[Note from editor: we’re starting a new regular series here on Geek Estate Blog — the “Podcast of the Week”. On Wednesdays, we’ll highlight a podcast we feel is relevant to tech savvy real estate professionals. Without further ado…let’s get to our first Podcast of the Week.]
Onerent is challenging the status quo that’s been all-too-long accepted for property management. The company has only been in business for about five years, but is already in 72 cities and managing a portfolio worth over $1 billion in residential real estate across the country. They’re also working on a new product aimed to help renters become property owners through their own rebate program call Poplar Street.
I have three geriatric dogs. Although the stack of vet receipts proves their advanced age, I find myself constantly checking my pooches while they’re napping to see if they’re still breathing. I do the same thing with my former real estate clients, if you can believe it.
If one of my dogs sleeps through my grabbing the keys before leaving the house, while the other two run for the door (well, it’s more like “toddle” to the door) I’m Johnny-on-the-spot, looking at the sides of its body for signs of exhaling and inhaling.
Do you check for signs of life from your former real estate clients?
Are they still breathing? If you’ve grown tired of prospecting, of wondering where your next commission check will come from, it is imperative that you breathe life into your former real estate clients.
It’s also beyond important to remain top-of-mind with them not only for referrals, but to earn their repeat business as well.
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The proof
The National Association of Realtors has some amazing statistics when it comes to former clients. One of these is that agents making in excess of $100,000 got 29 percent of their business through referrals from past clients and 34 percent through repeat business from past clients.
That’s 63 percent of their business that they didn’t have to chase after. I don’t know about you, but I find that compelling.
Plus, calling a former client is a warm call. . .no sweaty palms, no call reluctance . . .it’s pick up the phone, dial and chat.
How much easier do you want it to be?
There is more, however, that you can do to ensure they still have a pulse and entice them to help you make money.
What’s in your plan?
This is one of the most important lessons to learn: if “your marketing campaign is ego-based (meaning it’s all about you and your next transaction),” you need to change. NOW, says real estate trainer Denise Lones of Bellingham, WA.
Ego-based marketing, she says, “creates the image of a shark-like predator in people’s minds and they will avoid you just as they would a Great White.”
Relationship-based marketing, on the other hand, has customer satisfaction as its bedrock, and building long-term relationships as its sole aim.
The bonus to this type of marketing is that it’s cheaper than trying to generate real estate leads among people you don’t know.
Philip Kotler, co-author of “Principles of Marketing,” reinforces this claim: “it may cost five times more to attract new customers than it would to retain current customers.”
Pretty amazing, huh?
You will spend FIVE TIMES MORE money generating new real estate leads than keeping alive the clients you already have.
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Who is in your CRM?
Ah, come on – there’s room in that CRM for more than just former real estate clients. In fact, there’s a great-big chunk of business just waiting for you from every person you know, who lives in the area you serve.
This includes your dentist, your mechanic and even your child’s teacher.
If they have a pulse, they should be in your CRM
But, how will you know they have a pulse if you don’t communicate with them? More important, how will they know YOU have one?
How you approach these other-than-former-clients is through customization of your marketing materials, from newsletters to mailings.
“Differentiate your customers. Find the group that’s most profitable. Find the group that’s most likely to influence other customers. Figure out how to develop for, advertise to, or reward either group . . . cater to the customers you would choose if you could choose your customers,” recommends Seth Godin in his book “Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable.”
Segmenting your CRM into potential sellers and buyers is a basic way to approach this, but why not drill down?
Use interest-oriented content for past clients. This might include where the market is headed, home maintenance and décor topics and even food.
The ideal vehicle
One of the best ways to maintain relationships and stay top of mind is by reaching out to each person, consistently. And one of the easiest, most efficient methods is the drip email campaign.
The two most important aspects of the drip campaign when using it in relationship marketing are ensuring it gets off to a good start and determining the frequency of contact.
Once a month or so I receive a local real estate magazine. You may have one in your area too – those glossy publications that promise so much, until you figure out that what’s between the covers is nothing but advertising.
I did look through the first copy I received and found not one piece of relevant or valuable content.
They blew their first impression
Even if they started filling the magazine with useful content I wouldn’t know because I throw the magazine away without opening it.
You counsel your listing clients about the importance of curb appeal, that it’s their only chance to make a good first impression, right? It’s the same for your drip campaign materials. Hook them with that first campaign.
