name, and one of the most practical AI operators we've interviewed.

Rather than chasing AI hype, Kenny explains how he's using AI to solve real business problems—from patient support and digital identity to commercial real estate operations and custom software development.

We discuss:

• Building an AI patient navigator for cancer support
• Why AI should amplify humans—not replace them
• Running multiple organizations with AI-powered systems
• The future of custom-built software
• How digital identity is changing in the AI era
• Why trust is becoming the most valuable business asset
• The opportunities—and dangers—of AI becoming mainstream

Whether you're a founder, executive, operator, or simply trying to understand where AI is heading, this episode offers practical insights you can apply today.

Kenny Kane

CEO, FirmSpace

CEO, Testicular Cancer Foundation

CTO & Co-Founder, Grit Health

Author of Own Your Name: A Practical Guide to Digital Identity in the Age of AI

Kenny Kane is an operator who has spent his career improving systems across commercial real estate, healthcare, nonprofits, and technology. His work focuses on combining AI with human expertise to create better customer experiences, stronger organizations, and scalable operational systems.

Website:
https://kenny-kane.com/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennykane/

FirmSpace:
http://www.firmspace.com

Testicular Cancer Foundation:
https://www.testicularcancer.org

Grit Health:
http://grythealth.com

Your car can tell you exactly what’s wrong before it breaks down.

So why are billion-dollar buildings still operating blind?

🎧 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this mind-blowing episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Jack Illes, Founder & Managing Partner of Smart City Labs, to explore how AI is transforming the future of real estate, buildings, and entire cities.

Jack makes a bold claim:

The average car is smarter than the building you’re sitting in right now.

And that’s creating massive inefficiencies, lost NOI, unnecessary energy costs, and billions of dollars in untapped opportunity.

We dive into how Smart City Labs is bringing buildings to life using:

• AI-powered cognitive digital twins
  
• Local LLMs that capture institutional knowledge
  
• IoT sensors and intelligent infrastructure
  
• Energy optimization that can reduce costs by 10–30%
  
• Real-time building intelligence
  
• Digital experiences that transform hotels, retail, and cities
  

Jack explains why the future of real estate is not just about owning physical assets — it’s about owning intelligent assets.

We also discuss:

• Why old buildings risk becoming stranded assets
  
• The hidden connection between AI, energy, and property value
  
• How data centers, smart infrastructure, and digital ecosystems are reshaping communities
  
• Why AI won’t replace humans — but people who understand AI will replace those who don’t
  

If you own real estate, operate properties, develop communities, invest in infrastructure, or simply want to understand where the built world is headed…

This conversation will change the way you see every building around you.

👤 ABOUT THE GUEST

Jack Illes is the Founder & Managing Partner of Smart City Labs, a real estate technology company focused on creating intelligent infrastructure for buildings, districts, and cities.

With a career spanning real estate development, urban planning, retail destinations, hospitality, and emerging technology, Jack sits at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds.

Through Smart City Labs, he helps owners transform traditional properties into intelligent assets using AI, digital twins, IoT networks, immersive media, and connected infrastructure.

----------------------------------------

🔗 FOLLOW JACK ILLES

LinkedIn:   / jackilles  

Smart City Labs: https://smart-citylabs.com/

Email: mailto:[email protected]

Most property owners don't realize they have a problem until the day their building stops working.

A failed HVAC system. A leak nobody can find. A medical facility forced to shut down operations.

By the time the emergency happens, the real mistake was made months earlier.

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Jamie Baker explains why the best property managers don't just respond to problems — they predict and prevent them.

Jamie Baker is the President of Lee & Associates Property Management and leads a rapidly growing platform serving commercial real estate owners across North and South Carolina.

After navigating personal tragedy, a major business merger, and the expansion of a 34-person team, Jamie shares the lessons he learned about resilience, leadership, scaling operations, and building partnerships where everyone's incentives are aligned.

We discuss:

• The biggest mistake commercial property owners make
• Why preventative maintenance saves millions
• How AI is eliminating manual work inside property management
• Why communication separates average operators from great ones
• The challenges of scaling a people-first service business
• Lessons from leading through loss, change, and growth
• How technology will reshape the future of commercial real estate operations

Whether you're an investor, owner, operator, or entrepreneur, this conversation is a masterclass in building resilient systems and long-term relationships.

Jamie Baker

President, Lee & Associates Property Management

Jamie Baker has over 20 years of experience in property and asset management.

He leads Lee & Associates Property Management's expansion across the Carolinas, overseeing retail, industrial, office, medical, and specialized facilities.

