Here come the cost-savers
Plus 7 financings, 4 pieces of news, and 13 interesting reads
If you don’t already know this, most commercial landlords get paid based on their number of properties owned, developed, or managed. The math is pretty simple - the more you build, buy, or manage, the more you get paid by your investors for managing the process.
What does that have to do with PropTech?
More than you might think.
Because what that means is that during times of economic boom, like, say, the last 10 years, almost all CRE firms are focused on growing their portfolio.
It’s not that they ignore things like profit or culture or team composition or anything else. It’s just that far-and-away the most important goal is to grow your portfolio.
What that translates to for PropTech is a focus on revenue-generating startups in economic “up” cycles.
“What tech companies can help me grow my revenue and increase by deal flow?”
That question is much more relevant in the boom than “How can I save pennies on energy, water, maintenance, taxes, etc.”
Then cometh the fall.
The economy adjusts. Prices vary. Sellers waffle. And out of nowhere, revenue growth become unpredictable.
Now the question evolves into - “Assuming our revenue stays the same for a couple years, how do we increase our margins?”
Enter the cost-savers.
I’ve written about this before, but I expect to see a surge in technology companies that focus on helping owners, managers, developers, and builders on cost savings (once they feel they have addressed occupant health, of course).
Such is the nature of cycles. Boom times fuel the revenue-generators. Busts fuel the cost-savers.
Keep an eye on the Fundings section below over the coming months and see if I’m wrong.
Fundings:
EConcrete, an Israeli concrete technology startup, raised $5M from Bridges Israel.
Mapiq, a Dutch office utilization platform, raised 3.4M Euros.
Trade Hounds, a professional community fo the construction industry, raised $3.2M from Corigin, Brick and Mortar, and Suffolk Construction.
Codi, a Berkeley-based startups that allows home owners to rent their space by the hour for coworking, raised $2.9M from firms like NfX.
Vizcab, a French construction tech company focused on reducing carbon footprints, raised $1.8M from A/O PropTech and Banque de Terretoires.
Akia, a SF-based contactless check-in platform for hotels, raised $1M from GSR Ventures.
Ootbox, a temporary space startup, raised $870k from i-Hatch, Bolt, and Island Capital.
News:
Bentley Systems acquired on-site construction logging platform NoteVault.
Impulsify, a Denver-based grab-and-go market for apartments, is rolling out in some East Coast apartments.
Amazon launched Distance Assistance via 50-inch monitor and some cool tech.
Crane sensor company Versatile was named to the WEF cohort of Technology Pioneers.
Funds:
Paid Subscribers Only
Read:
Is Density Destiny by Dror Poleg. Thoughts on the future of urbanization and distributed work.
I love a good CBInsights report. Here is their report on industry/technology shifts after COVID.
EU venture capital firm PropTech1 has published a white paper on the effect of COVID on PropTech.
Check out this terrific post on how to think about the world in times of chaos and what is permanent.
This is a nice piece on the five levels of remote work.
VentureBeat explores the future of PropTech now that we are going back to the office.
The Atlantic thinks COVID is already reshaping cities.
Check out the results of this research by Raydiant on how more than 400 US retailers plan to reopen and what changes are permanent.
Read James Dice’s Nexus newsletter this week for an approachable guide to machine learning in the building industry.
Crunchbase has an ok piece on the changes in PropTech post-COVID.
When you have time, be sure to read McKinsey’s report on how the construction industry is due for more disruption.
Looks like investors are still investing in startups, COVID or not.
Work Design has their take on the touchless office.
Thanks for reading!
If you learned something from this newsletter, please send it to a friend. If not, send it to someone you hate and help me clog their inbox.
If you have any financings, articles, or suggestions for me, please send them to MKnight@blkhwk.com.