ASDMAg – The Real Estate Innovators Digest

Your Official Guide to AnySizeDeals Week

WeWork Sheds Youthful Image as It Lures Big Corporations

July 30, 2020 by Steve Nson

Please enjoy these articles covering real estate innovation this week. In addition we only have 1 day left to send submissions for the ASDAwards.

The finalists are invited to the ASDAwards ceremony that takes place as part of AnySizeDeals Week – The Festival of Real Estate Innovation from September 8 – 11, 2020 at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.

This Week in Real Estate Innovation

PODCAST


This Week I shared my thoughts on real estate innovation, entrepreneurship & startuplife | PropTech Talk EP.5

Steve talks about how he was drawn to the world of “proptech” (before the the word became a catch phrase). The international perspective on this developing industry will hopefully give inspiration to young and new entrepreneurs looking to enter into this market.

This podcast forms part of our “start-up journey segment” which aims at giving prospective Proptech enthusiasts real world examples of people who have gone through the gauntlet and come out the other side.

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FUTURE OF WORK & THE WORKPLACE


WeWork Sheds Youthful Image as It Lures Big Corporations | WSJ

WeWork enjoyed explosive early growth as a refuge for small startups and freelancers. Now, it is ditching that image while trying to revive its business with larger, more-traditional corporate clients.

With the new emphasis, WeWork hopes to weather a serious downturn in the office market triggered by the coronavirus. In June, large companies accounted for 65% of its new customers, said Sandeep Mathrani, chief executive of WeWork parent We Co. The second quarter marked the first time that companies with more than 500 employees…

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The Work-From-Home Shift Shocked Companies—Now They’re Learning Its Lessons | WSJ

A shift potentially as monumental as the movement of workers into factories during the Industrial Revolution has swept the globe, only this transition happened in months, and moved people in the opposite direction—back home. Despite its speed, we’re still in the earliest stages of the Work-From-Home Revolution, and it could take years or even decades of trial and error to get right.

The number of Americans working solely from home has at least doubled, and possibly tripled, since before the pandemic. At its peak in early May,…

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BLOCKCHAIN


Dutch Regulator Approves Tokenized Real Estate Crowdfunding Platform | Cointelegraph

Max Crowdfund, a blockchain-powered real estate crowdfunding platform connecting property developers and investors, has received approval from the Financial Markets Authority in the Netherlands.

With approval from the AFM, Max Property Group — the platform’s parent company — will commence the platform’s roll-out in partnership with distributed ledger technology provider Jelurida.

Investors pay a one-time fee equal to 0.1% of their investment, in addition to monthly administration fees of 0.1%. The fees will be used to purchase and burn MPG’s security tokens.

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STATE OF THE MARKET


Hotels Hurry to Raise Cash as Federal Aid Could End | WSJ

Some hotel owners are faced with property sales at discounted prices and expensive financing now that federal aid is poised to expire.

Larger hotel owners such as the publicly listed real-estate investment trusts have drawn down their credit lines and sold bonds, which will help tide them over a volatile recovery, said Robert Webster, vice chairman of CBRE Hotels.

But…

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New Twists on Home-Sharing: 4 Airbnb Alternatives | NY Times

In 2017, Victoria O’Connell rented her London apartment via a home-sharing site to a man who looted and wrecked the place during a party that drew the police. He disappeared, but left her a review on the platform, saying, “Great host.”

The violation convinced her there had to be a more secure way to share homes than dealing with total strangers. Earlier this year, she founded Golightly, an invitation-only platform for women.

“I wanted some kind of accountability, to know the renter as a friend or the friend of a friend,” she said. “I felt I would feel more safe if I had a woman renting.”

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & ROBOTICS


AI home gym equipment startup Tempo raises $60 million | Venture Beat

Home fitness startup Tempo today closed a $60 million round to ramp up manufacturing of its $1,995 AI-powered gym system. In addition to bolstering its go-to-market efforts, Tempo says it will use the funds to expand its content offering with a second production studio.

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Aquicore raises $14 million for AI tools to optimize commercial building energy usage| Venture Beat

Aquicore, an information tech startup offering cloud-based software for asset operations, today secured $14 million in financing. The company says it will use the funding to advance its platform and expand into European markets.

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PROPTECH NEWS


Proptech Loft to close US$68m investment | Short Term Rentalz

Brazil: São Paulo-based proptech startup Loft is seeking to close a US$68 million [360 million Brazilian reales] round as part of a real estate investment fund to buy up more properties in the city and Rio de Janeiro.

The company told local daily newspaper Estadão that it had raised 300 million reales [approximately US$58.1 million] of its target so far, thanks to backing from internal investment and external investors, including XP Investimentos and Itaú BBA. It expects to reach its target in the coming months.

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Raising Covid cash: How PropTech firms struck deals in lockdown | The Real Deal

It’s one thing to raise money during a pandemic. But what about raising money during a pandemic while simultaneously battling a fever, aches and chills?

“It was horrible,” said Jarred Kessler, CEO of EasyKnock, who came down with Covid-19 while raising a $20 million Series B this spring. Summoning all of his strength and conviction, Kessler said he pressed on with negotiations and investors’ due diligence in late March without letting on that he was sick. The round closed in June. “Now I can look back and say, ‘From my bedroom, with Covid, I was able to raise $20 million,’” he said. “If I can do that, I feel like I can do most things.”

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Density, a tracker of building users, raises $51M | The Real Deal

Density, a startup that anonymously tracks how people move through buildings, has raised $51 million from heavy-hitting investors in time to help offices reopen for business.

The Series C brings the New York City startup’s total funding to $74 million as companies scramble to keep employees safe at work.

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PARTNER CONTENT


MASTERCLASS | American PropTech  Academy

Thu, Aug 20 | Online | Live Lecture & Interactive Class

Live Masterclass | Return to Workplace

As organizations discuss their plans to return to the office immediately following the COVID-19 lockdowns, employee safety, wellbeing and productivity is front of mind. Learn from leading experts and authors of industry return-to-work guidelines to gain the right insights to create a strong plan.

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