Figuring out how often to drip on them involves walking a fine line between saying howdy and spamming
Base your contact frequency on where you think they are in the funnel. People who most recently transacted with you are obviously not in the market to buy or sell a home so weekly contact may alienate them.
A monthly email may be more appropriate – even longer is fine.
When to get face-to-face
While email drip campaigns are an efficient way to keep in touch with large groups of people, some of those names in your CRM require the occasional face-to-face encounter. The annual client appreciation event is one idea, but your effort to maintain a relationship doesn’t necessarily have to be that splashy.
Even an invite for coffee or a cocktail offers a chance to catch up and to solidify your relationship with former real estate clients
And, to make it even more effective to your real estate lead generation efforts, segment, again.
For instance, those former real estate clients who have a large network of contacts should be your “A” group (more contacts for them to spread the word about the best real estate agent in town), and the ones you’ll concentrate on when it comes to the personal touch.
These are the folks you want to go above and beyond to keep in contact with. One California agent never misses a birthday of folks in her “A” group and acknowledges the day with an invitation to lunch.
Yes, this can get pricey, but (at least so far) it’s tax deductible, which should take the sting out of it.
Whatever method you choose to check for signs of life from your “A” group, ensure that it lets them know you value and appreciate them.
Making meaningful connections doesn’t have to be difficult. See how a LeadSite makes it easy to stay connected online.
Generate leads with 1 easy-to-use secret that will blow your mind!
Live-streaming is a great way to connect with new leads and old clients. Check out the video below for more info:
The major draw of technology is the concept of making life more convenient for users, so it’s no surprise that in recent years, renters have begun placing increasing importance on the integration of tech into their rental homes and apartment complexes. Younger renters, in particular, are more apt to jump on board with this growing […]
In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with Sonny Tai, the CEO of Aegis AI, a MetaProp company in the latest cohort.
Without further ado…
What do you do?
I grew up in South Africa, where gun homicide rates are 4x higher than they are in the City of Chicago. As a result, part of my formative years was spent living under the constant shadow of gun violence, as we had family friends who have been robbed, carjacked, and even one who tragically lost his life during a home intrusion, so gun violence has always been an issue I wanted to do something about.
Last year, after yet another mass shooting, I wondered to myself – how is it that the most innovative country in the world hasn’t been able to solve the issue of gun violence?
I started doing research into how we can use technology to save lives during active shooter events, and after some extensive research, I, along with my co-founder Ben Ziomek launched Aegis AI. Aegis AI is a software solution that automatically identifies firearms in real-time security camera feeds, then notifies law enforcement and provides early warning to building occupants.
What problem does your product/service solve?
The average mass shooting lasts 12.5 minutes, yet it takes law enforcement on average 18 minutes to respond. 60% of mass shootings end before law enforcement arrives, according to the FBI. We dramatically reduce response times by providing law enforcement with real time, continuous intelligence immediately after a firearm is drawn.
What are you most excited about right now?
We are starting to pick up a lot of customer traction and investor attention. We just had a letter of intent signed by one of the most prestigious schools in the Chicago area, with their Director of Facilities asking: “Why doesn’t every school in America have this?”, and the Director of Safety and Security at a large school district near Seattle encompassing 24 schools and over 20,000 students has expressed a strong desire that he “definitely intends to use” Aegis AI.
What’s next for you?
Signing customers to letters of intent, implementing pilots, and closing our pre-seed funding round.
What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?
I started building Aegis AI because of my lifelong passion about the issue of gun violence stemming from my upbringing in South Africa. Also related to that upbringing is my passion for poverty reduction, especially in impoverished, developing countries. In 2013 and 2015, I traveled to Kibera, Kenya (the largest slum in East Africa) to meet with local women and youth groups crafting handmade jewelry and launched an e-commerce jewelry store that remitted all proceeds back to artisans in the Kibera Slums.
We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).
Wow, it’s hard to believe Giveback Homes turned 5 years old (I first met the team in July of 2014, prior to departing for Chile). To Blake, Caroline, and the team — THANK YOU for all you’ve done to advance the social good conversation in our industry.
Somewhere along the line, real estate agents missed the point: client loyalty depends almost entirely on the service consumers receive, not cheesy real estate closing gifts.
Keep wooing that client long after the closing and you’ll not only earn even more loyalty than you will with a closing gift, but save money as well, at least according to the old business rule that says it costs five times as much to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one.
