Fully Occupied: Recent Episodes
Occupier Inc: Matt Giffune & Andrew Flint
Occupier presents the Fully Occupied show, a podcast that helps you make sense of the commercial real estate and proptech landscape. You'll hear from proptech founders, CRE brokers, CRE execs, thought leaders and other folks that are on the bleeding edge of changing an industry. You'll also hear from the Occupier team with quick tips and insights into how you can up your commercial real estate game.
Julie Whelan, Global Head of Occupier Thought Leadership at CBRE, dives into CBRE's recent report on "Shaping Tomorrow's Cities". She discusses the future of American cities and the impact of remote work on the office market. She emphasizes the need for cities to transform into vibrant mixed-use environments that offer more than just office space. The report also highlights the different archetypes of cities and the challenges and opportunities they face.
Edie Weintraub advises new + established retail, hospitality, and restaurant brands on their real estate growth strategy. Edie joins Matt to chat about the idea of Local First Retail Real Estate Strategies to integrate your brand into the fabric of the local community. Tune in to gain insights into how Edie supports local retailers, beauty shops, and restaurant tenants with their location expansion plans.
Auren Hoffman, CEO of SafeGraph discusses the challenges of data matching and the solution provided by Placekey. He also explores the impact of AI and LLMs on data availability and pricing. Tune in to learn about the benefits of seamlessly joining disparate datasets.
Pepper Lunch is a fast-casual Japanese hot plate concept that originated in Tokyo, Japan, and is poised for explosive growth in North America over the coming years. Troy Hooper, CEO, and Dana Hathaitham, Director of Real Estate & Development, share their rapid expansion strategy involving both corporate and multi-unit franchise deals in the United States market. They discuss all the considerations to make when planning restaurant real estate growth from 5 to 500 locations. Tune in for their franchise, real estate, and hospitality expertise!
Shawn Walchef is the owner of Cali BBQ and Cali BBQ Media. He discusses the early challenges he faced as a restaurant owner, how he learned to use the internet and social media to his advantage, and shares his insights on building a successful restaurant brand in the digital age. Shawn emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology and storytelling to market a business effectively and the need for entrepreneurs to build their digital brand from the start.
Solomon Choi is a seasoned F&B entrepreneur, investor, and advisor with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He is the founder of 16 Handles and Greeno Products and is currently the CEO of Jabba Brands. Solomon joins Matt to discuss the importance of product-market fit and understanding consumer preferences, the challenges and opportunities in the restaurant space, and the significance of conducting thorough due diligence. Tune in for his experiences in helping emerging brands navigate the complexities of scaling and franchising.
Stephanie Cegielski, Vice President of Research and Public Relations at ICSC, joins Matt to discuss the trends defining the future of retail and retail real estate. She highlights the importance of brick-and-mortar stores and the synergy between online and physical retail. ICSC declares 2024 as the Year of the Store, as consumers continue to value the in-store experience.
Make sure to register for ICSC LAS VEGAS happening May 19-21, 2024 at the Las Vegas Convention Center!
Paul Tran is a seasoned entrepreneur with a history of founding, scaling, and selling successful restaurants and franchisees, including the largest franchisee of The Halal Guys. He shares his experiences with growing a portfolio of franchise sites and advice on what aspiring franchisees should look for. Tune in for Paul's insights on how to build a successful franchise empire and restaurant brand.
Ben Berman, President of BermanCRE, joins Matt to talk about the current state of the leasing market. He discusses opportunities in the retail and industrial markets, the impact of COVID-19 on the industry, and the disconnect between capital markets and the leasing market. Tune in for his advice on how landlords bolster their portfolios to withstand unstable economic conditions.
Robert Cartwright, Head of Global Hospitality at Fidelity Investments, discusses the implementation of hospitality in the workplace. He joins Matt to share his background in the hotel industry and how he brought his expertise to Fidelity. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Rob and his team leveraged the situation to redefine the employee experience. Tune in as he shares effective strategies for creating a workplace culture that prioritizes employee well-being, leading to increased productivity and satisfaction.
Gary Kao is the SVP of Business Development and Operations and on the founding team at Dealpath, a platform with a mission to smooth out the workflows for transactions for institutional owners. He joins Matt Giffune to share Dealpath's story, platform capabilities, its evolution over the last 9 years, and what they have in store for the future. Tune in for Gary's predictions on what the future of real estate tech looks like for the rest of 2023 and beyond!
Meredith Danberg-Ficarelli is the Co-Founder and CEO of WATS (Waste Administration and Tracking Software). She joins Matt to talk about how commercial buildings can improve the way they handle all the waste produced on a daily basis. Meredith shares how she built WATS to help owners and tenants track all of the waste that gets generated through their commercial spaces.
Pickleball has become America's fastest-growing sport, and Ace Pickleball Club is the leader in developing premium indoor pickleball facilities. Chief Growth Officer, Diego Pacheco, joins Matt to talk about their real estate strategy, what they look for in deals, and how they're developing over 50 franchises across the United States. Tune in to learn more about the trending sport and how Ace Pickleball Club is keeping up with the demand.
