Real estate technology has radically influenced the way we live and travel, but the real estate industry has successfully resisted most attempts to innovate.
Prospective homeowners can qualify for mortgages from their cell phone, but until more companies are in place to help them find affordable homes or adequately plan for the biggest purchase they’ll ever make, proptech can’t create optimal value for consumers.
Following the success of startups like Airbnb and smarthome players like Google, Amazon and Samsung, investors are “looking for great ideas and quality execution,” according to Jake Fingert and Lionel Foster of VC firm Camber Creek.
“Starting a business is difficult, but we now have a path for proptech with financiers and advisors who can help entrepreneurs overcome early hurdles to maturity and deep market penetration.”
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In an article they describe as “a call to current and potential proptech entrepreneurs to solve the problems close to home,” the authors identify eight issues that founders and investors should focus on, along with estimated TAMs for each. opportunity.
“As an entrepreneur, what you want is for financiers to nod in agreement with your pitch before you have a chance to finish it,” Fingert and Foster write.
Since housing makes up a whopping 18% of the US economy, “these are issues that everyone can understand. More entrepreneurs should call proptech home.
Thank you very much for reading,
Walter Thompson
Senior Editor, gotechbusiness.com+
@yourprotagonist
Contents
- 1 How I Navigated My Pregnancy as a Series A Founder
- 2 Use chronological scenario planning to help your startup through a potential recession
- 3 Fia Jones of Astrix Astronautics on making love to Peter Beck to launch her startup
- 4 Customize your tech stack to withstand the downturn
- 5 VCs should not confuse risk management with failing to fund diverse founders
- 6 Late-stage tech companies need to do their employees good: reassess your 409A ratings
- 7 Your startup pitch deck needs an operational plan
Image Credits: JESPER KLAUSES / PHOTO LIBRARY OF SCIENCE (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
When Kelsey Mellard, founder and CEO of telehealth platform Sitka, realized she was pregnant a few weeks after raising $14 million in Series A, she had several decisions to make.
How would she break the news to her leadership team and employees? What was the best way to plan her transition to maternity leave?
“While the experience varies greatly and there is no ‘right’ path to take, I want to share what worked for me when I was a pregnant founder and CEO,” said Mellard, who shared her pre-departure checklist and transition plan with gotechbusiness.com+.
“My investors had chosen to bet on me,” she writes. “So now having a baby was going to be part of our new game plan, and they understood that.”
Use chronological scenario planning to help your startup through a potential recession
Image Credits: Andriy Onufriyenko (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
People who burn wood to keep warm through the winter know how to calculate how many cords to chop and stack. However, creating a winter strategy for a startup is a less straightforward process.
In this environment, entrepreneurs need to build decision trees that can help them manage 36 months of runway, recommends Gaetano Crupi, partner at venture capital firm Prime Movers Lab.
A three-year outlook “is a more appropriate time horizon for gathering more information, so you can slow down even further (with cash to turn around) if things are worse in 12 months, or speed up if things are better in 18 months.” be,” he advises.
Fia Jones of Astrix Astronautics on making love to Peter Beck to launch her startup
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / gotechbusiness.com
In 2019, Fia Jones reached out to Peter Beck, CEO and founder of Rocket Lab, with an invitation to discuss her idea to revolutionize the way we power satellites. At the time, she was a 19-year-old physics student at the University of Auckland.
Last month, Rocket Lab launched a cubesat from Astrix Astronautics, the company Jones co-founded, into space.
Once deployed, the unit will capture 200 watts of power that can provide inexpensive power for constellation satellites.
“For other founders, I’m not saying that they should chase another CEO in their industry. But I think it can help to have an expert in the field, or someone who has credibility and influence, to support them,” Jones said.
Customize your tech stack to withstand the downturn
Image Credits: aguus (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Reducing the workforce is often the first place founders look for savings, but it doesn’t hurt to take a closer look at your tech stack.
Early-stage startups don’t have a formal purchasing process, meaning companies that grow at scale must pay for unused software licenses or automatically renew stuck contracts at high rates.
“The question is not whether there is waste or inefficiency, but how much,” said David Campbell, CEO and co-founder of Tropic. In this article, he shares three ways to assess startup software spending.
VCs should not confuse risk management with failing to fund diverse founders
Image Credits: Nuthawut Somsuk (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
In 2021, black entrepreneurs received a record amount of venture capital, but they’ve seen a significant drop since the downturn began, gotechbusiness.com reporter Dominic-Madori Davis found.
Investors poured $1.2 billion into Black’s founders in the first quarter of 2022, but funding is only $324 million this quarter so far.
“Our allies and communities must be part of the solution by investing in our businesses or becoming paying customers,” said Kerry Schrader, co-founder of Mixtroz. “Clapping from the sidelines only goes so far.”
Late-stage tech companies need to do their employees good: reassess your 409A ratings
Image Credits: William Voon / EyeEm (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Growing valuations are the ultimate goal for companies of all levels, but for startups looking to weather a period of financial drought, lower valuations can make it easier to hire and retain employees.
“It’s actually the right choice for your employees to re-evaluate your 409A now, as their capability is not up to date with the rest of the market,” said Frederik Mijnhardt, CEO of Secfi.
Your startup pitch deck needs an operational plan
Image Credits: Haje Jan Kamps (Opens in a new window)
Including an operational plan in a pitch deck shows potential investors that the founding team has a clear idea of how they will spend the money received, Haje Jan Kamps suggests.
“For most businesses, you should list key milestones: product launches, partnerships signed, and major product revisions shipped, along with other key performance indicators showing traction.”
