

Tangent 💚 Proptech
Edward Cohen, Jeff Berman & Zach Aarons
A podcast community for Proptech and Real Estate leaders, investors, operators and innovators.
A new era is upon us. Tangent💚Proptech unites Proptech founders💡, Real Estate investors and operators🏢, Venture Capital investors, urban leaders🏙 and passionate creators🌎 who are improving our communities and cities. Join us to learn how we can solve present day challenges with innovative technology and greater collaboration.
Join VC investors Jeffrey Berman and Zach Aarons, and Proptech entrepreneur Edward Cohen, to learn about housing innovation, the future of work and climate tech. We examine these themes through interviews and conversations with Proptech CEO's, real estate owners and operators, and venture investors, and how we can leverage tech and collaboration to help solve the housing crisis, figure out the future of work and how to decarbonize the built environment.
If you would like to get your company’s or organization’s mission featured on Tangent, email us at tangentcommunity@gmail.com.
Stay curious and always be learning! 🤓
A new era is upon us. Tangent💚Proptech unites Proptech founders💡, Real Estate investors and operators🏢, Venture Capital investors, urban leaders🏙 and passionate creators🌎 who are improving our communities and cities. Join us to learn how we can solve present day challenges with innovative technology and greater collaboration.
Join VC investors Jeffrey Berman and Zach Aarons, and Proptech entrepreneur Edward Cohen, to learn about housing innovation, the future of work and climate tech. We examine these themes through interviews and conversations with Proptech CEO's, real estate owners and operators, and venture investors, and how we can leverage tech and collaboration to help solve the housing crisis, figure out the future of work and how to decarbonize the built environment.
If you would like to get your company’s or organization’s mission featured on Tangent, email us at tangentcommunity@gmail.com.
Stay curious and always be learning! 🤓
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 11, 2024 • 39min
Housing Crisis | The Lawsuit That Could Change Real Estate Forever & Reimagining the Home Buying Experience, with Aalto CEO Nick Narodny
Nick Narodny is the Founder and CEO at Aalto, a real estate marketplace that lets people buy and sell homes online. Nick previously co-founded Grovo, a microlearning company for real estate agents that was acquired by Cornerstone on Demand. Real Estate runs in the family for Nick, after being raised and inspired by his real estate agent mother and father. Aalto combines modern technology with a centralized team of licensed agents. Buyers and sellers use digital tools to lead most of the process themselves. Aalto agents provide on-demand support, review offers, and handle closing. This online model aims to provide a consistent, high quality experience while costing less to operate, so buyers and sellers save money with low fees and rebates.(1:55) - Aalto, buy a home online(3:38) - Nick & Aalto's origin story(8:42) - Aalto vs. traditional broker(17:02) - Feature: Housing Trust Silicon Valley (site)(18:13) - NAR Lawsuit & it's ramifications for the industry(30:38) - Predictions for buyer & seller commissions in 2024(35:43) - Collaboration Superpower: Winston Churchill💚 Learn more:➡️ Aalto's site➡️ Nick Narodny on LinkedIn💚 Feature:➡️ Housing Trust Silicon Valley's site - Housing finance & public-private partnerships to create more equitable & affordable communities.💚 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 XDisclaimer: 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.

