Innovation Meets the Real Estate Industry | Liza Benson (Partner, Moderne Ventures)

May 8, 2025

Liza Benson, Partner at Moderne Ventures, focuses on investing in real estate technology and fintech. She discusses the innovative Moderne Passport program designed to connect startups with industry leaders to drive growth. Liza highlights the misconceptions around tech's role in real estate and the challenges startups face in this conservative sector. She also shares insights on what Limited Partners seek today and the significance of metrics like DPI in investment strategy, emphasizing the shift from traditional to more impactful performance measurements.

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INSIGHT

Generalist Investors, Vertical Specialists

Moderne Ventures identifies as generalist investors with vertical expertise, especially in real estate.
They seek companies with multi-vertical applications to avoid risks of industry cycles.

ADVICE

Passport Program as Investment Filter

Nearly all companies invested by Moderne go through the Passport program for meaningful industry engagement.
If founders do not want impactful help, they may not be the right fit for Moderne Ventures.

INSIGHT

Real Estate's Tech Adoption Lag

Real estate is an anachronistic and conservative industry with slower tech adoption compared to other sectors.
This lag presents a huge opportunity given it represents over 25% of U.S. GDP.

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In this episode of The Data Minute, Peter Walker (Head of Insights at Carta) sits down with Liza Benson, Partner at Moderne Ventures, to discuss investing in real-world industries and Moderne’s unique LP-driven approach.

They discuss the Moderne Passport, a multi-stage investment fund and industry immersion program, how to turn pilots into revenue, and why so many founders overlook real estate as a growth channel. Liza also shares what LPs are really looking for today, as well as practical advice for fund managers on DPI, diligence, and building firms that are more than just capital.

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Chapters:
00:00 Welcome & intro
02:17 What makes Moderne Ventures different
03:56 The Moderne Passport program
08:00 Is tech’s perception of the real estate industry accurate?
09:30 “The build vs buy dilemma” in real-estate
10:36 How does the Moderne Passport differ from tech accelerators?
13:44 Structuring pilot programs
18:02 Moderne and Trust & Will
20:00 Why are startups hesitant to work with real estate companies?
22:18 How is AI changing the real estate industry
23:49 What does Liza suggest her corporate partners focus on?
25:52 Why Moderne stands out to LPs
28:12 How Moderne operates
30:23 Why early-stage GPs should study later-stage diligence
32:49 DPI, secondaries, and the new reality for LP expectations
35:16 Thoughts on reserve ratio strategy
39:46 Are companies growing more leanly than before?
40:34 What’s the best thing a VC can do for founders?
41:40 Outro

This presentation contains general information only and eShares, Inc. dba Carta, Inc. (“Carta”) is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services, and is for informational purposes only. This presentation is not a substitute for such professional advice or services nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business or interests. © 2024 eShares, Inc., dba Carta, Inc. All rights reserved.