How to Break Into CRE Technology as a Career

The commercial real estate technology industry is rapidly growing. We asked some of Real Estate Forum’s 2021 CRE Tech Influencers how to break into the budding market.

Real estate technology is a small and tightly knit community, so Josh Herrenkohl of FTI Consulting Inc. says that getting involved and networking is the first step to starting a tech career. Next, follow the money. “Many of the emerging innovations are funded by early- stage venture capital, which is the seed garden of future blockbuster technologies in the industry. There are several VCs that focus exclusively on real estate and many more that dabble,” says Herrenkohl.

When analyzing companies, Gary Brandeis, president of Vertalo, says that young professionals should look for a few common traits. First, the most successful CRE tech firms, in his opinion, began as a traditional real estate firm and innovate internal products to support the core business. “These internal tools became a business of their own and were successful before being spun out,” says Brandeis.

In addition, CRE tech companies should have a leadership team of with a strong background in commercial real estate. This ensures that these tech companies are responding to real industry problems. “The best way to develop technology that supports and innovates inside the real estate industry is to understand the customers, buyers, and users of the technology,” says Brandeis.

Then, Brandeis says that young professionals should begin in traditional roles within the company to truly learn the fundamentals of the real estate business—not the technology business.

Oli Farago , the founder and CEO of Coyote Software agrees that real estate experience is essential to success, explaining that Coyote Software was born from M7 Real Estate, a fund and asset management company in the U.K. “The commercial real estate industry is extremely unique, and if you’re going to start a company in this space, the more “real-world” experience you can offer, the more successful your business will be,” he says.

If you follow these steps, there are a lot of opportunities on the horizon. CRE tech is rapidly growing, and new openings routinely pop up. “CRE was historically slow to adopt, now it is seeing the value and leaning in,” says Patrick E. Klein, EVP and chief technology officer at Essex Property Trust. “ The sheer amount of venture dollars and the number of new solution providers tells you this is a growing segment.”