If real estate clients crave customer service, isn’t that (backed up with consistent follow-up) the best real estate closing gifts you can give? It’s certainly more memorable than a set of knives with your real estate brand etched into them.
The main reason most agents give when asked why they give real estate closing gifts is that they want to remain in the forefront of the clients’ memories. This way, whenever the topic of real estate comes up, the client will refer.
At first glance, that seems logical, right?
But, really, it’s illogical as hell
The amount of time the giver remains memorable is typically in direct proportion to the extravagance or pertinence of the gift. Consistently keeping your name in front of them over the long haul, however, is guaranteed to make them remember you.
The “Pot Roast Principle”
There’s an old parable about a young girl who watched her mother, for what seemed like the hundredth time, cut off the ends of a pot roast before condemning it to the oven. Finally, she asked Mom why she did this.
Mom said she didn’t really know, but she’d seen her mother do it every time she cooked a roast.
So, the girl called her grandmother and posed the same question. She got the same answer.
Thank God, great-gramma was still among the living. The girl finally got the answer. Now, remember, this is an old parable.
“When I was a young housewife my oven was very small. Cutting the ends off it was the only way it would fit.”
So, for three generations, women were cutting the ends off their roasts not because it made them juicier or more flavorful, but because they watched someone else do it and assumed that was how it was done.
Sound like anyone you know? Like. . .a bunch of someones with real estate licenses?
It’s the same thing with real estate closing gifts. Most new agents don’t understand why they’re “supposed” to gift their clients and, in reality, the practice flies in the face of what’s done in most other industries.
But, they do it because someone in the office did it or talked about the practice
What if you took that gift money and spent it on something that will truly make your former clients remember you when the topic of real estate comes up?
Like a supercharged, kick-butt client retention strategy
Building a referral-based real estate practice is the holy grail among smart agents. Because you won’t be chasing after new business to make ends meet, your days will be less chaotic and more structured, your marketing becomes better-targeted and more efficient and commission checks more consistent.
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To get there, you’ll need a client retention strategy. As you create it, remember that real estate client retention begins the moment a consumer becomes a client. From start to finish, every aspect of every transaction should ooze customer service.
Few real estate closing gifts will cement you into a client’s memory more than truly impressive customer service
Let’s make 2019 the year you implement new strategies to ensure that your clients have an amazing real estate experience.
Start with customer service before the lead morphs into a client. As most agents know (but few actually consider), prompt, clear communication, excellent listening skills and responsiveness are important to real estate leads.
If you don’t let them know not to, they’ll go jack up their credit card balances buying new furniture or appliances before they close. If you don’t listen to them you’ll most likely alienate them by showing them houses they don’t want.
If you don’t call real estate leads back within 30 minutes, the odds are that you won’t reach them. By then, they may also have found another, more responsive agent.
“The odds of contacting a lead if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop 100 times”
according to a study of website lead response times by insidesales.com and James Oldroyd, PhD, who was, at the time, an international faculty fellow at MIT.
We hear you: you’re a busy agent. What if a lead calls while you’re in a listing presentation or showing property to a buyer?
If you can’t respond to leads within 30 minutes, hire someone who can. Whether that’s an assistant, a virtual admin, an inside sales rep or a company that provides them.
It’s tax deductible. You need deductions, right?
Ok, once you’ve converted the leads to clients, it’s time to double-down on your client retention strategy.
Help customers avoid the common pitfalls of the mortgage process
Help them avoid the common blunders of the typical buying/selling process
Be absolutely available and responsive (again, is it time to hire or delegate?)
Read consumers’ horror stories online and vow to do the opposite as part of your strategy. Here’s a couple to get you motivated:
If you need more, type “my real estate agent is” into Google and see what comes up in the dropdown menu. My search returned the following:
Lazy
Slow
Not helpful
Too busy
Doing nothing
Ignoring me
Unresponsive
Rude
Pushy
The most extravagant real estate closing gifts on earth won’t make a client for life if any of the above apply to you.
Post-Closing customer service
This is where the “retention” part of client retention comes in. Start with a handwritten thank-you letter immediately after the home closes. Put some thought into it and describe your experience working with them.
After that, put the former real estate client on a drip system that delivers pertinent content on a regular basis. This might include a newsletter aimed solely at new homeowners (at least for the first year).
