REBarCamp X

Who remembers the Rebarcamp movement? I believe I’ve attended about 25 Rebarcamp’s around the country (most between 2007 and 2011). 10 years later after that first magical gathering in San Francisco, the original organizers are putting another one on together in on July 16th (in SF again).

What is a barcamp you may ask?

BarCamp is an ad-hoc unconference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees.

Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.

And a REbarcamp?

REbarcamp is a barcamp for Real Estate (R.E. barcamp). What that means- the event is not structured like a typical planned conference. Every session is not planned out in advance. Nobody is paid to deliver a session. Anybody can deliver a session and attendees are strongly encouraged to participate.

If interested, you can register here.

Hope to see you there!

The post REBarCamp X appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

from theokbrowne digest https://geekestateblog.com/rebarcamp-x/

Are you trying to run a referral business with an acquisition website?

About a decade ago, I was having a conversation with a luxury broker out of Malibu, when he said something that I’ve never been able to get out of my head:

“I hate my website leads”

He went on to tell me that just about everyone who registered on his home search tool was a looki-loo who was clearly just day-dreaming about owning a Malibu mansion some day. The lead quality was so bad that he almost never followed up with anyone any more.

In a nutshell, a successful luxury broker, who had spent tons of money to build an optimized website designed to drive leads, didn’t even want to work with the people who were coming to his site. Almost as an afterthought he mentioned the the only people he liked to work with were the people who were recommended to him.

Having talked with thousands of real estate agents over the years, it seems safe to say that most successful real estate agents would happily say that their best clients almost ALWAYS come from referrals (past clients, fellow agents, partners/vendors, friends/family, etc.).

In other words, most successful real estate agents are running businesses that are built on referral leads and yet build websites designed to attract new clients who are cold to them.

What if we flipped this model? What if real estate agents built websites, and really an entire digital presence, that were primarily designed to build credibility with potential referral clients? What might that look like? 

I don’t have any great examples of people doing this in real estate, but I have tons of examples of both brands and people doing this in B2B, journalism, and entertainment.  I think a comparison between the websites of E*Trade with Goldman Sachs is a great place to highlight the difference between an “acquisition” website and a “referral” website.

For E*Trade, the site is all about new client acquisition:

• Multiple call-to-actions (CTAs) and lead capture forms around opening an account
• The language is very aspiration, appealing to the novice investor about becoming a “better you”
• Features money back offers

For Goldman Sachs, the site is all about building credibility with people already familiar with the brand:

• No obvious lead capture forms or lead generation CTAs
• The language is all about credibility, appealing to the educated financial executive looking to work with an industry leader
• Features no offers whatsoever

Goldman Sachs is a referral business. They work with some of the most savvy people in the world because some of the most savvy people in the world recommend working with them.

In other words:

Goldman Sachs uses their website to build credibility with people who are already inclined to work with them.

Especially in luxury real estate, but I’d argue even in most areas of real estate, the real opportunity is not in trying to outcompete for cold leads, but rather in creating a web presence similar to Goldman Sachs that oozes credibility. Your website should make a prospect coming from a referral client feel like they’ve found the best real estate agent in the area and that they’ll be working with the best.

So, how might you go about building out a credibly digital presence in real estate that will help convert referral leads?

My experience is that regardless of your industry, you need four things:

1. Strong digital presence. You should have a website that oozes credibility
2. Identification of thought leaders. You should have an understanding of the people who are driving conversations among your referral prospects
3. Social engagement. You should be engaging with the thought leaders who are talking with your referral prospects
4. Keystone content. You need some content that demonstrates that you really are an expert in your field

Imagine a real estate website where the homepage didn’t copy EVERY other real estate agent site with pictures of beautiful homes and a big fat home search, but instead:

• Had some awesome piece of collateral that oozed with credibility (maybe an in-depth quarterly report on the market or podcast with community leaders or… )
• A simple video where the agent talked about the service level that someone gets when they work with them, including the reason you don’t have a home search. Maybe that reason is because clients have access to pocket listings that will never show up on the MLS. Or, you have a team that personally curates a daily list of most promising listings for all your clients, etc.
• An application to work with you because realistically, you only have time to offer such personalized service to the most promising clients.

There’s tons more that can be done with a referral-first strategy, so if you want to dive in a bit deeper, feel free to check out this article (To be or not to be… known) as well as a presentation I recently prepared for a luxury real estate event in Miami.

And, of course, if you have any questions (or even want to question the entire premise of this post!), don’t hesitate to leave a comment! I love the conversation.

