MIPIM Proptech New York: The army of suits is a good thing

At last year’s MIPIM Proptech New York there was hardly a suit in sight. A sea of jeans, untucked shirts and the occasional blazer made the 2017 event feel very “tech” – mainly because it was. And therein lay the problem. Tech events that just attract swathes of tech types are echo chambers. It’s a shame, really, because there is something brilliant and borderline utopian about a sector where doing business can be casual, relaxed and laid back. But when it comes to real estate, that’s just not realistic. Not yet, anyway. Maybe not ever. And that is why the army of suits at this year’s event was one of the most encouraging sights I have seen to date at any proptech event. Not because I am a huge advocate of such overt formality, but because it marked a massive sea change and one many have been waiting years to see. The real estate sector was there – loud and proud. I am not talking about a few forward-thinkers sprinkled here and there, as has been the case at these events for a while now. I mean really there, out in force. And they weren’t just talking about tech; they were talking about investing in tech. From Brookfield to Blackstone and from PGIM to RXR, the venue was bursting at the seams with real estate’s biggest players. Those suits changed the whole atmosphere – and not in the way many might assume. Far from bringing proceedings down, conversations, debates and meetings took on a new and powerful momentum. For the tech companies, bumping into Brookfield’s head of innovation, PGIM’s global investment director or the chairman of Lennar International at the coffee station is in a different league from an (albeit pleasant) catch-up with the posse of fellow start-ups they already know. It works both ways, of course, and the tech attendees were just as impressive: Edge Technologies, Zillow, the executive director of Tech NYC, to name a few. Events such as this are the first steps towards the stuff of proptech dreams. A real meeting of two sectors trying to understand each other and work together. So congratulations to MIPIM, Aaron Block and Metaprop for one of the most successful gap-bridging exercises I have seen to date. It is a step that needs to be taken to move forward, and one I am sure many in the tech world would agree is worth an influx of traditional business attire. But it does raise other questions that can’t be ignored. Too uniform? Social media following this year’s Expo conference was awash with comments on the blue suit, white shirt and tie “property uniform”. Traditional real estate is still criticised for being exclusive, elitist and rigid in its outlook and (rightly or wrongly) there is no escaping the fact that certain sartorial choices have a part to play in fuelling that image. So, there is a flip side to the encouraging ocean of suits at this week’s New York tech event. As we work so hard to move away from real estate’s male, pale and stale reputation, is there a danger that as property starts to fully embrace tech – a sector known for being more alternative and inclusive than many – it could become overly formalised and watered down? Metaprop’s Aaron Block addressed this issue head on in his opening keynote. “We still have an inclusivity issue,” he said. “We need to act now. If we wait three or four years to address problems that look like me, it will be too late. Set goals around diversity and inclusion. Even if you don’t meet them, you should have them.” But even more powerful was a keynote speech by Julie Samuels, executive director of Tech NYC. A former lawyer, she is now firmly entrenched in the tech world – jeans and all – but she was quick to give the conference a reality check. Tech is already being formalised. This doesn’t mean stamping on creativity and forcing every tech founder into a shirt and tie; but the time has come to get serious. “The last generation of really big tech companies was built in a vacuum,” she said. “Regulators weren’t paying attention. Competitors weren’t paying attention. Those days are gone. You can’t build a tech company now without people noticing very quickly and you need to know how to navigate thorny situations like handling competitors and regulators. It’s serious stuff now. “Those days of being in a vacuum were good for what they were. But I don’t think the Googles and the Facebooks could have started somewhere like New York back then – and they definitely couldn’t now.” The hope here, then, is that real estate and tech can learn from each other rather than quash each other’s strengths. It has long been argued the traditionalists should take a leaf out of the tech set’s book, learn more about digital transformation and embrace change. But as regulation and competition cranks up, for these more laissez-faire start-ups there has never been a better time to have the experience of a seasoned real estate firm in their corner. If a dedicated drive towards true inclusivity and diversity across the board becomes the umbrella principle that holds these two sectors together, then that brilliant, borderline utopia might be closer than we think. To send feedback, e-mail emily.wright@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmilyW_9 or @estatesgazette