Taylor Hou is the CEO and Chief Happiness Officer at APM Help, a company serving over 300,000 single family homes nationwide dedicated to professionalizing the single family property management industry by bringing clarity and efficiency for accounting and operations. A serial entrepreneur and tech investor, Taylor is passionate about applying lean startup principles to create process efficiencies in tech and startups. With a focus on streamlining products and services for an optimal user experience, Taylor thrives on improving systems and building better processes to make them more effective and impactful.

(00:56) - Taylor Hou's Background and Journey

(02:43) - Evolution of Property Management

(04:34) - Challenges in Property Management Roll-ups
(13:45) - Feature: Blueprint - The Future of Real Estate 2025

(14:35) - Institutional SFR's Impact on Housing

(18:46) - APM Help's business

(28:36) - Current Success & Future Innovations

(31:25) - Embedded Banking Opportunity

(34:23) - Unlocking Liquidity in Rental Housing

(42:34) The Future of Property Management Tech

(47:45) - Collaboration Superpower: Masayoshi Son (CEO of SoftBank, Wiki)

💚 Learn more:
➡️ Visit APM Help's site
➡️ Taylor Hou on LinkedIn

💚 Feature:
➡️ Blueprint - The Future of Real Estate - Register for 2025: The Premier Event for Industry Executives, Real Estate & Construction Tech Startups and VCs, at The Venetian, Las Vegas on September 16th-18th, 2025.

💚 Connect with Tangent:
➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn
➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn
➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn
➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn

Disclaimer: Tangent podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advise. Nothing contained on our program constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Tangent, Camber Creek, MetaProp, or any third party guest to buy or sell any securities, public or private, other financial instruments or funds.

A Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur, Eli Harris is the Co-Founder and Partner at One Dream Ventures, a venture studio developing cutting-edge enterprise SaaS and AI startups for the global energy transition in real estate and construction sectors. Previously, he co-founded R-Zero, backed by investors like Mayo Clinic and John Doerr, to revolutionize disinfection with hospital-grade, UV-C technology, and served as CEO of EcoFlow, a portable power leader supported by Sequoia China and Hillhouse Capital. With a background in tech roles at DJI and FLIR Systems and fluency in Mandarin, Eli brings a global, innovative approach to real estate, energy, and technology solutions.

(01:38) - Eli's Journey: From Foreign Service to DJI

(03:10) - Founding EcoFlow: A Battery Innovation

(05:12) - Launching R0: Healthy Buildings Infrastructure

(06:29) - NewCo: AI for Construction Projects
(9:10) - Feature - Blueprint: The Future of Real Estate 2025
(09:59) - Pre-seed Strategy & Validation
(12:07) - Advice for Founders & Investors in the energy transition
(14:31) - Collaboration Superpower: Rick Rubin (Wiki - co-founder of Def Jam).

💚 Learn more:
➡️ One Dream Ventures site
➡️ Eli Harris on LinkedIn

➡️ Rick Rubin's book The Creative Act: A Way of Being

💚 Feature:
➡️ Blueprint Vegas 2025 - Register for 2025: The Premier Event for Industry Executives, Real Estate & Construction Tech Startups and VCs, at The Venetian, Las Vegas on September 16th-18th, 2025.

💚 Connect with Tangent:
➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn
➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn
➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn
➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn

Disclaimer: Tangent podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advise. Nothing contained on our program constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Tangent, Camber Creek, MetaProp, or any third party guest to buy or sell any securities, public or private, other financial instruments or funds.

Connie Lee is the Founder of Reffie, a centralized leasing platform designed to help Multifamily operators streamline their leasing processes and lease units faster. Reffie helps automate the 'boring', so real estate operators can focus on closing more renters. Before launching Reffie, she served as Strategy & Operations at Mosaic.tech and also managed Finance and Business Operations at ZipRecruiter. Connie is also a Real Estate investor in Los Angeles and an angel investor in various startups.

(02:40) - Connie's entrepreneurial journey to Founding Reffie

(05:49) - Challenges in Multifamily Leasing

(07:24) - Leveraging AI in Real Estate
(15:11) - Feature | Berkadia's BeEngaged - Learn more: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the Commercial Real Estate space.

(16:47) - Reffie's Business Model

(28:50) - State of the Housing Market
(33:52) - Feature | CREtech NY Conference & Expo - Sign Up: Tangent listeners get a 20% discount using code PARTNERTANGENT20 at checkout.

(35:24) - Rental Trends & Amenities

(39:07) - Collaboration Superpower: Taylor Swift

💚 Learn more:
➡️ Reffie's site
➡️ Connie Lee on LinkedIn

💚 Feature:
➡️ Berkadia's BeEngaged - Learn more: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the commercial real estate space.
➡️ CREtech NY Conference & Expo - Register now: Tangent listeners get a 20% discount using code PARTNERTANGENT20 at checkout

💚 Connect with Tangent:
➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn
➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn
➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn
➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn

Disclaimer: Tangent podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advise. Nothing contained on our program constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Tangent, Camber Creek, MetaProp, or any third party guest to buy or sell any securities, public or private, other financial instruments or funds.