Jan 4, 2024 • 52min
Fundrise CEO Ben Miller on Real Estate & VC Investment Strategies, Macro Trends for 2024 & Building the Online Blackstone
Ben Miller is the co-founder and CEO of Fundrise, the largest direct-to-consumer alternative asset manager in the US. Under his leadership, Fundrise has grown to over 2 million active users and over $3 billion in real estate private equity, private credit, and growth-stage venture capital. Ben also serves as Chairman of the Board of three publicly-registered investment companies and, during his 25-year career, has acquired more than $8 billion of real estate assets, including 37,000 residential units and 5 million square feet of industrial and commercial space. (00:26) - Fundrise's journey to revolutionizing private market investing(8:13) - Benefits of end-to-end platform experience(12:49) - Growth-stage Venture Capital fund (Part I)(15:43) - Real Estate investment strategy(19:20) - Feature: Housing Trust SV (site) - Housing finance & public-private partnerships to create more equitable & affordable communities(20:31) - AI impact on Commercial Real Estate(28:14) - Macro trends impacting Real Estate(29:46) - Economy outlook for 2024(35:24) - Growth-stage Venture Capital fund (Part II)(46:25) - Long-term vs. short-term lessons(48:59) - Collaboration Superpower: Alexander Hamilton💚 Learn more:➡️ Ben Miller on Twitter➡️ Fundrise's site➡️ Get $50 on Fundrise by signing up here ➡️ Onward, a Fundrise podcast with Ben Miller & guests (site)💚 Feature:➡️ Housing Trust Silicon Valley's site - Housing finance & public-private partnerships to create more equitable & affordable communities.💚 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 XDisclaimer: 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.

Dec 20, 2023 • 46min
Future of Office | WeWork, Adam Neumann, & the Great Startup Delusion, with WSJ Best-seller Author Eliot Brown
Eliot Brown is the co-author of The Cult of We (with Maureen Farrell), a WSJ best-selling book, and winner of the Financial Times, Fortune, and NPR Best Book of the Year Awards. Eliot covers startups and venture capital for The Wall Street Journal in London. He joined the Journal in 2010, when he was hired to cover commercial real estate in the wake of the financial crisis. He previously worked at the New York Observer, where he covered economic development and local politics.(2:10) - From The Cult of We to WeCrashed(3:42) - Importance of the book and it's lessons(6:18) - WeWork's board of directors & enablers(8:02) - Valuations: Real Estate vs. Tech(14:20) - HostAI - (site) AI-powered guest messaging & Airbnb rental software(16:23) - Where did it all go down hill for Adam's WeWork(19:15) - WeWork's most impactful tricks(24:16) - Cult of the Founder & power of storytelling(40:14) - WeWork's tech acquisitions(43:29) - Private vs. Public market frenzy💚 Learn more:➡️ The Cult of We's site➡️ Eliot Brown on X➡️ Get The Cult of We book on Amazon➡️ Get The Cult of We book on Bookshop💚 Feature:➡️ HostAI's site - AI-powered guest messaging for Airbnb hosts & boutique hotels 💚 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 XDisclaimer: 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.

Dec 5, 2023 • 28min
How Multifamily Investors Can Decarbonize Buildings Profitably & Avoid Fines, with Kelvin Founder & CEO Marshall Cox
Marshall Cox is a PhD in Electrical Engineering, and the Founder and CEO at Kelvin, winner of the MIT Clean energy prize, the Popular Science Innovation Award, and the Verizon Powerful Answers award. The Kelvin team has developed a system that eliminates overheating in pre-war buildings. The system, called the Cozy, is a wireless, low-cost, and easily installed retrofit that drops on top of radiators to control indoor temperatures in buildings with radiator heat. In individual installations the system can eliminate overheating and vastly improve comfort. By retrofitting whole buildings, the Cozy redistributes steam flow to heat up colder rooms faster, saving up to 40% in heating costs and yielding a potential cumulative annual savings of $7 billion over the 120 million residential and commercial radiators in the United States.(0:22) - Why should we decarbonize buildings (2:47) - Origin of heating tech(3:55) - Carrots & sticks for building decarbonization(7:17) - Kelvin origins(9:46) - Kelvin's smart radiator covers(11:37) - Improving operations' bottom line(12:55) - Financing decarbonization solutions(15:31) - Cozy's low maintenance (17:22) - Precision in estimating building savings(19:50) - Hybrid electrification adoption(25:30) - Elevating living experience for renters(26:38) - Collaboration Superpower: Jigar Shah (Director of Loan Programs in the US DoE)💚 Learn more:➡️ Kelvin's site➡️ Marshall Cox on LinkedIn💚 Connect with Tangent:➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn➡️ Edward Cohen on Twitter➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn➡️ Jeff Berman on Twitter➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on TwitterDisclaimer: 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.

