PropTech 101: Turning Chaos Into Cash Through Real Estate Innovation

Technology is simply the means to an end to develop new processes, systems, and tools, but its influence is being felt in every corner of the real estate industry. Given the dizzying pace and expanding scope of PropTech, though, how can anyone hope to keep up? In their book, PropTech 101, authors Aaron Block and Zach Aarons present an insightful narrative into the PropTech and real estate industry in effort to help ensure that you don’t get left behind in the wave of change. This is not an exhaustive look at PropTech; it is, rather, a broad overview of basic history, dynamics, key stakeholders, and trends that serves as a set of keys that will open the door and let you into the PropTech space so that you can begin to explore it with confidence and a mental map of the most important contours. The FUTURE of REAL ESTATE

AARON BLOCK has been co-founder and managing director of leading PropTech venture capital firm MetaProp since its inception in 2015. Previously, Aaron was an executive running the Chicago region of global commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield before serving as the chairman of Chicago-based BayRu, the US-Russian e-commerce company and eBay’s exclusive drop-shipping partner for Russia/CIS consumers. Aaron has served on a number of leadership boards and committees including the Young Presidents Organization, ULI New York, Manhattan Community Board Five, Friends of the Chicago River, and United Way Russia.

ZACH AARONS was one of the top angel investors in before co-founding MetaProp, where his team has funded more than sixty start-ups. Previously, he worked as a commercial real estate developer with Millennium Partners; an investor at ENIAC Ventures; and the founder of Travelgoat, a walking tour company. He is a professor of PropTech at Columbia University and serves on the board of trustees for the Tenement Museum. Zach is also the 2017 recipient of the NYC Real Estate Tech Week’s “Investor of the Year” award and has been featured in dozens of international media publications and conferences.