The post Are you trying to run a referral business with an acquisition website? appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

from theokbrowne digest https://geekestateblog.com/acquisition-vs-referral-website/

Crypto will be 100X Bigger than Anything that the Web did for Real Estate

RE friends, crypto is going to forever change the future of asset management. As the most broadly held asset class on Earth, this means that Real Estate valuations are going to be forever changed by this technology. It will be 100X bigger than anything that the web did for Real Estate – if you follow these steps and put the homeowner first. These ideas are yours for the taking. I’ll take questions in the comments.

Much love from Cape Town, David G

Real Estate on the Blockchain #REotBC

Blockchains enable trusted transactions without intermediaries. The opportunity to securely distribute trade in property with better liquidity is obvious. The opportunity to coordinate new patterns of trade via more innovative transactions is not obvious and will be where the ultimate value lies. As with the web, moving our current world “onto the blockchain” is a (relatively) losing strategy in a rapidly expanding opportunity space. As with the web, the obvious opportunity to automate the physical world is a distraction from adding new value to it. As with the web, there will be obvious arbitrage opportunities that must be ignored to maintain user focus.

Unlike the web, this opportunity is not about data or services. This is about assets and other resources (of all types, both real and imagined). This will be Zillow’s blind spot (where I used to work) because they specialize in hacking data. We are now asset hackers, capable of adding coordination value and global network demand to new and traditional assets with just a few lines of smart contract code. I’ll also call out “smart contracts” here. The real estate world is full of paper contracts so I need to mention that this is unfortunate naming; they are unrelated. Projects that attempt to codify paper contracts will fail and those products will miss the opportunity. The last thing that a globally liquid transaction needs is a lawyer’s checklist attached to it. That’s not how in-world transactions work and it won’t be how the blockchain works.

There are pragmatic product patterns emerging for both platform and application opportunities in Real Estate. There are 5 patterns/opportunities that I see coming.

1. Property Title Ceding Protocol.

I’m working on a project in legal services. What we’ve learned is that you shouldn’t mess with the way paper contracts work. If lawyers were going to go digital, they’d be using Kindles. Moving title deeds to the blockchain may happen but it will be painful and expensive. If it does happen, those contracts will serve the same purposes that they do today. It’s a distraction. The real gap and the simplest product is to rather build a gateway between traditional rights (and obligations) of title and a digital asset to which those rights are ceded. You would need to figure out the legal ceding of those rights per legal jurisdiction and there will be some KYC clearinghouse required to provide access to global liquidity for property tokens. For those operations, you’d extract exchange fees at scale. For whoever owns this protocol, it doesn’t matter who owns creation of property tokens but doing so will be valuable too (it’ll be the fun fight). Note: I’ve reviewed this “paper contract to smart contract” pattern in more detail in an analysis of the Mattereum project.

2. Property Asset Management Token (for homeowners)

The most valuable token protocols in the property market will not focus purely on security – that’s just the ticket to the game and traditional title does it well enough. The added value to tokenizing a property at the homeowner level must be an asset management offering. My house with your token must be more valuable than my house secured with someone else’s token. How are homes made more valuable? Tokens discover better lending deals when they are equity and income aware in a globally liquid lending marketplace. Lending is just one resource-discovery use-case for smart home tokens – maintenance services, rental yield management, short-term rentals for homeowners etc all become optimization problems with tokens that can interoperably find better resources to add value and income or reduce costs in the automated management of my real estate asset’s yield. IMO, the Google of blockchains, generally, is this resource matching pattern. Note that this pattern will obviate much of the upper-funnel value in advertising and branding.

3. Property Token Exchange

Owning the global P2P property exchange is the obvious goal of owning the smart home tokens protocol. Less obvious is how you incentivise its use beyond convenience (which should be compelling). First, you need a good answer for why a property could fetch more value on your exchange than it could in the traditional market. Global liquidity is one dimension but giving capital value to the asset management attributes of high-yield homes is more interesting. Short-term rentals properties, for example, could attract more value if their income performance accrues to the value of the token – allowing whoever owns the exchange to profit from the more valuable (equity management) side of the AirBnB opportunity.

With a global token exchange, you set the rules for liquidity in real estate. A homeowner could eventually retain their deed and sell their token if the ceding protocol allowed for that division of rights. This creates new financing product opportunities. In the future, people (especially the aged) are going to need to keep their home but sell its future capital gains to afford to live in cities – we now have a tool for doing that relatively easily. Governments are obviously going to hate the impact on transfer taxes but you are moving most of their administration to a zero-overhead cloud.

