Sunday, 22nd January 2016

Crazy week this week having been away for most of it. Realised how interested everyone is in PropTech events based on my e-mail from Tuesday and resultant click throughs - see all events from around the globe in the Events section below.

Also realised Latvian PropTech startups are hitting our shores too given I was recommended by their Government to have a chat with (one of the more unexpected conversations I have had this week).

It was also the week you could have applied to become a Professor in Lego (but you are all too late - applications at Cambridge Uni closed on Friday!)

Podcasts are so popular now that I have decided to dedicate a section to them!

Listen to the "most active angel investor" talk about PropTech and his opinions on it all. Most interesting is the journey he has undertaken to become that active investor. Anyone looking at pivoting their business models, needs to take a listen here - great insights to why Zach predicted the M&A activity of late last year. Worth a listen....

1. The most socially shared article of the week

Really not the busiest week in terms of social media activity - so much so that last week's PropTech review was the most shared (thank you!) but this came in 2nd. I know of a few location based start ups kicking around but OneDome seems to have done okay in London and is now spreading its wings North.

I haven't heard much about these guys. Anyone else? Let me know thoughts on what they are doing and whether you think this sort of application is important for people buying property? Standalone or should it just be expected in a portal based application?

2. What is BIM and why is it important?

For some reason, not much is talked about when it comes to Building Information Modelling which is fundamentally wrong given its importance and place in the future of our building design as well as how Smart Cities and Buildings will develop.

This is a great introduction post by the prolific Duke Long and will help you understand all areas a little further by giving you some great links to other BIM based articles. The video link below is in the post too and explains it well

Another, and very extensive article about BIM was by VMI this week. Well worth a read through

3. SPONSORED - How to make Real Estate IT easy - Case Study

Why does IT for Real Estate have to be so complicated? Zynstra, based in Bath, offer branch IT solutions that don’t require specific IT skills in branch. Their customer Cube Real Estate offer a positive example of what many would like to achieve. Find out more about about Real Estate IT at their free event

4. Facebook to invest $3billion in VR over the next decade

I still write about VR but have seen it as such a no brainer for real estate that I don't often now talk about it as often as I used to. However, well worth reading this article about a court case FB are undertaking due to their business relationship with Oculus (VR Headset Supplier they purchased a few years back).

The very fact they are investing so much shows you the power of the VR platform and why VR needs to be learnt and understood more.

Talking of VR, hear what Matterport EMEA Director, James Morris-Manuel suggests the wider industry needs to be prepared for PropTech - an interesting though brief perspective.

5. ARTICLE OF THE WEEK - Artificial Intelligence, Satellites and Geo Spatial Data

Whilst I may not be writing as much about VR at the minute. Artificial Intelligence and its implications for Real Estate are very much at the forefront of my thinking currently - I know of a few amazing sounding start ups in this area (we will see what happens in coming months/years).

But visual recognition is a huge component of AI and this article covers a general look (whilst some specific property based applications are discussed) at what they are doing with satellites and image recognition (both by computers and verification by humans).

Really worth a read to get your head around it all.

If you are interested in AI around Property (and around life in general), do watch this 57 minute Artificial Intelligence panel discussion from Davos this week - fascinating and insightful.

6. Comparing an Estate Agent; 1997 to 2017

This is a lighthearted post, comparing the life of a Commercial Real Estate broker (but could easily apply to others) in 1997 to 2017. I particularly like the fact of a visit to the Hip Cocktail Bar at 5pm - but obviously this is all about LinkedIn Connections!

7. SPONSORED - don't forget to book your tickets for FUTURE : PropTech

The theme for 2017 will be "Corporate Innovation and Digital Transformation in Real Estate". A great introduction to how PropTech will really accellerate this year in my view.

As the term “PropTech” becomes more mainstream, it’s important to focus on the broader innovation that is occurring in the sector. Digital transformation is already happening widely across the industry on many different levels and we will be focusing on how your business can adapt to these inevitable changes.

8. All my interesting articles from the week

From Construction Tech to a tonne of information about Artificial Intelligence, grab another coffee and crack on with this extra list of about 50 articles.

I can never fit them all in this small review - I just try to pick out the best ones - so here are all the articles I have gone through this week for your interest.

As always a round up of the very latest PropTech events that could be attending in the future - if you are running any or see one that is missing, please do fill out this form

1. January 26th - MetaProp Demo Day in NYC - find out how their latest cohort got on after their 22 week programme - lots to see I suspect (also on Feb 3rd in San Francisco)

2. 2nd February - Retail Logistics Event - I have spoken at this event a few times and well worth it if you are interested in Retail and Commercial Tech. Some great speakers and interesting case studies.

3. 16th February - A free event hosted by Tech London Advocates. This event is looking at AR and VR in the property sector and worth attending purely for the demo of Microsoft Hololens and also a talk from JLL about how they are using the tech in property marketing. Get your tickets here

4. 16th February - Digital Opportunities and PropTech - hosted by Virgin Media and talks about how to integrate both hard and soft tech into the built environment. Up in Manchester

5. 23rd February (more info to come) - Watch this space here but I know that Seedcamp are planning something for the evening of the 23rd. A good line up of speakers that you will not of ordinarily heard of and some interesting case studies already being discussed. Keep an eye on my Sunday review for confirmation

6. 13th - 17th March - MIPIM in Cannes is always a worthy event to attend and it seems to be getting more and more interest from the tech sector. Either for a holiday, wandering the nearby cafe's or actually buying a (rather expensive) ticket, it is worth doing.

7. 17th March - Zynstra - a lunchtime semina about how new approaches in Real Estate IT can enable growth & efficiency, and how adopting Cloud Managed Servers can alleviate many issues faced in dealing with a large, dispersed IT estate. Not many spaces so I hear but interesting if you are in that world.

8. 19th April - The PropTech Den - an investment and pitch event run by Estate Agents Networking UK. This event will be all about mini pitches and so the quick fire format could be interesting if you like the Resi side of the business.

9. 28th - 29th April - Property Investor Show if you are looking to attract property investors, developers or Landlords then this could be a good show to attend. They have both a B2C and B2B audience that could be interesting whether as an exhibitor or as an attendee.

10. 3rd May - Conscious Cities - for the more cerebral among you who want to be tested, I must recommend this event. A look at architecture and neuroscience. Not directly PropTech at all but just a really interesting event to attend, listen to, absorb and learn from.

11. 11th May - Future : PropTech - expect between 600-800 people at this event and probably the largest event of its kind here in the UK dedicated to all sides of PropTech. Worth attending for networking as well as education.

12. 11th May - Propteq - A lot of he said/she said about why they have decided to run these events on the same day but, should have you more of an international interest this may be the better event to attend.

Right, I have to go. Parenting duties await.

If you ever want to call me, please do. Just give me a buzz on 07775 797 286

James







