\u201cWhat was once considered to be fringe intellectual stimulation for the more innovative, forward-thinking people in the real estate industry has become mainstream,\u201d<\/em> said founding partner Aarons, who has funded more than 60 startups as an individual as well as 40 more\u2014<\/em>and counting\u2014<\/em>through MetaProp NYC’s venture capital funds.<\/p>\n MetaProp NYC Founders Aaron Block, Clelia Warburg Peters and Zach Aarons at a launch event. Image courtesy of REBNY<\/p><\/div>\n Aarons also worked on large-scale mixed-use developments at New York-based Millennium Partners and has experience in commercial asset management, property marketing and commercial leasing. (As of Nov. 30, he is no longer with Millennium.) \u201cIt used to be cool to be a Luddite in the real estate business,\u201d<\/em> he added. \u201cNow it\u2019s considered cool to know about what\u2019s going on with the technology that is impacting your business.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Co-founder & managing director Block concurred: \u201c<\/em>Increasingly, we\u2019re witnessing a meeting of the minds between traditional silos of real estate and technology. Real estate executives no longer need to be convinced of proptech’s importance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Investment in proptech tripled to $12.6 billion from 2015 through 2017, with capital infusions from venture capitalists, institutional investors and traditional real estate firms, according to Block.<\/p>\n Forward-thinking property owners and developers are looking for seamless proptech solutions across business units through integrated mobile technology, the Internet of Things, ambient computing and machine learning. MetaProp has seen increasing demand for such solutions in tenant amenities, building access and security, parking solutions, wayfaring and retail tenant marketing.<\/p>\n Aaron Block. Image courtesy of MetaProp<\/p><\/div>\n MetaProp\u2019s accelerator program has emerged as a global leader for early-stage proptech companies and currently boasts more than 80 mentors and corporate partners. The firm has collectively invested in 50-plus companies across the full real estate value chain. These companies have raised in excess of $2 billion and employ more than 1,500 people internationally. The portfolio has a wide array of offerings and includes Sentinel Labs, a portfolio management, investor workflow and task management solution for CMBS portfolio management; Betterview, the leading platform for drone-based property inspections; and Dynasty, an artificial intelligence service that runs your leasing business while you sleep.<\/p>\n \u201cMetaProp provides a great resource to owner-operators in that it allows us to identify various technologies entering the real estate sector and better understand what kind of impact they could have on our business,\u201d<\/em> said Kent Tarrach, vice president of Brookfield Properties\u2019 U.S. office division. \u201cAdditionally, it introduces us to some of the most viable early-stage proptech companies, giving us the chance to potentially incorporate them into our operations.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Many innovations have actually started on the residential side. \u201cMLS\u2014and everything that grew out of MLS like Zillow, Trulia and Street Easy\u2014were fundamentally consumer solutions,\u201d<\/em> noted Aarons. In an enterprise software context, the tolerable level for best practices is much, much lower\u2014except for security. \u201cIn terms of beautiful UI\/UX usability, business people will tolerate something less,\u201d he said. \u201cBut in a consumer context, the product needs to be awesome to get random everyday lay people to use it. \u2026 If Instagram had a terrible UI\/UX, no one would be using it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n MetaProp co-founding partner & advisor Clelia Warburg Peters, president of Warburg Realty, brings key residential real estate insights to the equation with her significant experience in strategic business development, cutting-edge technology and financial investing. According to Peters, an increasing dependence on technology is changing almost every aspect of how Warburg Realty is run. \u201cIn terms of my day-to-day communication with my brokers, we\u2019re moving to tools that are faster,\u201d<\/em> said Peters.<\/p>\n Her team resides in a mobile-first environment, where both agents and consumers want to go to mobile technology before desktop. For viewing spaces, 3-D technology and virtual reality are already here.<\/p>\n \u201cI think technology companies can do a better job of supporting the real estate industry\u2014in large part just by getting into the real estate industry,\u201d<\/em> Peters added. \u201cI think technology companies need to get to know real estate executives, understand what they need and start building sophisticated next-generation technology tools to address the needs of our industry.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n MetaProp has evolved organically since its fairly recent inception. Its rapid growth can be traced to the ability of its founders to anticipate tomorrow\u2019s innovations and to the synergy that led them to find each other and recognize ways to fill a vital market need together.<\/p>\n Clelia Warburg Peters. Image courtesy of MetaProp<\/p><\/div>\n When Block moved back to New York from Chicago, where he had served as chairman of BayRu, an e-commerce and shipping specialist, he was looking for something interesting to work on or invest in. \u201cI was hunting for connectors\u2014people who knew people in the real estate space,\u201d<\/em> he recalled.<\/p>\n One name that came up time and time again was Zack Aarons, who had a development background. The other person was Clelia Warburg Peters, whose residential perspective complemented Block\u2019s CRE expertise.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t take long for the trio to hatch a business idea. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t much of a community,\u201d<\/em> said Block. There was, however, an incredible crop of startups and entrepreneurs already creating new technology solutions to disrupt the industry that was seeking capital and customers. Meanwhile, real estate companies were starting to think about innovation and differentiation of their brands, products and operating businesses. Executives were hearing about tech transformation across other industries but did not know where to look within their own.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother ingredient that was present were the enthusiasts, people like Zack or Clelia or me\u2014the people who really enjoy startups and enjoy real estate and helping being a part of what was potentially going to happen,” Block said. “So that\u2019s a great mix to bake a delicious pie. We sought out the opportunity to be the ones who put together this recipe in a way that really serves everyone and becomes the connective tissue between all of these groups.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Block, Peters and Aarons work with their multidisciplinary team on meeting new startups and investors and evaluating potential deals. \u201cIncreasingly, I’m spending an hour or two with large real estate firm CEOs thinking through innovation strategy, corporate development and corporate venture activities,\u201d<\/em> said Block. \u201cMost important, my partners and I spend time every day training, setting and monitoring growth metrics, promoting, and making introductions for our portfolio companies and latest MetaProp Pre-Accelerator at Columbia University startups. We’re growth junkies. Helping these folks grow their companies is in our DNA.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Meanwhile, MetaProp\u2019s status as a global leader in early-stage proptech venture capital firm allowed it to manage and invest capital on behalf of owners and managers of 15 billion square feet around the world. The firm has guided many startups in its portfolio to maturity and beyond, including Bowery, the tech-enabled commercial appraisal firm; Spacious, which turns unused restaurant space into coworking hubs and meeting spots; and WhyHotel, a pop-up hotel solution for new luxury apartment communities.<\/p>\n MetaProp started by building an accelerator because market studies pointed to this as a good way to bring stakeholders together, throughout the year and perennially, in a way that was high utility for everyone.<\/em> \u201cThat was version one of the connective tissue of New York\u2019s real estate technology community, which we\u2019re very proud of and continues today now in partnership with Columbia University,\u201d<\/em> said Block.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/11\/MetaProp-NYC-Founders-at-Launch-Event.jpg\")
<\/a>Fueling the Demand<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/11\/Aaron-Block.jpeg\")
<\/a>Growth junkies<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/11\/Clelia-Warburg-Peters.jpg\")
<\/a>Bringing stakeholders together<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/11\/Zach-Aarons.jpg\")
<\/a>