4. Property Token Derivatives Marketplace

Asset-backed derivatives are the most valuable capital opportunity in blockchains. You needn’t monetize the asset-backed token to offer fractionalization, aggregation, indices, futures, options, loans and other derivatives of tokenized property assets. The initial value proposition is obviously segmentation and analysis of the marketplace. It’s infinitely easier if you own #1 and #2 but you could build this marketplace on other token standards and will likely have to support them. If the local property trends can attract global liquidity in search of speculative returns, you’ll create immense new capital value in global real estate assets. I’d rather invest in futures in the Beijing 2-bedroom apartments above the 20th-floor and remain a renter in Cape Town (if that makes any sense).

5. Property-Coin

In all large asset classes, there is an opportunity to create a global economy beyond borders. That strategy demands and rewards a single currency for liquid global trade in the underlying asset. All global (and all US property) property is far more valuable than all USD (and all currency, frankly). Real Estate is the largest opportunity after lending and derivatives for a single currency and has a better shot than both, functionally. It’s the ultimate moat.

Look at what the Binance exchange is doing with their currency – they introduce it as a pass-through for discounting exchange fees if you pay in that currency. You start there and with the payments for all the services in the 4 new opportunities discussed above doing the same thing – support any currency but zero-rate or discount the pass-through use of a property-coin. Demand and breadth of holdings grow organically at first – there can be no air-drops in traditional asset-backed currencies (IMO).

For distribution, you must solve for the MVP use cases first. Obviously, the answer here is global transactions – buyers in Beijing using the same currency to purchase homes in Miami and London without exchange costs. Grease this wheel by solving for KYC/AML requirements by jurisdiction. With increasing currency value, you can offer and demand more interest in local transactions via a property-coin.

The other place to find early liquidity for a new currency is everywhere traditional currencies have failed. This is the final bonus pattern to consider:

6. Token to end homelessness – a social good project

Blockchain asset-hackers are problem solvers. We have unique ability to bring corporate-like coordination and productivity to any resource outside of a firm. There are implications for solving the challenge that philanthropists cannot measure their desired outcome at the cause level despite infinite contributions at the non-profit level. These resources can now be applied in an automated fashion against an aggregate token with the outcome optimized via smart contracts. To understand this pattern better, see the ixo project.

If I can clarify anything, let me know. For some background on where I think we’re headed generally, I’ve written up the big picture on Blockchains, and Currency, more specifically.

The post Crypto will be 100X Bigger than Anything that the Web did for Real Estate appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

from theokbrowne digest https://geekestateblog.com/crypto-will-be-100x-bigger-than-anything-that-the-web-did-for-real-estate/

Stakeholder Analysis, and the Mistake Made by Real Estate Startups

Fred Wilson is right: stakeholder analysis is a crucial component of building a company.

a stakeholder analysis attempts to determine what each and every stakeholder desires and the impact to them of an important decision. It is like a scorecard. It is often helpful to look at short term, medium term, and long term impacts.

Stakeholder analysis is complex, in any industry. In real estate, even more so. There is a mistake I see far too often on the product development side by many real estate startups.

Failing to understand and address all the complex stakeholders required for their product to succeed.

The stakeholders startups forget?

The consumer. And, surprise, surprise. That’s the most important part for a successful long term business in the real estate industry.

Building a tool to solve an agent or broker problem — from their perspective — is easy. Selling that tool isn’t even that hard, at least initially. But to build a lasting business, you have to solve a problem in a way that all the stakeholders buy in and engage. Without the consumer, agents and brokers can’t pay their rent, let alone invest in a new product. Discount them at your own peril.

[Graphic via http://www.bincsearch.com/]

 

The post Stakeholder Analysis, and the Mistake Made by Real Estate Startups appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

from theokbrowne digest http://geekestateblog.com/stakeholder-analysis-mistake-made-real-estate-startups/

What the Definition of Ancillary Retail Sales & Services Means

When you are in the retail sales business you typically have a main service or product that you sell that may comprise of 50% or more of your total sales. Ancillary retail services are either different from, enhance, or support the main services/products of a company. They are essentially revenue generated from the sale of products and services that are NOT the company’s main line of business. For example when securing retail space for lease in Austin Tx your main business might be a hair salon however you also may offer nail services.

By introducing new services and products retail companies are able to create more growth opportunities. Most businesses have some sort of ancillary revenue, and in some cases what started as ancillary sales can become the main source of revenue. For example food and beverage sales at gas stations used to be an afterthought, however now at most gas stations food, snacks, and drink sales have surpassed gasoline sales.