His team combines local ownership with national reach, delivering high-touch property management focused on operational excellence, preventative maintenance, and long-term client partnerships.

Website:
https://www.lee-associates.com/raleigh/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-baker/

Company:
https://www.lundygroup.com/

Your car can tell you exactly what’s wrong before it breaks down.

So why are billion-dollar buildings still operating blind?

In this mind-blowing episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Jack Illes, Founder & Managing Partner of Smart City Labs, to explore how AI is transforming the future of real estate, buildings, and entire cities.

Jack makes a bold claim:

The average car is smarter than the building you’re sitting in right now.

And that’s creating massive inefficiencies, lost NOI, unnecessary energy costs, and billions of dollars in untapped opportunity.

We dive into how Smart City Labs is bringing buildings to life using:

• AI-powered cognitive digital twins
• Local LLMs that capture institutional knowledge
• IoT sensors and intelligent infrastructure
• Energy optimization that can reduce costs by 10–30%
• Real-time building intelligence
• Digital experiences that transform hotels, retail, and cities

Jack explains why the future of real estate is not just about owning physical assets — it’s about owning intelligent assets.

We also discuss:

• Why old buildings risk becoming stranded assets
• The hidden connection between AI, energy, and property value
• How data centers, smart infrastructure, and digital ecosystems are reshaping communities
• Why AI won’t replace humans — but people who understand AI will replace those who don’t

If you own real estate, operate properties, develop communities, invest in infrastructure, or simply want to understand where the built world is headed…

This conversation will change the way you see every building around you.

👤 ABOUT THE GUEST

Jack Illes is the Founder & Managing Partner of Smart City Labs, a real estate technology company focused on creating intelligent infrastructure for buildings, districts, and cities.

With a career spanning real estate development, urban planning, retail destinations, hospitality, and emerging technology, Jack sits at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds.

Through Smart City Labs, he helps owners transform traditional properties into intelligent assets using AI, digital twins, IoT networks, immersive media, and connected infrastructure.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackilles/

Smart City Labs: https://smart-citylabs.com/

Email: [email protected]

A commercial real estate process that used to take 4–8 weeks was completed in just 3 days using AI.

When Christopher Pardo saw it happen, his reaction was simple:

"This is the future."

On this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Christopher Pardo, Managing Partner of Invictus Real Estate Partners.

Chris has spent decades navigating real estate cycles as a developer, lender, investor, and operator. Today Invictus invests across private credit, construction lending, bridge financing, and multifamily real estate opportunities throughout the Eastern United States.

In this conversation we discuss:

• Why AI is dramatically changing commercial real estate underwriting
• How one operator compressed a process from 8 weeks to 3 days
• What separates disciplined lenders from reckless lenders
• The biggest mistakes developers are making right now
• Why Chris believes relationships and discipline matter more than speed
• How Invictus evaluates risk in today's market
• The future of multifamily, private credit, and development

If you're involved in commercial real estate, lending, development, capital raising, or AI, this conversation is packed with practical insights from someone actively deploying capital in today's market.

Christopher Pardo
Managing Partner
Invictus Real Estate Partners

📧 [email protected]

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-pardo-23495a1b/

🌐 Invictus Real Estate Partners

#CommercialRealEstate #AI #PrivateCredit #Multifamily #RealEstateInvesting #Development #CapitalMarkets #AIinCRE #TheAIEdgePodcast

🚨 Most investors think more capital creates more opportunity.

Brian Ker believes the opposite.

In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Brian Ker, President of Snowball Developments, explains why too much money chasing the same deals is creating mediocre returns across commercial real estate.

We dive into:

• Why industrial remains his highest conviction asset class
• The hidden risks of today's capital markets
• Why many developers are building the wrong projects
• The difference between market hype and market reality
• How Snowball scaled to nearly 2 million square feet with a lean team
• Why relationships still beat algorithms in commercial real estate
• Where AI can actually create leverage (and where it's massively overhyped)
• Why Brian believes Hartford, Connecticut may be one of the most overlooked markets in America

Brian brings a rare combination of operator experience, market discipline, and long-term thinking that every investor, developer, broker, and capital raiser can learn from.

If you're involved in commercial real estate, private equity, development, or capital raising, this conversation will challenge the way you think about risk, opportunity, and growth.

🎧 Listen now.

Guest:
Brian Ker
President, Snowball Developments

Connect with Brian:
Website: https://www.snowball-dev.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-ker-5024899/

#CommercialRealEstate #IndustrialRealEstate #RealEstateInvesting #CapitalRaising #PrivateEquity #CRE #AI #TheAIEdgePodcast