In this episode of Tech Nest, I explore commercial real estate auctions with Stephen Jacobs, President of Ten-X. Stephen shares his journey leading Ten-X (which is a really cool story, BTW) and debunks myths about auctions, explaining their strategic advantages beyond just distressed properties.

Learn how Ten-X leverages data and technology to streamline the auction process, ensuring faster and more certain sales. Stephen also discusses the evolving role of brokers and current market trends, providing valuable insights into the future of commercial real estate transactions. Hint: brokers are still very much relevant in today's transactions.

Listen in today!

More about Steven and Ten-X
Ten-X is the world’s largest, online commercial real estate auction platform. Our platform empowers brokers, sellers and buyers with data-driven technology and comprehensive marketing tools to expand market visibility and decrease time to close.

CoStar Group’s online property auction platform, Ten-X, is the leading example of the rapid growth of online property auction marketplaces. Each year more and more buyers, sellers, and brokers are using this proptech tool to exchange properties. Events like its Battle of the Bids, which feature thousands of players duking it out for $3.1 million in prizes over 6 rounds to correctly guess how much various properties will sell for on the Ten-X platform, are a way to highlight the innovative ways that CRE marketplaces are drawing attention to their ecosystems. Battle of the Bids is also an example of the notoriously staid industry having a little fun and using gamification tools to drive awareness of new trends.

• Follow Ten-X on Twitter
• Follow Ten-X on LinkedIn
• Check out Ten-X

Here's a fun one for y'all. Frank Rohde, Founder and CEO of Ownify, a company working to revolutionize homeownership through fractional ownership joins the show.

Frank shares insights into Ownify's innovative model that helps first-time homebuyers with good income and credit but limited savings gradually build equity in their homes. You'll hear about Frank's diverse background, including his roles at FICO and Nomis, and how these experiences helped shape Ownify. He explains the dual nature of Ownify's operations, balancing PropCo and OpCo dynamics to benefit both consumers and investors.

We get practical, outlining steps for using Ownify, the challenges and opportunities in the current real estate market, and Frank's predictions for the future of homeownership and proptech. Listen in!

More about Frank and Ownify
Ownify is rebuilding the path to homeownership to make it achievable for the next generation of homebuyers. Our fractional ownership platform partners savvy investors with qualified first-time homebuyers to buy their home "brick by brick" - zero debt & no surprises. With Ownify, homebuyers and investors together reap the collective benefits of building equity, creating stability, and investing in the health of local communities for years to come. For our "Ownis", Ownify offers a low down payment of 2%, a powerful cash offer to compete against corporate buyers, no unforeseen costs & surprises, and evergreen equity in their home. For our investors, Ownify offers fractional ownership in a single family home generating income and real estate returns, shared equity & shared purpose with the Owni, and positive community impact by helping first-time homebuyers.

Frank originally hails from Germany. Early attempts at becoming a child prodigy violinist were unsuccessful which forced his parents to abandon any hope or supervision. Left to his own, Frank quickly became famous for wrestling rattlesnakes and kayaking. His sister meanwhile became the child prodigy violinist. Looking for a brighter future, Frank moved to California where his first job was a choice between watering marijuana plants in the Northern California mountains or building a neural network-based prediction engine for horse racing results. Ever focused on doing the right thing, he built the neural network for horse racing. Several other lucky turns led him to stay in the US and eventually graduate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics. Since then, he’s been a consultant at Oliver Wyman, started an online insurance company, spent 4 years at FICO, and grew Nomis from <$2M to $25M+ in ARR before selling it. His most recent challenge is building Ownify - a new path to ownership for the ~2M first-time homebuyers each year.

• Connect with Frank LinkedIn
• Follow Frank on Twitter
• Follow Ownify on Twitter
• Check out Ownify

In this episode we dig into the side of real estate that seems to be the big, sleeping topic: insurance.

Valkyrie Holmes, Founder and CEO of Faura, discusses the impact of natural disasters on insurance, the challenges faced by insurance companies, and the innovative solutions offered by Faura. The conversation covers risk assessment, loss control solutions, the impact of climate change, and the future of insurance tech.

More about Valkyrie and Faura
Faura provides loss control solutions for insurance companies with high-risk books of business. We specialize in risk assessments in disaster zones on everything from wildfires to hurricanes and are available all over the country.

Valkyrie is the CEO and Co-founder of Faura, an insurtech startup that creates loss control solutions for insurance companies with high-risk books of business. She began her work as a data analyst and engineering intern at SpaceX before being awarded the 776 Fellowship to work in sustainability. Since then, she's launched both wildfire and wind assessments to add climate resilience data to the insurance market and is now operational across the country.

• Connect with Valkyrie on LinkedIn
• Follow Valkyrie on Twitter
• Follow Faura on Twitter
• Check out Faura