Ethan Chernofsky is the SVP of Marketing at Placer.ai, a foot traffic analytics platform for anyone with a stake in the physical world. Ethan joins Matt to discuss how retailers and retail investors can use analytics and data to make better decisions for not only store locations, but how they connect with their audiences. The trends he's seeing at Placer line up with what we're seeing here at Occupier, so tune in for his insights into what the future of retail holds!
Dillon Okner is a Co-Founder of SiteRise, a platform that helps companies, especially emerging retail brands, centralize their entire process for site selection and build out door opening for retail stores. Dillon has over 15 years of experience building out in-house software to help brands like Apple and Tesla expand their initial retail presence. He joins Matt to talk about some of the key challenges that retailers face when it comes to store planning, and how can technology solutions address these challenges.
Brandon Peterson is the CEO & Founder of Geokey, a mobile access control platform that has revolutionized the way multi-family apartment communities manage and secure their access points. He joins Matt to share how Geokey can help developers, investors, and property managers increase NOI and operational efficiency.
Kristina Tipton is the Director of Market Research at Near, a global, full-stack data intelligence platform that curates one of the world's largest sources of intelligence on people and places. Kristina joins Matt to share trends and findings from a CRE report. To understand the emerging trends in shopping centers, Near analyzed consumer behavior data for malls across the US. Tune in for data insights on shopping centers and how that data helps inform CRE decision makers.
Len Dugow is the Founder and CEO of DASH, a revolutionary PropTech platform that provides a one-stop solution for a licensed residential real estate agent’s marketing needs. He shares how his career as an executive branding and marketing luxury residential platforms led him to realize that there's a better way to share content about residential properties with brokers, agents, and developers. Tune in to learn how DASH helps efficiently access accurate and up-to-date content of new construction projects.
Chris Ressa is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at DLC Management, one of the nation's leading retail real estate companies with properties across the US. Chris joins Matt to discuss the debate of digital vs. physical stores. They also dive into Chris's predictions on where the retail real estate market is headed. Chris is also the host of the Retail Retold Podcast.
Michael Broder is the founder of RCKRBX, a SAAS platform that's providing voice-of-the-customer (VOC) data to multifamily developers and owners. For years, the multifamily industry has made decisions based on anecdotal evidence, making it difficult to draw clear hypotheses, quantify business cases, and mitigate risk-particularly as tenant preferences are not properly accounted for. RCKRBX is moving developers to data-based evidence to where and how they should locate, build, and conform their multifamily buildings.
Gas stations are evolving beyond their traditional roles. Michael Salafia joins Matt to talk about how the gas stations that STAX Equity builds and operates, like SQRL, are so much more than just a place to fill up. But rather, safe places to eat, grab a coffee and charge your electric vehicle.
Jesse Stein, Airbnb’s Global Head of Real Estate, joins Matt to talk about the recently-launched and fast-growing Airbnb-Friendly Apartments program. Airbnb-Friendly Apartments allow renters to find apartments that they can list part-time on Airbnb to earn extra income as the cost of living continues to rise across the country. Over the last six months, Airbnb has grown the program from 175 participating buildings in 25 markets to more than 250 participating buildings across 37 markets in the U.S.
Tyler Carlson is the Co-Founder of Resquared, a local business prospecting platform that uses artificial intelligence to search and contact small business owners in any U.S. or Canada markets. They have data for retail, restaurant, office, medical, and light industrial uses. Tyler joins Matt to discuss the importance of having accessible data and how technology is changing the commercial real estate space. Tune in for his tips on selling to local businesses!
Aaron Brondum is the Vice President of Customer Success at Prescriptive Data. Prescriptive Data is focused on providing cost savings and enhanced thermal comfort in built spaces through the intersection of Operational Technology (OT) with Information Technology (IT). Aaron joins Matt to talk about how commercial real estate owners can use artificial intelligence to help drive down energy usage and be more prescriptive about how energy is used in buildings.
Simon Davis, Founder and CEO of Purposeful Intent, returns to Fully Occupied to talk about the changes in work-life balance in the commercial real estate industry. He and Matt discuss the return to work debate and how to manage the new distributed workforce. Purposeful Intent is an ongoing series of curated executive forums enabling open discussions and thought leadership around the Future of Work and the Future of Living.
As the commercial real estate sector continues to grow more than ever, it's important for professionals to stay ahead of the curve. Whether it’s more efficient prospecting, deal-making, management, or investing, it's become abundantly clear that data sharing is key. Michael Mandel, Co-Founder and CEO of CompStak, joins Matt to discuss the importance of lease comparable data and how CompStak is helping people make better real estate decisions.
Kyle Inserra is a 17-year restaurant industry veteran and commercial real estate professional who leverages his experiences to help restaurants develop more efficient operations, implement effective strategies, and establish comprehensive growth plans. He joins Matt to discuss the current trends and challenges facing the restaurant industry. Tune in for Kyle's strategies for expanding a restaurant business and growing its real estate portfolio, and to learn what his favorite cuisine is!
Austin Lo is the Founder and CEO of Peek, a complete solution for property owners and managers to deliver an immersive self-serve leasing experience that’s available to renters 24/7–online or in-person. The pandemic sped up an already-rapid change in the multifamily industry – digitization and centralization. But many building owners and managers are having trouble keeping up with the changing tides. Austin joins Matt this week to talk about this shift to centralization, and the role of technology in creating all-in-one systems for building managers and owners that simplify the leasing process.
