I've been blogging for the past two and a half years and have been blown away by the incredible support I've received from the PropTech community. Earlier this year, we hit 6,000 subscribers and hope to double that number in the next 12 months. My goal from the beginning was to publish one article per week. However, my work schedule has gotten hectic over the past few months and I haven't been able to write any new content since mid-May. On the positive side, we (Kastle, my day job) have been growing at a breakneck pace. This has been fueled by new product launches such as our NFC/Apple Wallet enabled platform, Curb-to-Couch multifamily platform, and Smart Building Business Intelligence solution, as well as dozens of integrations with other leading PropTech companies. As the industry demands fully integrated services and project complexity increases, we've found that our managed services offerings are exactly what our clients are looking for. During what has become one of the most challenging times in the real estate industry's history, solutions are needed to keep properties and their stakeholders (staff, tenants and visitors) safe and secure, and to dramatically improve the experience and convenience of tenants and residents. The downside is that we've failed to deliver on a promise to our loyal subscribers by not providing them with insights and updates on the real estate industry. But that's about to change.
Although my work schedule doesn't look like it's going to slow down anytime soon (which is a good thing), I'm once again determined to get back on track with publishing a new article every week. There have been some big changes in the PropTech industry over the past few months, and I have a lot of topics that I'm excited to cover. My regular publishing schedule will resume next week, but this week I wanted to try something different.
One of the most common questions I get from my subscribers is what other publications I read and what industry experts I actively follow. As PropTech has gone mainstream over the past few years, a lot of great thought leaders have emerged in the space with unique perspectives on the future of real estate technology. In addition to the real estate specific thought leaders I follow, there are also some great content providers that aren't PropTech specific but are applicable to most industries. The non-PropTech content I find most interesting includes topics like GTM strategy, business development, marketing automation, AI, RevOps, data analytics, and more.
Below I have compiled a list of thought leaders and newsletters that continue to inspire and educate me. I imagine many of my subscribers already follow some of these leaders, but if you're not familiar with them yet, I encourage you to check them out. As I've stated before, I do not make money from my blog, so the people listed below have not sponsored this article or paid me to promote it. To be honest, I don't know everyone on the list personally, so this is unbiased and based solely on the value I get from their content.
Flexible real estate and coworking have gone mainstream and become a topic of discussion among tenants of all sizes. Property owners are also trying to navigate this growing sector, deciding whether to partner with a flex operator, develop their own flex brand, or wait and see before taking a gamble. Flex continues to grow in popularity and market share, but the looming threat of WeWork's bankruptcy further complicates things. Luckily, there is a newsletter that tracks the most important updates in the market, written by Hector Kolonas. If you want to stay up to date on the latest developments in the flex sector, don't miss Hector's “This Week in Coworking” updates. You can subscribe for free using this link.
When it comes to beautifully written articles, data-driven analysis, and well-designed infographics on residential real estate, no one beats Mike DelPrete. If you're in the real estate industry and you're not reading Mike's content, you're missing the full picture. Check out his content here:
Another real estate industry expert is NotoriousRob. His real estate blog was the first one I read back in 2010. His articles are always well written, he goes in-depth on every topic he covers, and he also adds a bit of humor that makes his writing a lot of fun to read. If you haven't read his blog today, I recommend checking it out on Substack.
The VC industry has been going through some tough times lately, but there's no better way to stay on top of emerging trends in the industry than to track the companies that are investing heavily in early stage companies. I make sure to read the content posted on FifthWall, Metaprop's blog, and literally anything and everything written by Spencer Rascoff.
There are a ton of amazing content creators in the commercial real estate industry, but my favorite person I’ve followed all this time is Michael Beckerman. He and his company, CREtech, cover all aspects of CRE, but focus significant resources on one of the most important topics that impacts every person on the planet: ClimateTech. In addition to publishing valuable content that I follow religiously (link here), CREtech also hosts a series of conferences attended by just about everyone in the industry. Their largest event of the year, CREtech NYC, will be held at the Javits Center from September 19-21. You can register for the event here. In addition to his wealth of knowledge, best-in-class content, and hosting the most important CRE event each year, Michael is also one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, a sentiment that everyone who has met him agrees with.
Last year I co-authored an article with Henry Mizell that you can find here. I worked with Henry on a PropTech startup for a few years, and it was he who taught me the value of RevOps in scaling a SaaS business. Henry now leads revenue at Apollo.io (which closed its $100M Series D last week at a $1.65B valuation) and posts some very valuable content on LinkedIn. As I continued to learn all I could about scaling SaaS companies, I came across a newsletter that became my bible. It's called SaaStr and is written by Jason Lemkin. I don't know Jason personally, and he probably has no idea who I am, but there hasn't been an article yet where I didn't put at least one of his ideas into action. You can subscribe for free here, but I promise you won't want to miss it.
Looking back on my career, I realize how lucky I have been to have met some amazingly talented people. One of the people I worked alongside every day for several years was Packy McCormick. I feel silly recommending Packy's newsletter, Not Boring, because I rarely meet a business professional who doesn't subscribe to his newsletter. The downside to his newsletter is that after reading the articles he publishes, you immediately feel unqualified to publish your own articles. His writing is intelligent, witty, and always spot on. If you're one of the few people on the planet who hasn't already subscribed to Packy's Not Boring newsletter, please subscribe now for free. Here's the link.
Another blogger I follow is Marie Forleo. I identify with Marie's entrepreneurial journey, which offers creative (and practical) advice for scaling a business for those who don't have an MBA from an Ivy League university like me (I don't actually have an MBA from any university) or funding from a wealthy family. In addition to blogging, Marie hosts a podcast where she interviews some of the most respected business leaders in the world. I also love that she's a New Jersey native. I was born and raised in New Jersey, and our state gets a lot of grief and bad press, so it's nice to see great success coming out of New Jersey. Check out her blog here:
In the tech industry, product leaders play a critical role in the success (or failure) of a company. By far the best newsletter I've come across in this space is Lenny's. In addition to the newsletter, Lenny also runs a podcast where he interviews product and growth leaders from some of the most exciting companies on the planet. Check it out here.
I love learning about unique approaches to growth, and one duo that continues to put out some really compelling content is Claire Suellentrop and Georgiana Laudi of Forget the Funnell. A close friend of mine first recommended I check out this duo, and I was immediately captivated by their Customer Led Growth playbook, which offers a growth roadmap that focuses on customer experience to drive revenue. If you're not familiar with this duo, I recommend checking out the resources section of their website here:
While these aren't technically blogs, there are four websites I visit every day to start my day: If there's something important happening in real estate, you can be sure that it will be covered in detail on at least one of these sites: If you want to stay up to date on everything that's going on in the real estate industry, these four sites are the best places to visit:
While the list above is just a few of the leaders I follow, there are so many more incredibly talented writers and content creators who continue to inspire and inspire me. I'm also always interested in hearing about new newsletters, podcasts, and other content creators who share their unique perspectives on the industry, product/solution reviews, actionable advice and tips, data-driven analysis and trends. Share with me in the comments below which newsletters and content creators you find most influential.