You’ll find tons of ideas online on ways to reach out to former clients, but here are a few of our favorites:
Annual client appreciation event
Birthday cards (we all love getting them)
Provide bi-annual mini CMAs to help them keep tabs on their home’s value
Comment on their Facebook posts (No, not all of them at once. Choose five or 10 former clients per week).
We also like referral rewards programs, which aren’t common in real estate, but should be.
“Consumers are up to 5 times more likely to refer if there is a reward offered,”
according to Rewards Genius.
You can go big, with a dollar amount for a closed transaction from a referred client, or small, with a gift card. Sievers Real Estate Team offers a $10 Starbucks card that is automatically reloaded with $10 on the first of the month, for the next three months.
Although it’s a cool idea, I can’t stand Starbucks coffee and I’m not alone. An alternative would be to allow the former real estate client to choose his or her own card from a variety of them. Rewardsgenius.com has an entire program set up that is ideal for real estate agents. They offer a ton of different gift cards, from airbnb to Applebee’s, Bed, Bath and Beyond and others (follow the rewardsgenius.com link and scroll down the page to see all the cards they can offer your clients).
Denver’s Urban Living has a reward I wish my agent offered: up to $1,000 when a client’s referral turns into a closing. We aren’t lawyers so we can’t tell you if this is legal where you practice real estate but it’s an amazing incentive.
If only client retention was as easy as giving away real estate closing gifts. If you’ve ever learned that a former client listed their home with another agent, you know that a real estate closing gifts aren’t really a strategy. Yet, many agents rely solely on it. If you’re among them, quit it.
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When planning to lease your next office space it’s important that you think about amenities that your employees will love. Ones that will make them want to come to work and encourage better collaboration and productivity. Below are a few office space amenities that you may want to consider incorporating into your next office build-out. I have toured pretty much every office space for lease in Austin and when I do I like to take a lot of photos of spaces that I think are cool and creative. If you would like to see more examples of creative office space photos feel free to
One of our Geek Estate Mastermind members, Simon Chen at ERA, is hiring a VP of Product Management. The position is a full time role based in Madison New Jersey.
Job Description:
At ERA, we don’t adapt to change, we create it. We form connections that help us to innovate and stay ahead of the real estate game. We are Chuck Taylor embracers –community and team supporters. We are growth hackers that find ways to WIN and win BIG. We believe that our core values of collaboration, innovation, diversity, and growth are needed more than ever in today’s real estate industry and have allowed us to evolve into technology warriors and solution solvers. We want to help you create the career of your dreams. Because when you succeed, we all do.
We are TEAM ERA.
The Vice President, Product Management is responsible driving innovation and success of our internal product and platforms as defined by best in class design, functionality, integration, execution, and customer engagement and satisfaction.
In this role you will have the opportunity to:
Define, debate, defend, own, iterate and communicate the next generation product road-map with technology, sales, marketing, and the executive leadership team.
Navigate teams through major shifts in technology, direction and business goals at ERA and our parent company, Realogy. Have a key voice in how Realogy deploys over $200 million a year in real estate technology spending.
Mentor, coach and develop future leaders.
Be a cross company liaison within Realogy and the industry to help develop innovative programs that drive demand.
Define and align project metrics and budgets. Drive accountability and execution.
Ensure major projects are prioritized and that ERA has a voice in said prioritization.
Drive broker, agent, and consumer research across ERA’s global network.
Align our project roadmap with global strategy to ensure customer satisfaction.
Work closely with all internal departments at the Realogy, RFG and ERA levels to ensure internal product and platforms are aligned with core objectives of driving customer engagement.
Working with the Sr. Director, Business Development to help drive 3rd party product integration and engagement.
Lead the analysis of competitive environment, customers, and product metrics to figure out right feature set to drive engagement and usage on ERA’s Extranet and Internet platforms.
Monitor, identify and deploy solutions related to key functionality issues of our platforms and resolve in timely manner.
Anticipate next gen solutions to our customer needs.
Develop business cases & models based on data driven assumptions.
We want your expertise!