Examples of Ancillary Services

• Printing company that starts selling printer ink.
• Ice cream company that decides to start selling ice cream scoops
• Donut shop that sells coffee
• Hair salon that starts offering nail services
• Gas station that offers car washes
• Business school that offers career guidance and placement services
• Hospital that offers counseling services
• Retail stores that offer delivery or installation services

Benefits of Offering Ancillary Products

• Generate higher revenue per customer or member
• Increase retention levels and repeat customers
• Contribute to bottom line

How to Succeed With Ancillary Revenue Sales

1. Define the target market for each product or service – Segment your customers based  on gender, age, habits, goals, needs, and objectives
2. Determine the market demand for your demographics – Run demographic reports once a year and pay attention to population growth, % of people working, household income, etc.
3. Identify products and services for your ideal market – Now that you know who you want to offer more services and products to think of products and services that will accommodate their wants and needs.
4. Market the new ancillary services and products – do Facebook or Google advertising, start a facebook page, email marketing, set up products displays, etc…
5. Have a sales strategy – Make sure your employees are trained on the ancillary services. Gather as much info as possible about your target audience and understand their needs, wants, and goals, as well as what motivates them to buy. Create processes for handling product inquiries and post sale communication.

Meet the Real Estate Tech Founder: Luke Cohler from Jetty

In our latest real estate tech founder interview, we’re speaking with Luke Cohler, co-founder and President of Jetty.

Without further ado…

What do you do?

I’m the Co-Founder and President of Jetty, an insurtech startup based in New York City. Together with my Co-Founder, Mike Rudoy, we started Jetty to solve some of the frustration we had when we ourselves tried to buy renters insurance—Mike had trouble with renters insurance coverage and I had a hard time securing an apartment after living in Brazil for a number of years. Our aim is to give renters faster, better, and more affordable access to insurance products that help them secure new homes and protect their things after they’ve moved in. We’re also really proud that Jetty had its one-year launch anniversary in April!

What problem does your product/service solve?

We make renting a home faster and easier with our three core products: Jetty Renters Insurance, Jetty Deposit, and Jetty Lease Guaranty.

When a renter moves into a new apartment, he or she can reduce the move-in cost of a cash security deposit with Jetty Deposit, a service which replaces the traditional security deposit with a small, one-time fee that fulfills the security deposit obligation to the property owner. Additionally, if that renter happens to be a student, a foreigner, or someone with a limited credit history, Jetty Lease Guaranty allows us to act as his or her guarantor, replacing the need for a co-signer and fulfilling the property owner’s need for downside protection. We see these products as beneficial to the entire move-in ecosystem, since they reduce risk for property owners and lower costs for renters.

Jetty Deposit and Jetty Lease Guaranty require a partnership with the property owner. But Jetty Renters Insurance does not. Any renter can get a quote for affordable renters insurance through our mobile-friendly site. We’ve really invested a lot of time and resources in making the experience seamless. Customers can get affordable and fast renters insurance with the smallest amount of information possible. Additionally, we offer unique protections, like bedbug protection and our Portable Electronics Coverage Power-Up which aligns well with what consumers want in a digital-first insurance product.

What are you most excited about right now?

Moving season (June and July) is here! Along with remodeling, getting married, and having a child, moving can be one of the most stressful times in a person’s life. Jetty was specifically built to solve (some of) this pain and we’re excited to be up-and-running with all three of our products.

What’s next for you?

The Jetty mission is to build an insurance brand and products around the new way people are living their lives, today. More people are moving to large urban centers and renting homes before owning (or not ever owning a home). We see continued opportunity to build an insurance business that solves the need for that customer at the intersection of real estate and consumer needs. This means continuing to work with real estate partners and customers to create new insurance products that help renters move in, move out, and protect their things and family when in their rental homes.

What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

At Jetty, one thing we’re really passionate about is fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We serve a really large and diverse customer base across the entire United States, so we’re making great efforts to recruit a team representative of that diversity, including people of all genders, race, religion, age, sexual orientation, and so forth. That’s the best way for us to ensure our product meets the needs of folks everywhere—and helps us build a better society in the process!

Thanks to Luke for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.

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).

The post Meet the Real Estate Tech Founder: Luke Cohler from Jetty appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

from theokbrowne digest http://geekestateblog.com/meet-real-estate-tech-founder-luke-cohler-jetty/

Apartment-Friendly Workouts You Can Do Without Waking Up Your Roommate

By Erin Vaughan, FitnessTrainer Sharing an apartment is great for your budget — but it can be pretty tough on your fitness regimen. Those ‘Netflix & Pizza’ nights may help you bond as roommates, but it’s not going to help you run that 5K! And of course, if you’re trying to save money, an expensive […]

The post Apartment-Friendly Workouts You Can Do Without Waking Up Your Roommate appeared first on RENTCafé rental blog.

from theokbrowne digest https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/apartmentliving/lifestyle-apartmentliving/apartment-friendly-workouts-you-can-do-without-waking-up-your-roommate/