Brendan Wallace is CEO & CIO at Fifth Wall, where he guides the firm’s strategic vision. Fifth Wall is the largest venture capital firm focused on technologies for the global real estate industry, including those which decarbonize the sector. Wallace has described the impact of the real estate industry on the environment as "the single-biggest lever we can turn on to mitigate climate change.” Prior to founding Fifth Wall in 2016, Brendan co-founded Identified, a workforce optimization data and analytics company that raised $33 million of venture funding and was acquired by Workday (NYSE: WKDY) in 2014. He also co-founded Cabify, the largest ridesharing service in Latin America, and has been an active investor, leading more than 60 angel investments including Lyft, SpaceX, Dollar Shave Club, Bonobos, Philz Coffee, and TriNet Zenefits.

(1:28) - Why Fifth Wall built a dedicated team for Climate Tech investing
(6:22) - Feature - Blueprint: The Future of Real Estate
(7:10) - Selling software vs. Climate Tech to Real Estate LP's
(9:10) - Proptech investing & adoption across different markets
(13:15) - US presidential election impact on Climate Tech
(16:10) - Fifth Wall's role and legacy in Climate Tech
(20:27) - What would Brendan do if he was a founder today
(25:00) - Collaboration Superpower: Sam Zell (Wiki)

💚 Learn more:
➡️ Fifth Wall's site
➡️ Brendan Wallace on LinkedIn

➡️ Am I Being Too Subtle - Sam Zell's Book
➡️ Cherry Lawn Capital White Paper - Transitional Finance: A New Credit Model for High-Growth Real Estate Businesses

💚 Feature:
➡️ Blueprint Vegas 2025 - Register for 2025: The Premier Event for Industry Executives, Real Estate & Construction Tech Startups and VCs, at The Venetian, Las Vegas on September 16th-18th, 2025.

💚 Connect with Tangent:
➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn
➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn
➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn
➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn

Clarification: The number cited at the beginning of the episode $3.2 Billion refers to the amount raised, not deployed, but the VC firms.

Disclaimer: Tangent podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advise. Nothing contained on our program constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Tangent, Camber Creek, MetaProp, or any third party guest to buy or sell any securities, public or private, other financial instruments or funds.

Remen Okoruwa is a former strategy consultant and product manager, and now Co-founder and CEO at Propexo. His company helps property owners, operators, and proptech companies deliver better resident experiences through the power of data. Propexo provides tools for connecting property management software with other technology in a streamlined way. Propexo is a customer-centric organization that focuses on data strategies that delight residents, improve NOI, and make Multifamily real estate a better place for everyone.

(2:06) - Remen's & Propexo's origin story
(4:47) - Building the Plaid for Proptech
(8:32) - State of Propexo today
(12:02) - Propexo's model & ROI in Multifamily
(16:04) - Serving diverse use cases & customer base
(17:22) - Feature | Berkadia's BeEngaged - Learn more: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the Commercial Real Estate space.
(18:59) - How Proptech VC looks at integratability
(24:26) - Building a collaborative & customer-centric product road map
(26:54) - RealPage v. US Justice Department
(29:27) - Feature | CREtech NY Conference & Expo - Sign Up: Tangent listeners get a 20% discount using code PARTNERTANGENT20 at checkout.
(33:42) - Collaboration Superpower: Cyrus the Great (Wiki)

💚 Learn more:
➡️ Propexo's site
➡️ Remen Okoruwa on LinkedIn

💚 Feature:
➡️ Berkadia's BeEngaged - Learn more: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the commercial real estate space.
➡️ CREtech NY Conference & Expo - Register now: Tangent listeners get a 20% discount using code PARTNERTANGENT20 at checkout

💚 Connect with Tangent:
➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn
➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn
➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn
➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn

Disclaimer: Tangent podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advise. Nothing contained on our program constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Tangent, Camber Creek, MetaProp, or any third party guest to buy or sell any securities, public or private, other financial instruments or funds.

Bryce Nyberg is the VP, Corporate Development at Berkadia and the Head of BeEngaged. Bryce focuses on advancing innovation in our industry through BeEngaged, partnerships, investments, and acquisitions. His influence in and out of Berkadia, business acumen, and effective program leadership skills lead to remarkable outcomes for the organizations he works with. Startups that have gone through BeEngaged include Esusu, Propexo, Rabbet, Market Stadium, Symmetre, Reffie and Embue.