Nov 28, 2023 • 37min
State of Short-term Rentals & Airbnb Regulation, with Hostaway Founder & CEO Marcus Räder
Marcus Räder started his first company when he was 11 years old. Since then, he's been learning about the world of business, growing up in an environment where global communication and connectivity gets better each day. With 10 years of experience in EdTech and online marketing at various startups, he decided it was time to help others. By founding Hostaway, he helps Airbnb and short-term rental hosts improve their businesses. (0:50) - Hostaway origins(3:16) - State of Short-term Rental industry(8:37) - Airbnb regulation(14:32) - Marketplace fee monetization & consumer psychology(21:28) - Adam Smith's free market, market failure & regulation vs. monopoly(22:52) - All-in-one vacantion rental software(29:18) - Role of online travel agencies(31:26) - Proptech & Travel Tech lessons from EdTech(34:28) - Collaboration Superpower: Alice Cooper💚 Learn more:➡️ Hostaway's site➡️ Marcus Räder on LinkedIn💚 Connect with Tangent:➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn➡️ Edward Cohen on Twitter➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn➡️ Jeff Berman on Twitter➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on TwitterDisclaimer: 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.

Nov 21, 2023 • 36min
Cannabis Real Estate Opportunities & Challenges, with Zoned Properties CEO Bryan McLaren
Bryan McLaren is the Chairman & CEO at Zoned Properties, providing regulated Cannabis Real Estate and knowledge since 2014. Cannabis is now legal across 37 US states, and NYC's recent roll-out has put the industry under scrutiny. In this episode, Edward Cohen & Zach Aarons explore the opportunities for Commercial Real Estate investors and retail owners within the Cannabis sector. (0:42) - State of Cannabis Real Estate (6:07) - Retail opportunities & challenges(12:03) - Home prices & cannabis legalization (14:44) - Estimating market demand(17:26) - NYC Recreational cannabis roll-out💚 Learn more:➡️ Zoned Properties' site➡️ Bryan McLaren on LinkedIn💚 Connect with Tangent:➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn➡️ Edward Cohen on Twitter➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn➡️ Jeff Berman on Twitter➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on TwitterDisclaimer: 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.

Nov 14, 2023 • 9min
Bridging the Gap Between Short-Term Real Estate Lenders, Borrowers & Investors, with Groundfloor Co-founder Nick Bhargava | Tangent @ Blueprint
Groundfloor is a private real estate lending marketplace open to non-accredited investors. Groundfloor opens the door to short-term, high-yield returns backed by real estate. Their platform brings together individual investors looking for short-term lending investments and borrowers looking for short-term financing for their specific real estate projects. Borrowers get access to more flexible, faster and cheaper capital than a traditional bank or a hard-money lender. Investors get access to short-term, high-yield investments. Groundfloor earned a historic qualification by the SEC in August 2015 to sell private real estate debt investments to non-accredited investors.💚 Learn more:➡️ Groundfloor's site➡️ Nick Bhargava on LinkedIn➡️ Blueprint Vegas' site 💚 Connect with Tangent:➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn➡️ Edward Cohen on Twitter➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn➡️ Jeff Berman on Twitter➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on TwitterDisclaimer: 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.