Minimum 8-10 years work experience working with digital products, site publishing and customer interaction
Minimum 5 years people management expereince
BA/BS Degree required, MBA preferred
Residential real estate experience preferred but not required
Strong budget, financial, and P&L experience required
Experience with web analytics; experience with Google Analytics preferred
Experience managing complex sites/platforms
Knowledge and understanding of the best practices in Web development, digital trends, technology
Experience and working knowledge and understanding of UI/UX
Excellent communication and presentation skills
Extremely organized, detail oriented, and deadline-driven
Knowledge of JIRA, ZenDesk a plus
Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
With rent prices climbing higher and higher these past years, does this make renters feel more skeptical about their housing choice? On the contrary, it seems that 78% of renters believe that renting is still more affordable than owning a home, according to a new survey by Freddie Mac. This is 11 points higher than […]
Back in 2011, ActiveRainpublished an infographic entitled “Rich Agent, Poor Agent.” In it, we learned which habits rich agents shared. It was almost a roadmap to real estate success for agents who followed and stuck to it.
Flash forward nearly eight years and not much has changed, except that few agents seem to want to follow a roadmap to real estate success. This is evident in the pathetic statistic that
90% of all real estate transactions are performed by 10% of agents
At least in Toronto, Canada. We can’t imagine it’s much different here in the U.S.
Real estate success requires understanding your priorities, the willingness to be self-disciplined, to spend money and to consider ways of practicing real estate that may diverge from what you’re accustomed to (and comfortable with).
Wait – it may take a minute
Actually, it may take 8,409,600 minutes, at least to reach a median gross income of $78,850. Sixteen years or more experience is what it takes to consistently make that amount of money, according to the NAR.
For agents with 2 years or less experience, that median is $8,330. But, is experience all it takes to reach higher levels of income?
Of course not.
We’ve all worked with the veteran agent who spends more time at the office than pounding the pavement. And, we know newbies who become wildly successful in what seems like overnight.
So, we choose to ignore those statistics because we know better. You can do this.
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Start with an attitude tune-up
“Research shows that the rich tend to blame individuals for their own failure and likewise credit themselves for their own success, whereas those in the lower classes find explanations for inequality in circumstances and events outside their control,” claims Lisa Miller at nymag.com.
If you find yourself blaming circumstances or events that you can’t control for the puny amount of money you’re making, maybe it’s time to change your attitude.
Horatio Alger Jr. was an American writer credited with creating the “American Dream” trope of “rags-to-riches” success through hard work and perseverance. Many call it the “Horatio Alger Myth,” despite very real examples in contemporary American society.
Oprah Winfrey, Starbucks’s Howard Schultz and millions of others climbed out of poverty and into wealth through hard work and determination. Get inspired by checking out others who’ve pulled themselves up by the proverbial “bootstraps” at Inc.com.
Then, get to work mimicking what successful agents do that got them to the top and kept them there.
Acquire the right habits for real estate success
Recently,McKissock Learning, an online company specializing in appraisal and real estate education, released the results of a survey of “real estate agents across the country.” A study that is similar to ActiveRain’s “Rich Agent Poor Agent,” they were trying to get to the root of the basic differences between “a successful real estate agent … from a real estate agent who’s struggling.”
And, like the Active Rain study showed us, it turns out that the successful among you really do share certain habits.
The best habit you can develop?
Opening your wallet. Successful agents aren’t afraid to spend money
It’s pretty sad that “most REALTORS®” spend more on vehicle expenses each year ($1,310) than they do on ways to more effectively market themselves and their businesses, according to the NAR.
You can be sure that the rich, successful agent’s largest expense isn’t his or her vehicle and that what that agent spends each year totals to far more than $1,310.
How many times do you have to hear that “it takes money to make money” before you’ll finally believe it? “Agents who are earning top dollar aren’t afraid to spend money on marketing,” the McKissock study finds.
In fact, agents who manage their marketing money well earn around $64,000 more than the spendthrifts in real estate.
The ActiveRain survey found nearly the same results, almost a decade ago. Rich agents spent six times more of what they make on technology (such as their real estate website and CRM) and 10 times more on marketing ($5,000-$10,000 per year) than poor agents.
In 2011, when ActiveRain asked agents about the marketing or advertising method that was most effective for them, “rich real estate agents answered: 1) Personal referrals and word of mouth, 2) blogging, and 3) professional referrals and business networking.”
We bet it’s safe to say that those three remain near the top of most “really good real estate marketing methods” lists.
Successful agents aren’t afraid to step away from the pack
From luxury homes to waterfront, golf course, ranch and downtown condos, “It pays to specialize,” according to the pros at McKissock. Stand out from the crowd.
The highest earners in real estate are those brave men and women who decided to specialize in commercial properties. Seriously – they beat out luxury agents.
