1. Real Estate + Tech
ProductHuntTO
Brandon G. Donnelly
@donnelly_b
brandondonnelly.com
November 26, 2015
2. My story
Startup Weekend #1: Dirt (thedirt.co)
Startup Weekend #2: Crowdsourced valuations
Why we failed / challenges
Opportunities (real estate lifecycle)
3. BSc Computer Science
Dropped Out
BA Architecture
University of Toronto
Masters in Architecture &
Real Estate Development
University of Pennsylvania
Real Estate Development
Morguard Investments
Office, Retail & Rental
Apartments
MBA
Rotman School
Innovation &
Entrepreneurship
Startup Weekend #1
Dirt
Quit Job
Daily Blog
Architect This City
Real Estate Development
TAS
Condos
Startup Weekend #2
Crowdsourced Home
Valuations
Real Estate Development
CAPREIT
Rental Apartments
5. “One of NYC's great strengths is the diversity of its
economy – finance, real estate, media & entertainment,
retail, fashion, health care, education, and now tech.
And the reason tech is growing so fast in NYC is that it
is embedding itself in all of these other industries.”
-Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures
6.
7.
8. Only so many people who know about and can
review a building.
Not unlocking enough valuable data. (like status
certificates)
Owners have a vested interest to only provide
positive reviews.
Real estate agents only provided fluff pieces to
generate business.
Why We Failed
9.
10. Very difficult to get homeowners to engage when they’re not
yet ready to sell. Problem wasn’t immediate and big enough.
We had to take photos of people’s homes otherwise we
didn’t get any. Higher barriers to entry for supply-side.
“Free market evaluation” is a common tactic used by agents
to acquire customers. Hard to break through noise.
Why We Failed
11. High cost Low frequency Strong barriers Supply aggregation Unique transactions
Challenges
17. Dramatically reduce transaction costs and friction. Peer-
to-peer marketplaces + blockchain.
Improve transparency and access to information.
Opportunities to leverage the crowd.
Democratize real estate via community engagement and
crowdfunding. Next iteration of REITs in a way.
Optimize design and production methods to improve
efficiencies and drive down costs.
Summary of Opportunities