Nov 8, 2023 • 51min
How to Maximize Multifamily Performance with Renter Analytics, with RCKRBX CEO Michael Broder & COO James Moore
RCKRBX is the first real estate SaaS platform that puts the voice of the renter at the Multifamily developer's and investor's fingertips, including across key investment, development, marketing, leasing, and management decision points. The platform delivers actionable intelligence around the preferences, priorities, attitudes, and viewpoints that drive renter decision-making combined with predictive analytics to understand how these factors will impact asset performance and value over time, to what extent and why. Michael and James are applying their lessons from Political campaigning to the Real Estate world in a unique way.(1:13) - State of Multifamily(8:43) - Return to work impact on Multifamily(11:45) - What Multifamily can learn from political campaigns(16:44) - Demand side insights: What renters are looking for(25:00) - Canvassing renter insights to power investment decisions(32:23) - What Multifamily developers are missing(40:42) - What moves the rent needle beyond typical amenities(45:07) - Collaboration Superpower: Henry Ford💚 Learn more:➡️ RCKRBX's site➡️ Michael Broder on LinkedIn➡️ James Moore on LinkedIn💚 Connect with Tangent:➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn➡️ Edward Cohen on Twitter➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn➡️ Jeff Berman on Twitter➡️ Zach Aarons on Twitter➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on TwitterDisclaimer: 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.

Oct 31, 2023 • 12min
The Easiest Way to Integrate Multifamily Property Management & Proptech, with Propify CEO & Co-founder Remen Okoruwa | Tangent @ Blueprint
Remen Okoruwa is product-minded leader who's working to unlock data for the property management industry. Remen and his co-founders met while they were working at Hubspot, and are now bringing their deep expertise about integrations to streamline Multifamily property management operations for all stakeholders. Propify (YC W23) recently raised $3.3M from VC firm Prudence, with additional funding from Fifth Wall, RXR, PropTech Angel Group, and HubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah. This episode is part of the Tangent @ Blueprint series, the most global event of Proptech innovators leading the charge in changing the built world in Las Vegas every September.(0:20) - Propify's origin story(1:34) - Benefits for Multifamily Proptech companies(2:55) - Translating data into insights & action(3:58) - Multifamily use cases(6:01) - Propify's unique business model(7:56) - Hubspot lessons for Proptech(9:21) - Where will Propify be in the next 12-24 months(10:16) - Key growth metrics💚 Learn more:➡️ Propify's site➡️ Remen Okoruwa on LinkedIn➡️ Blueprint Vegas' site💚 Connect with Tangent:➡️ Edward Cohen on Twitter➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn➡️ Zach Aarons on Twitter➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on TwitterDisclaimer: 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.

Oct 24, 2023 • 55min
State of the Self Storage Market, On Demand Storage Models & Creating Value with Social Media Content, with DXD Capital Co-founder Cory Sylvester
As the Co-Founder of DXD Capital, Cory Sylvester brings 14 years of Real Estate & Finance expertise to revolutionize the Self Storage industry. Passionate about utilizing data and technology, Cory is building the largest platform for building and buying self storage facilities in the US. His Self Storage journey began with co-founding Radius+, a successful platform providing essential data for the self storage market. Through bootstrapping, they achieved seven-figure revenue and attracted the world's largest self storage company. Building on this success, DXD Capital was born, raising over $100M in equity and overseeing 30 facilities in various stages of completion. (1:00) - Self Storage Investor & developer sentiment(3:20) - American consumerism(8:38) - From Self Storage bear to Self Storage data software founder, investor and developer(13:04) - DXD Capital's investment thesis(16:10) - Feature: Strong Towns (site) - Make cities safe, livable, financially resilient and inspiring.(17:25) - On demand storage & VC: Clutter, Neighbor, Stuf(32:50) - Specialty Storage Subcategories: ISO, Boat Storage, Cold Storage, RV Storage(35:05) - Building a social media personal brand for value creation(50:22) - Collaboration Superpower: Elon Musk💚 Learn more:➡️ DXD Capital's site➡️ Radius+'s site➡️ Cory Sylvester on LinkedIn➡️ Cory Sylvester on Twitter➡️ Strong Towns' site💚 Connect with Tangent:➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn➡️ Edward Cohen on Twitter➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn➡️ Jeff Berman on Twitter➡️ Zach Aarons on Twitter➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn➡️ Tangent on TwitterDisclaimer: 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.