Lauren Bahr and Denise Hinkle introduce a 3-part series to cover Occupier's 3 keys to accelerating your real estate initiatives: Organization, Consistency, and Product (OCP!).
In Part 3, Lauren and Denise dive into how leveraging a software product can amplify your real estate process and the considerations when assessing your business's software vendor and product options. Tune in for practical tips in selecting the right software and real-world examples for implementing these strategies in your own real estate initiatives.
Lauren Bahr and Denise Hinkle introduce a 3-part series to cover Occupier's 3 keys to accelerating your real estate initiatives: Organization, Consistency, and Product (OCP!).
In Part 2, Lauren and Denise emphasize the importance of consistency to achieve real estate goals. Consistency includes staying positive, focusing on growth, and developing resilience in the face of setbacks. Tune in for their advice on how to develop consistent habits and routines.
Lauren Bahr and Denise Hinkle introduce a 3-part series to cover Occupier's 3 keys to accelerating your real estate initiatives: Organization, Consistency, and Product (OCP!).
In Part 1, Lauren and Denise dive into the importance of organization - creating a strong foundation, defining clear goals, and implementing effective systems. They share their insights, experiences, and advice for accelerating real estate initiatives through better organization, communication, and collaboration.
Karly Iacono, Senior Vice President at CBRE and Host of the CRE Fast Five Podcast, joins Matt this week to discuss the ever-changing retail real estate market.
This week, Matt is joined by Iain Miln, the Senior Vice President of Development at essensys. The essensys Platform has been designed and developed to help solve the complex operational faced by landlords and flex workspace providers as they scale. It connects, controls, and automates the provisioning and delivery of digital services, such as enterprise-grade WiFi, access control, room-booking, and seamless connectivity cross-portfolio and building-wide. Iain and Matt discuss the rise in the flex workspace trend, how technology is improving landlord's and occupier's experiences, and how companies today are enabling digital workplaces.
Amy Calandrino, CCIM, SIOR is the Founding Principal of Beyond Commercial, a Certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE) and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) certified commercial real estate firm based out of Orlando, Florida. She joins Matt to discuss her experiences and expertise in helping small businesses with their commercial real estate needs and managing their time efficiently. Tune in for Amy's insights on the local area, perspective on negotiations, and to learn what her day to day is like!
Paul J. Massey is the CEO of B6 Real Estate Advisors, a commercial real estate investment sales company that lives at the intersection of people, data, and technology. B6 provides commercial real estate owners and stakeholders with a next-generation experience to optimize their investments through territory-specific investment sales. Paul shares his insights on the state of the commercial real estate market and where it's headed. Tune in to learn about Paul's vast experiences in CRE in New York, and his run for mayor!
This week, Matt is joined by Jason Hardy, the Co-Founder and CEO at Ownly. Ownly brings e-commerce to the residential real estate industry, creating a frictionless home-buying experience. They discuss how the platform makes real estate transactions easier through its proprietary and patent-pending technology, connecting qualified buyers and sellers.
Kris Krisco is the CEO of Buildout, an all-in-one commercial real estate platform that enables brokerages to become leaders in their markets and grow their businesses faster. The cloud-based solution provides unique time-saving benefits by automating the document creation process and streamlining everything else involved in listings properties. Kris shares with Matt how the pains he was experiencing as a broker led to the inception of Buildout, the importance for brokers to adopt technology, and what the future looks like for commercial real estate brokers.
This week Matt is joined by Lydia Winkler, Co-Founder and COO of RentCheck. RentCheck technology helps property operators reduce expenses by empowering residents in the inspection process. They discuss the importance of involving tenants through the process and how guided inspections built for residents can help property managers increase profits, increase visibility, and improve resident satisfaction. Tune in to learn how RentCheck makes inspections easier and saves time by enabling residents to complete them on their own.
Demian Repucci is the CEO and Founder of Parslii, a research and scoring system that produces property reports for urban commercial retail and restaurant properties. As a former restaurant owner, Demian shares his experiences in the commercial real estate, hospitality, and restaurant industries and how that led to the idea for Parslii. Demian and Matt discuss what it's like to rent retail space for a restaurant, the key data points needed in the retail real estate space, and where Parslii fits in to improve the tenant experience in the leasing process.
This week, we have a special podcast episode diving into our ASC 842 Survival Kit best practices to help you attain lease accounting compliance. No matter how many leases you have, the transition to the new ASC 842 standards may be overwhelming. Lauren Bahr, CPA and VP of Finance at Occupier, goes over some common ASC 842 implementation pitfalls, and her top ASC 842 survival tips.
For more ASC 842 resources, check out our ASC 842 Survival Kit.
To kickstart 2023, we are mixing up our regular CRE content. And bringing Anya Ostry of CBRE, back on with her husband, Tonal Fitness Coach Jackson Bloore. Jackson joins Matt to talk about actionable steps to improve your health and wellness. If you're a hardworking professional or just looking to get started on your New Years' fitness resolutions, tune in for advice and guidance from Jackson!
