Timing and Trends in Venture Capital

" Now, the beauty about the real estate industry, if you look outside and you look at the commercial buildings, you have a lot of data generated on a daily basis. The challenge is, what do you do with this data? How do you mine this data in a smart way to give you better investment decisions going forward [or] better decisions on how you run the building? Where are the opportunities to reduce your expenses? On the climate side, how do you reduce your operational carbon? How do you make those buildings better? I think that here, Gen AI, can help big time, because any solution that will mine this data smartly and will create a result, an output, that end users and owners can use to their advantage.” - Ariel Shtarkman

Fresh out of the studio, Ariel Shtarkman, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Undivided Ventures, joins us to share the mission and vision of Undivided Ventures and how the fund is driving innovation at the intersection of sustainability, PropTech, and construction technology. Beginning with her origin story, Ariel reflected on her journey from real estate private equity in New York to becoming a venture capitalist championing sustainable technologies in Asia. She elaborated on Undivided Ventures’ investment thesis, focusing on scaling sustainability-driven innovations in the built environment and shared key portfolio highlights, including successful investments like Structure Pal. Ariel also explored the transformative potential of generative AI, robotics, and data centers in addressing challenges in real estate and construction. Last but not least, she offered her insights on navigating fundraising in a challenging venture capital landscape and painted a compelling vision of what great looks like for Undivided Ventures.

Audio Episode Highlights:
[00:46] Quote of the Day: Ariel Shtarkman on data and AI in real estate.
[01:40] Introduction: Ariel Shtarkman, Managing Partner at Undivided Ventures.
[04:23] How she co-founded Undivided Ventures with Alex.
[06:08] Lessons from her career journey.
[08:06] Overview of Undivided Ventures and its investment thesis.
[10:33] Recent highlights of the fund’s portfolio.
[12:46] Unique insights into Undivided Ventures’ investment approach.
[14:59] Lessons learned from fundraising in challenging times.
[17:28] Generative AI’s impact on PropTech and sustainability.
[21:00] Case study: Structure Pal’s innovative approach in PropTech.
[23:35] Traits of founders that attract investment.
[27:19] Red flags in startups and founders.
[29:24] Approach to valuation and avoiding overblown valuations.
[31:19] Insights on data centers and how to think about data center technologies globally.
[37:09] Robotics and their evolving role in construction.
[39:12] The one question that Ariel wishes people would ask her more about Undivided Ventures.
[41:18] What does great look like for Undivided Ventures over the next few years.
[42:32] Closing.

Profile: Ariel Shtarkman, co-founder and managing partner, Undivided Ventures: https://www.undivided.vc/about and LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariel-s-2850322/

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast.

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