THE FUTURE OF PROPTECH
The four companies Charter Hall is supporting
InSpaceXR
Justin Liang , Co-founder and CEO of InspaceXR leads one of the startups recently selected to participate in a 13-week incubation period at Charter Hall . Liang ’ s virtual reality software helps architects visualise a project in 3D , leading to better design outcomes , reduced iteration times and easier discussions with engineers and project developers .
“ The majority of the top 10 architecture firms already have VR headsets and younger architects who know it ’ s the future of the profession , are a lot more active and receptive in picking up the tools . It ’ s moving in the architecture space , but I ’ m not sure if we ’ ll see the same kind of adoption rates across the rest of the industry ,” says Liang .
With the upcoming launch of his software to market , Liang recognises a mindset challenge in Australia in comparison to the tech hubs of the world .
BricksandAgent . com
Bricks & Agent , founded by entrepreneurs Jon Stuhl ( the son of Shopkins billionaire Manny Stuhl ) and Rafael Niesten is a cloud-based platform focused on streamlining residential property management and maintenance . This will now be developed through the Charter Hall incubator program to handle retail property and facilities management .
Stuhl said the company had enough money to self-fund itself indefinitely but would consider taking on investors “ if there is a strategic benefit ”.
“ I would describe their product as the Uber for property maintenance ,” comments Coleman . “ We have 45,000 retail customers and we want to be able to give them some productivity tools so that they can manage their retail shop and easily communicate when they have issues .”
Snaploader
Snaploader , which has developed a webviewer that enables potential tenants and investors to access an interactive 3D model of properties , is already being used by Charter Hall ’ s industrial business to support lease negotiations . The business was founded by former Hugo Boss Australia MD Erik Fink .
Estate Baron
Estate Baron is a blockchain-enabled property development and investment crowdfunding platform . Coleman says Charter Hall saw potential synergies with this platform and its emerging millennial investor base : “ It ’ s interesting because it is more investor-focused , having evolved from being a crowdfunding platform for retail investors . We are now looking at how to build a blockchain and streamline our whole retail investment process for what is becoming a very tech savvy and technically aware investor base .”