The PointGuard team made up of me (Shannon Smith), and our Chief Engineer, Derek McGarry recently exhibited at the leading event for content and connectivity in commercial real estate, the CREtech Venture Conference in New York City.
The conference, held at the trendy and industrial Terminal 5 in Hell’s Kitchen, was attended by over 1000 industry leaders and professionals ready to discuss the convergence of technology and real estate.
The open plan venue provided a great vibe and whilst the ambiance was dark and urban, the message delivered was bright and singular - The acceptance and growth prospects of technology for real estate are strong. Opinions were shared against the backdrop of deals and connections and the panel discussions provided valuable insight into the future of CREtech.
So, what were our key takeaways and thought-provoking questions?
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When it comes to taking your product to market, remember that buying power is held by both the few and the many therefore you need to go-to-market in many different ways.
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The CREtech space is crowded – focus on what you do and do it well. Separate your offering by solving a clear pain point in a simple and scalable way.
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There are many tech companies that add a ton of value but are not right for venture.
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If you want to truly succeed, you need to create customer service that has never existed before and ask the question, “does your tech help create a relationship with the occupants of the building?”
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The businesses that win are the ones that are better, faster and cheaper and that take advantage of good secular tail winds!
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Are we near the end of a cycle, and what does this mean for CREtech?
Overall, we were proud to be in a room with some of the most influential people in commercial real estate technology and were inspired by the prospects for the industry. We’re ready for 2019, are you?