For our last episode of the year, Andrew Flint, Co-Founder of Occupier, joins Matt to summarize what they are seeing in the commercial real estate and proptech space in 2022. They discuss trends across the retail, restaurant, office, and healthcare industries, inflation and economic uncertainty, and share their predictions for 2023.
Read Occupier's 2022 Year in Review: https://www.occupier.com/blog/2022-year-in-review/
Lauren Bahr, VP of Finance at Occupier, was recently a guest on The Role Forward Podcast, hosted by Joe Michalowski from Mosaic. Lauren talks about why people still use spreadsheets and Excel, despite technological advances. She also discusses how to keep the finance and accounting professions alive. Tune in to learn why the future of finance and accounting is all about automation and how to optimize your lease accounting and management processes leveraging technology.
Disclosure: This episode originally aired on The Role Forward Podcast on November 28th, 2022.
Paul Stanton is the Co-Founder and Partner at Proptech Bankers, a boutique investment bank focused exclusively on the property technology industry. Paul joins Matt to talk about the current state of the capital markets for proptech companies including recent valuations, M&A activity, and future of the industry. Tune in for Paul's predictions for consolidation, M&A, valuations, and fundraising in the proptech space for the next 12 months.
Real estate and proptech have only recently begun gaining traction in universities. Robin Barone, adjunct professor at NYU, sits down with Matt to talk about why it’s important for these topics to be embraced in school. Tune in if you're interested in pursuing a career in the proptech space and technology in the built world, or if you're already in the real estate industry and curious about how technology impacts your career.
Christophe Garnier is the Founder and CEO of Upflex, a premier SaaS provider for the hybrid workplace. Christophe sits down with Matt to share Upflex's story and solutions to the continuous uncertainty on what the future of the office looks like, what the future of the office building looks like, and how flexible working space factor into all of this. Tune in to hear his perspective and predictions on the future of flex and how Upflex is embracing it.
Brandon Medeiros is the Co-Founder of Alidade, where they transform readily available data into an actionable real estate strategy to achieve company goals and accelerate decision making. Brandon joins Matt to share how he's seen remote/hybrid work models impacting office demand. They discuss what tenants demand from a physical space, how they expect to use it, and how owners are reconfiguring the way office buildings are being built, structured and deployed to tenants.
Colman Edwards, Senior Director of Technology at Countsy, manages the implementation team where they setup technology startups on their platform tools. He sits down with Lauren Bahr to discuss the steps in typical vendor selection processes, the most crucial considerations to take into account, and what red flags to look out for. Tune in for his insights on how to find the right software vendor for your firm.
Michael Yang is a Managing Partner at OMERS Ventures, a VC that invests in fintech, healthtech, construction & proptech. Michael joins Matt to share what they look for in a proptech company, how investors are navigating the down market, and what it means for the commercial real estate industry. Tune in for his insights and predictions on the future of proptech.
Dave Ribando, Partner and Founder of Valuations I/O, joins Lauren Bahr to break down the impairment process for leases. He shares common indicators of impaired leases and common pitfalls he's seen in impairment assessments. Tune in to learn how you can avoid those pitfalls in the future and what assumptions you need to make during your impairment assessment.
Tyler Thompson, Managing Partner at Second Century Ventures, joins Matt to discuss the ins and outs of proptech fundraising in economic uncertainty. Tyler shares what he's seeing from both a venture capital investing standpoint and an operational standpoint on what makes for a successful proptech company during these rough times. Tune in for his insights and advice for how early stage proptech companies should adjust and prepare.
On this week's episode, Matt is joined by Nyasha-Harmony Gutsa, CEO and Founder of Billy. Billy is a modern digital insurance agency on a mission to make construction insurance fair, fast, and accessible for every contractor in America. Nyasha and Matt discuss why is general liability insurance important for commercial leases and why is construction at such risk. Tune in to learn what construction teams should look for in their insurance provider and the best way to organize and track a company’s insurance.
Lauren (Covell) Bahr, of Occupier, was recently a guest on How to Scale Commercial Real Estate, hosted by Sam Wilson. Lauren talks about how Occupier bringing teams together online to collaborate on the entire lease life cycle. She also breaks down the New Lease Standards and offers valuable advice to navigate the changes in the industry. Tune in to learn tips & tricks on how to optimize your lease accounting and management processes leveraging technology as your single source of truth.
Disclosure: This episode originally aired on How to Scale Commercial Real Estate on August 25th, 2022.
This week, Matt is joined by Gordon Lamphere, a real estate broker and one of CREi’s Top 150 Social Media Influencers. Gordon discusses why it’s important to use social media for CRE, how social media is changing the industry, and some best practices to consider. Tune in for his insights and strategies on how to create valuable quality content and his personal experiences with trending on social media.
Aaron Letzeiser is a Co-Founder of Obie, a software that provides a simple and affordable rental property insurance experience. Aaron joins Matt to talk about how Obie is improving the inefficient and outdated processes by providing full transparency to save landlords and real estate investors time and money. They also touch upon how inflation is affecting the real estate insurance market and what investors should do to prepare for economic uncertainty.