The rest of the highest earning niches are as follows:
Relocation
Second homes
Military
Multi-family
The wave of the future, however, is going to be boomers. Get in on the “senior” real estate niche and you can write your own ticket.
Whatever you choose, trying to be everything to every real estate consumer, and being the best at all of it, is just about impossible to accomplish. Being the best at one thing, however, is immensely achievable. That’s how you find real estate success.
LeadSites are fast, easy to use websites that give you a professional image online. Learn more and see how a LeadSite can help your business grow.
Have you rented a place in Jax and would like to know where you can enjoy a vigorous workout? Keep reading! Moving to a different city is always a challenging and time-consuming decision that brings about several changes in every renter’s life. From not knowing what the best places to shop, enjoy a good meal […]
Whether you’re looking for a way to live on less, save for a down payment on a home, make your first million dollars, or plan for retirement, personal finance blogs can be an excellent resource. They can teach you how to save, invest, and bargain your way to greater financial freedom and security. But with […]
Like celebrities, big cities often have such bold and intense personalities that we either love them or we hate them. But there’s one thing they all have in common, rapid change. New buildings rise almost overnight, and businesses suddenly move to new locations. Therefore, living in a city like Houston entails a lot of energy […]
There have been monthly Geek Estate Mastermind member lunches here in Seattle the past few months. Starting in November, they will start in a 2nd city — Chicago — as well.
There’s no agenda, other than efficient networking in a small intimate setting in order to meet & talk one on one with other real estate technologists/innovators. While the lunch meetups are for Mastermind members to connect with each other, there is a guest list.
This month’s Seattle lunch is this coming Wednesday (the 24th). In November, Chicago’s first event is scheduled for the 13th and Seattle’s lunch will take place the following day, the 14th.
If you’d like to attend a future lunch in either Seattle or Chicago as a guest, shoot me an email at drew @ geekestatelabs dot com with a link to your Linkedin profile and your company website.
PS: San Francisco, Washington DC, New York, and Miami are likely the next cities to have regular lunch meetups.
In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with Jeremy Jennings from Jabbrrbox. They build and sell “The modern phone booth”.
We provide privacy on demand in loud and busy environments. Our mission is to empower people through enabled space.
What that means is … where do you go during that “in between time”? The time between meetings when you are in a city? The time between security and your plane in an airport or even that time before of after your meeting in a visiting office building? Our goal was to create a solution that would meet the demands of the mobile population and workforce.
Our focus is on airports are continuing to expand in a variety of open and semi-public spaces including building lobbies, hospitality, conference and more transit hubs throughout 2018 and 2019.
What problem does your product/service solve?
Technology has facilitated mobility and the ability to work/live/play when, where and how we want. The physical build environment has not responded with an efficient and technology enabled response. JabbrrX has.
When I was getting off a train, I received a text that I was needed to jump on a conference call in 20 minutes w multiple decision makers in regards to a large deal I had been working on. I jumped into a Starbucks and it was super loud, music pumping and coffee machine grinding. I jumped into a building lobby and was quickly asked to leave from security. I ended up taking the call walking around a local NYC pharmacy ‘Duane Reade’ pretending to look at merchandise and waiving away sales people while I consulted on a multi million dollar project. I needed my own personal space at that moment.
What are you most excited about right now?
The social proof of how our pilot launches at LGA airport and Chicago Merchandise Mart has literally made a difference in people’s daily routine and improved their experience in these environments. It’s a blank canvas right now with a lot of low hanging fruit.
What’s next for you?
Activating locations in airports, building lobbys, hospitality and beyond .. creating a global ecosystem of connected on demand and reservable spaces in loud and busy environments. This means as a member you have access to all of these locations in semi-public environments to be more; more efficient + happy = productive.
What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?
Betterment. I believe that every day you can be better than you were the day before. I also believe that people just need a chance to pick themselves up and break the cycles of circumstance and victimization. Poverty and homelessness in our country is a travesty; in particular children born into this situation is near to heart and our mission is rooted in betterment.
We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).
In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with Sonny Tai, the CEO of 
I started doing research into how we can use technology to save lives during active shooter events, and after some extensive research, I, along with my co-founder Ben Ziomek launched Aegis AI. Aegis AI is a software solution that automatically identifies firearms in real-time security camera feeds, then notifies law enforcement and provides early warning to building occupants.
Thanks to Sonny for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, 
There have been monthly 
We provide privacy on demand in loud and busy environments. Our mission is to empower people through enabled space.
