The Multifamily Proptech Session at the CREW Network Convention brought together three who have integrated technology into their business.
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ORLANDO, FL—Three women at the CREW Network Convention breakout proptech session talked about taking that leap and integrating technology into their business, the risks they took, and how it paid off. First up was Joanna Zabriskie, president and CEO of BH Management, who started the session by talking about lessons learned investing in proptech. "Initially, we did a direct equity investment in a company," she said, pointing out that there are many more choices in the space today than when BH Management invested. "There is an explosion of opportunities of new companies. There are the startups and the established big companies. What's important is to evaluate integration, staying power and capitalization," she said. "There is a lot out there and it is overwhelming."
Her firm also invested in a proptech fund called the RET Ventures Fund that was formed to spur innovation in the multifamily industry. "There were 12 LPs and owner/operator/mangers representing more than 1 million units in the $110-million Fund I," she said.
The final way her firm has evolved in its investment into the proptech space was to develop the technology in house. Through BH Fusion, BH Balance, and BH Project Pro, the firm's evolution is that it now controls its own data. "You have to own and understand your data. We didn't back in 2014 and 2015, but we realized that with the capital flooding into this business, we had to know what was happening on our assets yesterday, and we need to be able to understand the trends and understand yesterday to make decisions on tomorrow."
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
