Posted by This list is available as a video on my YouTube channel which you can watch here. I have since established a second YouTube channel dedicated to PropTech – PropTechTV
“Ok today I am covering the Top 10 PropTech Influencers I think you should be following.”
Introduction
The purpose of the video was to provide some useful info for the PropTech entrepreneur, investor or real estate person. I filmed it over the course of a random September day in 2018.
As with all the posts here, opinions expressed are my own and do not come from any official industry data or sources. However it’s quite possible you will recognise a few names because a number have featured in prestigious ‘PropTech Influencer of the Year’ awards in the past. The primary criteria I used to rank these influencers was the number of followers on social media but I deviated from this where necessary.
No. 10 – Carol Tallon
Carol is an Irish author and speaker who writes about the Irish property and construction industry. If you search ‘PropTech in Ireland’ she will definitely rank at or near the top either in her own name or through her website PropTech.ie. Follow Carol HERE if you want a uniquely Irish twist on the whole PropTech scene and the wider property trends.
No. 9 – Brendan Wallace
Brendan is the co-founder of Fifth Wall, a venture capital firm based in LA. If you haven’t heard of Fifth Wall then you definitely have to look it up – it is a major venture fund in the PropTech arena. I got to hear Brendan speak at the 2018 Future:PropTech conference in London. He also writes on Medium and I found his profile to be very interesting. You can follow Brendan HERE.
No. 8 – Aaron Block
Again from the US, Aaron is another PropTech venture guy. He is a co-founder of the PropTech accelerator and venture fund Metaprop based in New York City. I think the venture guys are particularly interesting to follow because they see the trends and get an early look at all the startups so have a far better idea of what’s coming than a lot of us mere mortals.
I had the pleasure of meeting Aaron in 2017 while he was visiting Dublin. Definitely a PropTech Influencer you should be following in my opinion.
No. 7 – Anthony Slumbers
This time from the UK, Anthony is a super interesting guy with a lot to say about PropTech in the commercial office sector. Click HERE for a podcast with Anthony speaking to Nicole Bremner, who is another influencer on this list. I thought it was a great podcast, all about the office sector, where office is going, co-working, shared offices and all that stuff. Anthony is a prolific tweeter and writer. He is definitely an influencer you should be following.
No. 6 – Emily Wright
Again from the UK, Emily writes for Estates Gazette. She is also a freelance writer who writes for a load of really interesting magazines like GQ, Wired and The Spaces. She is the Tech Editor of Estates Gazette so has a lot of knowledge around the whole PropTech scene and definitely one to follow in my opinion.
No. 5 – Franco Faraudo
Back to the US, you may not be familiar with the name but you will definitely be familiar with Franco’s publication Propmodo. He is co-founder of Propmodo which I think is an awesome publication. I am a paid up subscriber and even though I am based in Ireland and they are based in California its still highly relevant and I always find it extremely interesting. Propmodo is essential reading for anyone in the PropTech space. Go get it.
No. 4 – Dan Hughes
Dan is from London and has 12,50 followers on Twitter. Thats a big number for someone in the PropTech space. Dan recently went out on his own with his firm Liquid Real Estate Innovation – you should follow them too. Dan is no stranger to PropTech Influencer awards – he was named No. 1 in 2017. If you want to keep your finger on the pulse in terms of PropTech stuff then I think Dan is the man you should be following.
No. 3 – Duke Long
Another PropTech dude from New York City. Duke has a blog you should definitely follow if you’re interested in PropTech or real estate technology. He also has a great podcast called ‘Commercial Real Estate With A Little Attitude’. Duke is a prolific writer and post a huge amount of content to his blog – definitely one you should be subscribed to if you’re interested in real estate technology. He’s an important influencer.
No. 2 – Nicole Bremner
Back to the UK. However this lady is an Australian. Oh go on, you’ve already guessed it – if it’s Australia then it has to be Nicole Bremner. OK if I’m honest I have to confess I was going to give Nicole first place on this list. I say that because she absolutely blows everybody else on this list away in terms of the number of followers she has accumulated. On Instagram in particular she is now at 24,000 followers – by far the largest audience.
Nicole is none other than an author, a presenter, a real estate developer and a real estate investor. More recently she seems to have gotten involved in podcasting – I came across her podcast only recently when she interviewed Anthony Slumbers, it was great podcast.
I am absolutely fascinated how Nicole has managed to grow her audience in such a short period of time. What is really interesting is that she has stepped out from being a property influencer into what seems be be a general lifestyle influencer. Thats not easy thing to do.
No. 1 – James Dearsley
Finally, number one. I have left the best PropTech Influencer to the end (in my opinion). Many of you will already have guessed it… yes thats right, its Mr James Dearsley.
James gets my number one because it was his weekly ‘Sunday PropTech Review’ that got me into this whole PropTech thing to begin with. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the PropTech sector. It doesn’t matter whether you are based in the UK, the US, Australia or Canada, this is essential reading.
In addition to being a great PropTech writer, James is also an avid bee-keeper and he’s also pretty good at the speaking – he was the MC at my first 2017 Future:PropTech conference. Entertaining guy, highly knowledgeable and a great speaker. James is also involved in a podcast called the PropTech Podcast which he does with his partner-in-crime Eddie Holmes who is an Irish guy from Belfast.
So you have James with his weekly Sunday Proptech Review and then James & Eddie with their PropTech Podcast. That is one of the reasons why I rank James way up at the top, because he’s got the two things I have to listen to or have to read on a regular basis.
Did you find this list useful? or indeed terrible? Feel free to let me know via Twitter on in the comment section of the video and drop me a line with any suggestions you have for future topics
written by Gavin J. Gallagher