Ben Wright, Head of Flexible Office Solutions at Squarefoot, sits down with Matt to talk about all things flex office space. Ben shares his insights on the shift in coworking pre and post pandemic, how these changes are affecting people in commercial real estate, and how people can keep up with the changes. Tune in to learn about the trends he’s seeing and his predictions for the market in upcoming years.
This week, Matt is joined by Louisa Dickins, Co-Founder, and Xan Winterton, Managing Director of North America, from LMRE. As two people who are constantly in front of the latest and greatest developments in proptech, Louisa and Xan share the trends they're seeing and their predictions for the future of proptech.
LMRE is a global proptech recruitment and search firm. Tune in to also learn about the types of people that make up a proptech company and considerations for developing a proptech company.
Julia Rueb, Director at SOAProjects, joins Lauren to talk about some common ASC 842 pitfalls. She shares how these mistakes could have been prevented, how a lease accounting software would help in these situations, and some ASC 842 implementation best practices to keep in mind.
Occupier is excited to announce our new partnership with SOAProjects to provide technical accounting services!
Gorillas is an on-demand grocery delivery service, originally from Europe, and one of the fastest growing QSD startups. Alexander Angeline, Head of Real Estate and Development in the U.S., joins Matt to talk about how he enabled Gorillas' quick expansion to the U.S. market. He shares his approach to real estate strategy and the crucial tools and technologies they're using, See how Gorillas is using Occupier to scale.
Lauren (Covell) Bahr, of Occupier, was recently a guest on the Commercial Real Estate Pro Network, hosted by J Darrin Gross. Lauren talks about the changes with the new lease accounting standards, how they impact organizations, and how a lease accounting software helps ease the transition.
Disclosure: This episode originally aired on the Commercial Real Estate Pro Network on April 17th, 2022.
Anya Ostry, Senior Vice President at CBRE, joins Matt in a conversation about where the office leasing market is headed. The future of the office continues to be a hot topic after the pandemic and as we are slowly headed towards a recession and are seeing inflation first hand. Tune in for Anya's insights and predictions for the industry. See where lease management software plays a role in the future of the office.
Bluestone Lane, an Australian-inspired neighborhood coffeehouse, is among one of the fastest growing fast casual concepts. Founder & CEO Nicholas Stone joins Matt to share how and why he started Bluestone Lane, how the pandemic affected their business, and what their secret to success is. Learn how Bluestone Lane approaches restaurant location growth as they continue their rapid footprint expansion.
Matt Giffune, of Occupier, was invited onto the PropTech VC Podcast, hosted by Zain Jaffer. This episode features 3 parts:
Part 1 - Remote World in Real Estate Investing: Does It Improve Productivity?
Part 2 - How Web 1.0 and the Pandemic Changed Entrepreneurship and Startups
Part 3 - How Real Estate Management Is Changing with New Technologies
Disclosure: These episodes originally aired on the PropTech VC Podcast on May 6th, 2022, May 13th 2022, and May 20th, 2022.
Michael Spies, Founder of Fuse Strategies, has a diverse background in global real estate investment and development. He sits down with Matt to discuss the different space needs in today's world and the evolving commercial real estate landscape. They cover a wide scope of topics from proptech to retail real estate to the importance of real estate data to make better real estate related decisions.
Retail continues to be a hot topic in the commercial real estate space. Although we are transitioning to a digital age, physical stores are still important for retail brands. Navin Bhutani, Managing Director at Locate AI, chats with Matt about how brands differentiate themselves with a strong in-person experience, and how physical stores provide the opportunity to deliver a powerful brand experience.
Zander Geronimos is the Head of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development at MetaProp. He leads relationships and communications with key players across the real estate value chain and acts as a conduit between strategic real estate firms and the emerging PropTech community. Zander chats with Matt about the importance of partnerships in the proptech space and the ideal goals and key aspects of a strategic partnership. Tune in for Zander's insights on how to position your organization to become a market leader, and to find out what his hidden talent is!
Matt Giffune, of Occupier, was invited onto Mixergy's Startup Stories Podcast. Matt was interviewed by host Andrew Warner, Founder and CEO of Mixergy, about his story as a proptech founder and why he started Occupier.
Disclosure: This episode originally aired on Startup Stories on April 11th, 2022.
Sydney Phillips, Co-Founder & CEO at Zuke AR, joins Matt this week in a conversation about commercial real estate’s role in the metaverse. The future of the Metaverse is an infinite horizon, with wide-ranging of possibilities. As a founder, Sydney also shares her insights on how she approaches the modernization of CRE processes, innovating in a historically slow to adopt space.
Last week, Occupier and DLC attended ICSC in Las Vegas. Adam Ifshin, Founder and CEO of DLC Management, joins Matt to recap on emerging trends in retail real estate. They discuss their predictions for the future of retail shopping, the key elements to consider when transforming properties into places, and what retail real estate leaders should do today to prepare for tomorrow. The change in the retail landscape has not been defined by the irrelevance of physical locations, but rather, by the transition from mass retailers to smaller open front stores in urban markets. Occupier, the Real Estate Success platform for businesses, has seen retailers and tenant reps rapidly adopt its lease administration and transaction management software during Covid-19.
