The Center for Real Estate Technology and Innovation (I grew up) announced on Monday that it had launched Venture Connectwhat it describes as a curated investment platform to match proptech startups with angel through Series A investors.
The platform will connect startups with more than 200 venture capital investors based on their investment profile and thesis, said Ashkán Zandiehmanaging director of the Dallas-based proptech membership organization. Investors in the platform include proptech venture capital firms Alpaca VC, Era Ventures, Fifth Wall, JLL Spark, Navitas Capital and Nuveen.
“Our mission has always been the financial health and wealth of the proptech ecosystem,” Zandieh said. “One of the areas where we’re trying to help is helping entrepreneurs and founders succeed. And what keeps coming up is raising capital. We want to connect them with the right capital.
“What’s happening in our industry — and it’s not unique to proptech, it’s really prevalent in tech — is that startups are blindly reaching out to some investors and not getting a response. Or they reach out to the wrong investor. Ultimately, CRETI will decriminalize proptech capital raising.
A member-supported research and education organization, CRETI does not invest in or offer investment advice to funds or technology companies, but wants to make the funding process easier for entrepreneurs, Zandieh said. . “We are not a venture capital company and we will never be a VC. We are an impartial third party. Everything we do is for the benefit of founders and entrepreneurs.”
The organization plans to help founders by matching startups and investors through a free form that makes the search easier and more efficient for both parties.
“The startup fills out a form that usually asks questions that an investor would ask,” Zandieh said. “And then we match their information with investors who meet their investment criteria and align with the investor’s investment thesis. Introductions will be made, and then it’s a one-to-one relationship.”
Although many platforms claim to offer a service similar to CRETI’s Venture Connect, entrepreneurs often see their submissions in a black box with no response, he said.
“It’s really frustrating as a founder and entrepreneur, because you hope to stay focused on running your business, and the last thing you need to think about is, ‘Now I have to stop running my business to focus on raising capital.’ In today’s market, that’s a six- to 12- or even a 24-month effort. We’re trying to give founders more focus on running their business and less on raising capital by providing efficiency for them. .”
Should a startup fail to be matched, CRETI also runs free monthly venture capital sessions to inform and educate proptech companies on how to raise capital, with major real estate VC firms such as JLL Spark, Navitas Capital and Nuveen leading the sessions, Zandieh said.
Some proptech VCs see the value of Venture Connect.
“If you ask a proptech founder what they need the most help with right now, introductions to qualified investors with capital will be No. 1, 2 and 3 on their list,” says Daniel Fetnergeneral partner at Alpaca VC. “We believe CRETI’s platform will be a game-changer for the industry, helping founders succeed in bringing new ideas to market faster and better capitalized.”
Similarly, partner with Navitas Capital Jenny Song said, “The proptech industry is full of innovators who just need the right financial backing to make a real impact. The work CRETI is doing to break down barriers and demystify capital-raising for startup founders, especially first-time founders of early companies, is incredible.”
Philip Russo can be reached at prusso@commercialobserver.com.
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