(2:00) - What is Berkadia's BeEngaged
(6:58) - What startups are ideal candidates for the program
(11:13) - Real Estate no longer a tech laggard?
(14:56) - Feature | Berkadia's BeEngaged - Learn more: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the commercial real estate space.
(16:33) - Berkadia's BeEngaged's case studies
(21:12) - Feature | CREtech NY Conference & Expo - Learn more: Tangent listeners get a 20% discount using code PARTNERTANGENT20 at checkout.
(22:45) - Role of collaboration & integration in the Proptech ecosystem
(28:16) - Collaboration Superpower: Warren Buffett (Chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway)

💚 Learn more:
➡️ Berkadia's BeEngaged site
➡️ Bryce Nyberg on LinkedIn

💚 Feature:
➡️ Berkadia's BeEngaged - Learn more: Ecosystem of founders, industry professionals, and capital providers dedicated to redefining the commercial real estate space.
➡️ CREtech NY Conference & Expo - Register now: Tangent listeners get a 20% discount using code PARTNERTANGENT20 at checkout

💚 Connect with Tangent:
➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn
➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn
➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn
➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn

Disclaimer: Tangent podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advise. Nothing contained on our program constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Tangent, Camber Creek, MetaProp, or any third party guest to buy or sell any securities, public or private, other financial instruments or funds.

Michael Rudin joined Rudin in 2008 and, together with his sister Samantha, represents the fourth generation to work at the family business founded in 1925. Michael focuses on new developments, capital markets, commercial leasing, sustainability and technology. He also helps lead the family’s alternative investing business, Rudin Ventures, where they've invested in companies like Bilt, Jones, VTS and Nantum OS. Rudin Management oversees the daily operations of 32 properties in New York City. The portfolio is comprised of 17 residential buildings totaling 4.7 million square feet and 14 commercial office buildings totaling approximately 9 million square feet.

(1:19) - Amenities for today's workforce
(9:50) - Feature: Blueprint Vegas 2024
(10:50) - Making buildings profitable
(14:19) - 3 Times Square case study
(18:42) - CRE leasing & financing
(22:34) - CRE Ops & risk mitigation
(29:50) - Proptech's dirty little secret
(37:45) - Lessons from Latch / Door.com
(42:43) - Bilt Rewards: Fintech's hottest Proptech
(47:20) - Collaboration Superpower: Michael's cousin Carlton

💚 Learn more:
➡️ Rudin's site
➡️ Rudin Ventures' site
➡️ Michael Rudin on LinkedIn

➡️ Proptech 101 (book) - Turning Chaos Into Cash Through Real Estate Innovation by Zach Aarons & Aaron Block
➡️ ProSentry's site - Smart building monitoring platform for CRE & Condos, including water leak detection recommended by insurance.

💚 Feature:
➡️ Blueprint Vegas 2024 - Tangent listeners get a $300 discount at BlueprintVegas.com/Tangent

💚 Connect with Tangent:
➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn
➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn
➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn
➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn

Disclaimer: Tangent podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advise. Nothing contained on our program constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Tangent, Camber Creek, MetaProp, or any third party guest to buy or sell any securities, public or private, other financial instruments or funds.

Salman Ahmad is the CEO and Co-founder of a16z-backed Mosaic, a construction technology company that builds software that makes homebuilding more scalable and efficient. Mosaic was founded in 2017 by Salman and Sep Kamvar, whom were two computer scientists working together at MIT and Stanford developing machine learning algorithms applied in the real world. Together, they developed a bold vision for the home building industry: construction as code. Mosaic uses their software themselves to manage construction on behalf of homebuilders, enabling them to build more homes. Salman has 20 technical publications and patents in the areas of software systems, programming languages, machine learning, human-computer interaction, and sensor hardware. He also worked with Microsoft developing virtualized datacenter solutions.

(3:33) - Mosaic's & Salman's origin story
(8:35) - Feature: Blueprint Vegas 2024 - Tangent listeners get a $300 discount at BlueprintVegas.com/Tangent
(9:30) - Housing construction pain points
(12:40) - Construction productivity issues
(15:12) - Mosaic's business model
(23:26) - Aligning Contech with VC timelines & incentives
(30:37) - Mosaic's biggest challenges
(35:26) - Macro & micro factors of construction labor shortage
(43:19) - Collaboration Superpower: Christopher Alexander (Co-author of A Pattern Language)

💚 Learn more:
➡️ Mosaic's site
➡️ Salman Ahmad on LinkedIn

💚 Feature:
➡️ Blueprint Vegas 2024 - Tangent listeners get a $300 discount at BlueprintVegas.com/Tangent

💚 Connect with Tangent:
➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn
➡️ Edward Cohen on X
➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn
➡️ Jeff Berman on X
➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn
➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn
➡️ Tangent on X

Disclaimer: Tangent podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advise. Nothing contained on our program constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Tangent, Camber Creek, MetaProp, or any third party guest to buy or sell any securities, public or private, other financial instruments or funds.