This week Corinne Murray, Chief Strategist at Purposeful Intent, joins Matt to analyze workplace strategy and how it has evolved due to the pandemic. They discuss the key elements that organizations should consider when developing a workplace strategy and how to adopt to these changes. But not all workplace strategies will work for all organizations. It will be essential to prepare and understand how to future of work impacts your real estate strategy.
Matt Giffune, of Occupier, was invited onto Metrikus', PropTech Ramble Podcast. Matt sat down with host Michael Grant, COO of Metrikus, to discuss lease management software, how it benefits the CRE industry, and how COVID-19 has impacted such platforms. Disclosure: This episode originally aired on the PropTech Ramble on April 19th, 2022.
We have a special episode with Tyler Cotter, the Collaborative Vice President at Embark. He joins our VP of Finance, Lauren Covell to discuss best practices when transitioning from ASC 840 to ASC 842. Embark is Occupier’s newest strategic partner. They help organizations with complex lease accounting problem sets to ensure a smooth transition to the new standards.
Dave Cairns, Senior Vice President at CBRE Canada, joins Matt this week in a conversation about what the infinite workplace model is. They discuss how office occupiers and leaders can adopt this model, and why we should all be questioning the status quo of the office. The future of the office is here, and organization will need to strategize for the long term.
This week, Matt Giffune is joined by Kevin Loos, Co-Founder and COO of CrowdComfort - a mobile app that enables employees, facilities management teams and third-party vendors to collaborate on workplace requests, streamlining operations to ensure a safe and productive employee work environment. They discuss the importance of organizations to prioritize the tenant experience as people begin to come back to the office.
This week, Matt Giffune is joined by Colleen Werner, founder & CEO of lulafit, a national wellness leader helping top organizations and real estate communities build modern cultures of well-being. They discuss how the role of wellness in the workplace has evolved as organizations navigate the future of work. They also dig into the most important factors in building culture.
Marissa Limsiaco, Co-Founder of Otso, joins Matt to discuss the future of the commercial landlord and tenant relationship. As both a combat veteran and founder she has led successful teams all over the world. After trading in her “M16 for a Laptop” she has iterated, launched and led several companies in the technology space since 2011. Marissa shares her thoughts of modernizing of CRE processes. They also explore how have landlords been approaching Fintech and insurance adoption after two years of COVID uncertainty.
Chase Garbarino, Co-Founder and CEO of HqO, joins Matt to discuss his experiences as an entrepreneur in the commercial real estate industry and his passion for developing technology that connects people in the real world. They also explore how landlords and property teams can expand their boundaries beyond buildings in order to provide tenants with a truly flexible workspace, putting experiences and a sense of community through technology.
In this episode, Matt is joined by Molly Sandza, the Director of Real Estate at Foxtrot. Foxtrot is the digital evolution of the neighborhood corner store & cafe. Earlier this year they raised a $100M Series C funding, and found that the adoption of retail stores has been a key component to their success. Molly discusses Foxtrot's omni-channel retail real estate strategies with identifying new markets and expanding its brick-and-mortar footprint.
Matt welcomes Ben Suttles, partner at Disrupt Equity. He oversees the acquisition, asset management and development of commercial & multi-family real estate in Texas, Georgia, Florida and and other tertiary markets. Ben is here to discuss the future of work as it relates to commercial space and how boundaries begins to bleed a little bit with multi family and office space.
Matt is joined by Charlie Harrison, Office Tenant Broker from CBRE. In this episode, Charlie share his insights on what it takes to be successful in his job and his thoughts on the Atlanta office market. The tenant representation space has evolved significantly throughout Covid and broker deals are more competitive than ever.
Welcome back to Fully Occupied Season 4! Recently, Occupier has announced a $10.5 million Series A fundraise, so to kick off Season 4 Matt is joined by two special guests: Michelle Killoran, Principal at OMERS Ventures and Liz Christo, Partner at Stage 2 Capital. In this episode, Michelle and Liz share their insights on why they invested in the proptech space and their predictions for the future of commercial real estate.
Art is a powerful medium that can transform spaces into one-of-a-kind experiences. Martha Weidmann, CEO and Co-founder at NINE dot ARTS, joins Matt to discuss how she uses original art in her business, showing off its transformation from spaces to beautiful and unique environments. Martha and her team are art consultants and curators, creating art experiences around the world for the hospitality industry, mixed-use developments, municipalities, multi-family residential developments, and healthcare environments. Martha is recently named to Forbes #Next1000 list, which recognizes 1000 entrepreneurs and business leaders who are making change across industries.
Matt Giffune was invited onto CoreNet Global’s, What’s Next Podcast. Matt sat down with Tim Venable to shares his thoughts on trends in commercial real estate as well as how Occupier fits into the landscape while also bringing some much-needed technology into this ever evolving space. For disclosure: This episode originally aired on CoreNet Global, What’s Next Podcast on August 23, 2021.
Four amazing CRE influencers joined the Fully Occupied podcast for a special episode in advance of the inaugural CREi Summit. Occupier Co-Founder Matt Giffune sat down with Natalie Wainwright from Logic Commercial Real Estate, Allen C. Buchanan from Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services, Linda Day Harrison from TheBrokerList, and John Orr from Carolina Retail Experts are here to share their thoughts and opinions. In each conversation we dove into the ever evolving commercial real estate space from retail space to the industrial vertical.
