Dottid founder and CEO Kyle Waldrep aims to disrupt the commercial real estate industry with his SaaS proptech platform. How? Dottid’s software-as-a service platform keeps assets and transaction details in line so real estate companies can focus on what matters: time, money, and relationships.
Founder Waldrep, who launched Dottid in 2018, says his mission is to be the operating platform for commercial real estate owners worldwide. Accelerating its national rollout, the proptech startup recently announced a partnership with Lincoln Property Company—which led Dottid’s $4.5 million funding round that closed in December—and an integration with Altus Group’s ARGUS Cloud platform. The startup also launched two significant product extensions last year: Dottid Industrial and a leasing workflow technology for retail.
“Dottid is staring down massive opportunity,” Waldrep told us. “Covid has only accelerated technology adoption, and thus the market has grown.”
Here’s what the founder had to say about the state of proptech, CRE trends, the future — and why the Dallas region is one of the nation’s hottest markets.
On the need for proptech:
Dottid sits in one of the most critical functions for a CRE owner: leasing and asset management. With COVID-19 driving companies to remote work and fewer tenants expanding or renewing, leasing efficiency has become critical.
Asset owners need to do more with less people. They need to know where deals stand. Owners must get tenants in faster to generate revenue quicker. Through our new partnership with the Altus Group, CRE owners can use Dottid for leasing and asset management, and they’ll also understand how real-time transactions are affecting the value of their assets.
On market challenges:
One challenge facing all proptech platforms is technology adoption. CRE has historically lagged behind in the use of platforms and tools, with many users quite comfortable with current processes. Customers want robust platforms that solve big problems—building simple, intuitive technology is key. The office market has been driven by work-from-home and hybrid-work strategies, thus there are fewer leasing tours and deals signed for large space in big buildings.
Trying to predict COVID-19’s next evolution is nearly impossible, so CRE organizations will have to maneuver with efficiency to get tenants in buildings and keep them happy. Tech currently plays—and will continue to play—a huge role in leasing, building operations, and tenant experience.
On how CRE looks way different than it did 10 years ago:
Trophy office assets have always been the glamour of the space, and yet today, large warehouses are buying and selling like hotcakes. Investor capital has diversified to secondary and tertiary markets. Developers are building apartments and industrial assets in smaller suburbs as people migrate out of big cities. Suburban offices are easier to lease than downtown skyscrapers.
We’re two years into COVID-19 changing everyday life, and
public response to the future of the workforce is mixed.
Office will not go away. People, at their core, desire community and thus will likely gather in a hybrid model.
On the future of proptech:
Proptech companies must collaborate.
CRE owners desire platforms that are not just point solutions for point problems but rather enable synergies with existing data and create new data for decision makers. The future is CRE powered by simple technology that propels people and organizations to be smarter, more efficient, and quicker to action. Dottid is at the forefront of this change in 2022 as we will create an ecosystem of partnerships to serve mutual customers.
On the top reasons the Dallas region is one of the nation’s hottest CRE markets:
Dallas is a bustling and rapidly growing CRE market for several reasons:
- The economic climate promotes growth and enables developers/buyers to take big risks. From Uptown to Frisco, companies want to be in the Dallas region and favorable political/economic climates buffer this growing CRE market
- Risk always leads to new opportunity. Dallas is a business friendly city with lower taxes and great incentives for corporations; thus you have more businesses looking at Dallas as a place to expand or relocate.
- For industrial real estate, Dallas is one of the leading markets as it is centrally located with a major international airport. Distribution is also easy as many larger cities are within a day’s drive of the metroplex.
- Due to the above reasons, Dallas is one of the hottest markets for investment sales (buying and selling of commercial assets) because CRE investors see long-term opportunity and great market fundamentals.
On how we’re different from other markets:
We’re different from other markets for two reasons:
- Texas has created opportunities for people (personally and professionally) to thrive
- People are generally optimistic about the future economic environment with such a diverse set of industries in Dallas.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
A version of this story first appeared in the print edition of DALLAS® Commercial Real Estate 2022, published by Dallas Next for TREC and the Dallas Regional Chamber. Read more in the digital edition of the magazine below, and request the next print edition here.
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