Natalie Wainwright is the Vice President of the Office Tenant Representation Division at Logic Commercial Real Estate. With a knack for being prescient and omnipresent, it is easy to see why Natalie has been able to create so many opportunities through her social media prowess. From co-chairing the inaugural CREi Summit, to mentoring new agents and women in commercial real estate; Natalie is constantly elevating her peers and the CRE industry. Natalie joins Matt to share her insights on unlocking opportunities in the commercial real estate space and discussing current market trends.
Douglas Jerum has been a leader in the real estate industry for years, helping to empower companies to build their brands. He is now bringing his expertise with emerging retailers to Sabre Real Estate Advisors where he specializes in empowering startup retail brands that are looking for great distribution locations across America’s most competitive markets. Douglas joins Matt to share his thoughts and opinions on the world of retail real estate.
Courtney Cooper is a principal at Alate Partners, where she helps identify and scale promising real estate technology companies. At Alate, Courtney has been able to find success in identifying the right startups for investment based on their potential impact with an eye towards commercialization of these technologies as they continue to grow within society’s needs. Courtney joins Matt to share her outlook of investing in commercial real estate technology companies as an investor.
Rebecca Fitts, Director of Real Estate at Leap and joins Matt to discuss how brands must shift their real estate mindset for the post-pandemic world, how the Leap platform works, and how technology is powering innovation in the retail space. Rebecca has held leadership positions in retail and real estate for over 20 years, and has has gained a firm grasp how the retail landscape is shifting. In her current role, Rebecca focuses on non-traditional retail real estate strategies, brick and mortar customer experience and omni-channel solutions in the physical space for different brands. Rebecca is also Co-Host the podcast, “Retail is your Business.”
Wilfred Valenta, CEO & Co-founder of Silofit joins Matt to discuss Silofit's plans to bring flexibility to the fitness world, and how the COVID-19 virus has affected fitness professionals and enthusiasts. He also shares his thoughts on starting a hybrid fitness regimen that combines digital technology with physical training for an immersive experience.
Duke Long, a 20+ year veteran of the commercial real estate industry, and early predictor of the proptech movement joins Matt on an episode on the Fully Occupied Show. Now as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the National Association of Realtor's REACH Accelerator, he discusses his opinions on what will shape the CRE market for years to come, and his predictions for the future of the industry. We also hear about how the REACH Accelerator is identifying the real estate industry's next wave of innovators.
Michael Arnold, Vice Chairman of NAI Global and Founder/Executive Vice President of the Tenant Consulting Group at NAI Capital joins us to discuss workplace strategy for the post-pandemic future. As an award winning broker, Michael also shares his views on how technology is shaping the evolving role of the tenant rep broker.
Dan Rosenzweig joins us to discuss his journey from managing corporate bankruptcies to founding Kettlespace, a co-working company that converts beautiful spaces into convenient and affordable places to work. We discuss his experience at WeWork, during the height of their global expansion, and how he identified a better way for hospitality businesses to cater to mobile professionals. The pandemic's impact on the nature of work, and how Dan has pivoted his business to adapt, underpin his conviction that spaces should accommodate a broad spectrum of employee expectations.
Michelle Killoran, Principal at OMERS Ventures, joins Matt to discuss her thoughts on how the commercial real estate broker's role is changing, and how she is looking deeply at solutions that are reacting to fundamental changes in the world of work. In her current role, Michelle is responsible for researching and executing on investment opportunities in real estate and health technology. In 2020, Michelle was named one of Venture Capital Journal’s "40 Rising Stars under 40" in the global venture community.
Jim Wenk and his preeminent Occupier focused advisory team recently joined Savills North America, where they bring a significant track record of working with some of the most recognized global brands. Having spent the last 20+ years guiding companies through ups and downs in the market, Jim shares his thoughts on the uniqueness of the current situation, how he sees the brokerage industry evolving, and why it is going to take 4-5 years for the office market in NYC to recover.
Maureen Waters lends a unique perspective into how the Commercial Real Estate industry has traditionally adopted technology, and why the pace of innovation is rapidly accelerating. She has held executive roles in all aspects of the commercial real estate industry, from running strategy at Cushman & Wakefield, leading investments for the Bill Gates Foundation, and steering the successful acquisition of Ten-X. We discuss the recent proliferation of startups across all real estate asset types, and how MetaProp's LPs think about innovation across their constituents.
Lauren Covell, CPA joined Occupier recently as our VP of Finance and Lease Accounting Lead to provide our customers and prospects with the expertise and guidance needed to properly comply with shifting lease accounting standards. With a Big-four accounting background and direct lease accounting experience and a rapidly growing consumer products company, Lauren is perfectly equipped to guide a business' efforts to compliance with ASC 842 and IFRS 16 lease accounting standards. In this episode, we are introduced to Lauren, and set the stage for the topics that are most important to getting lease accounting compliance right the first time.
Simon Davis has spent his entire real estate career in the midst of change, and his recent move to Impec Group is no different. He joins us to discuss how both occupier expectations of the workplace and the technology that supports them is undergoing a rapid, permanent transformation. Simon's perspective on the intersection of real estate and technology brings over two decades of observation to an ever important topic.
Jeremy Adams has spent the past decade advising health care systems and medical use occupiers on portfolio strategy and transaction execution for their real estate. At JLL in Atlanta he operates a team of 20+ people, all dedicated to providing health care tenants with the analytics, services, and experience required to keep up with the rapidly changing environment of health care. We unpack how economic, demographic, and real estate trends are impacting the health care industry, and how a team dedicated to a specific practice area can stay ahead of the real estate market.
Jeff Hernandez took an unconventional path to becoming the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of a rapidly expanding chain of coffee shops. Starting out in his family construction company opened his eyes to the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship, and living through two major economic crises has sharpened his focus on delighting customers and employees. Jeff discusses how the foundational values of Black Rock have allowed the company to thrive, how real estate planning and taking calculated risks can pay off, and how the challenges and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic have shaped the future of his company.
Sam Schaefer has touched every aspect of commercial real estate. That includes managing suburban office properties, running global leasing, property management, and corporate outreach at Tishman Speyer, spearheading major technology implementations, and now heading both the real estate management and corporate portfolio of Hobbs Brook Management, an affiliate of FM Global Insurance. Sam tells us what life as a global real estate operator taught him about what tenants really want, and how they can best achieve their goals. We talk about how he thinks the commercial real estate industry has fundamentally shifted from a landlord / tenant conversation to a client / partner conversation.
Gabriel Safar envisions a commercial real estate industry that functions like a transparent, liquid marketplace - where data is shared and decisions are made quickly and accurately. In order to realize that vision, LeasePilot is the first company to fully digitize the lease document. In our conversation, we unpack why it is so time consuming and costly to negotiate a commercial lease, and why it doesn't have to be that way. Gabriel considers himself a real estate practitioner first, and a software guy second, but his roots are in the nitty gritty details of negotiating leases in his previous life as a real estate lawyer. His unique insight sheds a light on the rapidly evolving commercial real estate technology space, and what the future holds for the industry.
Julija Costantino and Bonnie Bibra are Workplace Experience veterans. Along with Jen Nguyen, they launched Workplace strategies at Tesla, Zynga and Pinterest, and are now leading their field on behalf of clients at HelloOffice. HelloOffice is a technology-powered commercial real estate brokerage company that is making the search for office space seamless and intelligent. Here's Julija and Bonnie's take on why grounding workplace strategy in company values is so important, and how you can tactically cope with today's rapidly changing dynamic in the world of work.
Jonathan Wasserstrum founded SquareFoot in 2011 after a friend had an incredibly frustrating time finding an office for his company in New York City. Fast forward almost ten years and enter Jonathan Tootell, NY Market Lead for SquareFoot who is growing their team to provide a differentiated model of tenant representation. We talk about what it means to be tech-enabled, how the client experience changes, and why today's brokers would join SquareFoot to grow their business and personal brand. We also hear how tenant demand is changing, and some predictions on the recovery of the NYC office market.
Ryan Masiello has blazed a unique trail through the world of CRE brokerage dating back to his days at JLL in New York where he struggled to make sense of the inefficiencies of his job, to today, where he steers the vision of proptech unicorn VTS into the future. James Robert Scott, Lead Researcher at the MIT Real Estate Innovation Lab has found his way into real estate tech through a different path, and has the ability to view the world of CRE brokerage through the lens of deep study of the impact new technologies are having on the built world. We dive into topics that question the role of the broker, predict how virtual tools will change the business, and unearth some of the pain points facing stakeholders trying to make sense of a pivotal moment in the commercial real estate industry.
New standards for how companies need to reflect their lease liabilities on their balance sheet are creating complexity in the commercial real estate industry. Updates to FASB ASC 842 and IFRS 16 are presenting real estate and finance professionals with compliance challenges to overcome on a daily basis. In this episode we dive deep into what the new standards mean, how to prepare, and how to know when you are in compliance....or not. This episode is especially of interest to heads of real estate, CFOs, finance professionals, and accountants.
John Jarvis is a veteran tenant representation broker with Hughes Marino who has a huge appetite for learning, leadership and personal growth. He has been representing California's leading companies in their real estate decisions since 1986 and still going strong. John shares his thoughts on how companies should be looking at the real estate market, a theory he coined called "The Jarvis Value Model." We cover topics ranging from dual agency, developing your writing skills, to post-Covid19 predictions for the real estate market.
In this episode, we are joined by our friend Mack Freedman, Head of Global Real Estate at DraftKings. Mack has a unique perspective on the people, processes, mindset and tools required to execute a sound corporate real estate strategy at a company that is growing at break-neck speed. We cover topics ranging from aligning real estate strategy to the overall business goals, relocating a 1,000 person HQ, hiring the right architect, interfacing with brokers, and more.
As companies re-enter the workplace, how are brokers adapting their business to meet changes in demand? What tools should you be using and how do you set yourself apart to grow your business? Hear from industry leaders including:
- Dan Palmeri, SIOR - Cushman & Wakefield
- Chad Gleason, CCIM - Pentavirate Global Investments
- Duke Long - NAR Reach 2020
- Andrew Flint - Occupier