GEM Ventures, a Proptech Operative-Investor Collective (Transmission #337)

For years, I’ve been asked by members, ”When are you going to raise a fund?”

The question has come up countless times since GEM was born in 2017. Members want to invest in companies within our ecosystem, and founders are always looking for aligned capital. If we could pool resources from GEM members to deploy strategically, the demand—and the value created—would clearly be there.

While this isn't a traditional fund, today marks the launch of GEM Ventures: a proptech operative-investor collective. In other words, a highly, highly curated angel group built around shared conviction, not sponsorship.

GEM exists to help members succeed. GEM Ventures is one more way to do that—serving both angel investors looking to play a meaningful part in high-growth proptech opportunities, and founders who need not just capital, but experience, perspective, and trusted relationships.

DIFFERENTIATION
GEM Ventures isn’t just another check. It’s strategic capital from seasoned proptech operators—the kind that brings connections, mentorship, and hard-won insight gleaned over years to the table.

This isn’t passive capital.

If you’re a founder who wants a silent check, we’re not for you. But if you value collaborative investors who’ve built and scaled companies, and who believe in strong, long-term partnership, that’s exactly who we are.

We'll make early, high-conviction bets—and we’ll commit to supporting those companies well beyond the investment. That means advisory input, strategic connections, and shared accountability for success.

COMMUNITY ALIGNMENT, NOT PAY-TO-PITCH
GEM Ventures is not a pay-to-pitch model. There are no fees, no priority placement, and no paid exposure. Founders earn access through the same trusted relationships and merit-driven community that GEM has always been about.

Coverage within the Geek Estate ecosystem—Proptech Highlights and Blueprinting Proptech analyses—will flow out of our research and due diligence process.

When we invest, we’ll share our investment thesis as a GEM Transmission essay (much like the one covering a personal angel investment in MyPlace), and we’ll feature the company several times a year on Geek Estate Blog. Our Transmissions always focus on learning from innovation—not promoting portfolios.

GEM remains first and foremost a community. GEM Ventures is another arrow in the quiver to help founders and members thrive, without changing that foundation.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
We’re obviously long on real estate and the Built World. In true YC fashion, here are a few areas where we’re seeking bold ideas:

• Wealth Management: Tools facilitating and accelerating the agent to wealth manager migration.
• Consumer search: A search experience for what could be rather than what is.
• Build more homes: With a shortfall of millions of homes in the U.S., technology innovations will be a big part of accelerating the construction of new housing units.
• Resilient housing and impact reduction: Technologies that help homes adapt to increasing catastrophic weather events, improve insurability, and lower environmental footprints.
• Innovating on Homeownership: Creating more accessible and affordable homeownership options to adapt to new demographics and priorities.
• Electrifying the Mobile Life: Once self driving is a reality, the open road offers limitless possibilities.
• Aerial Economy: As we all look skyward into the future, there is clear opportunity for proptech founders creating on-the-ground solutions to provide the critical technology and infrastructure needed for a smooth transition to busier skies.
• Robotics: For better or worse, the future will be run by machines. From humanoid robots doing chores in homes to drywall and roofing robotics in construction and renovation, huge opportunities await those with deep expertise.

NUTS AND BOLTS
The bar for launching GEM Ventures was simple: “Is this the most founder-friendly capital available for the right company?”

We're comfortable being the first check in, and we’re open to leading a round. We’ll operate as a syndicate, as one entry on your cap table.

If a board seat is part of your goal, we’ll either take it or help source an independent one. And if one of our partners does join a board, we’ll step back by the Series A stage—or whenever it makes sense.

Initial Investor Partners:

• Grier Allen: Chief Strategy Officer at Inside Real Estate; prior BoomTown founder (exit to Inside Real Estate)
• Heather Harmon: Four-time founder and public company executive; prior co-founder of RedDoor (exit to Opendoor)
• Greg Robertson: 30-year real estate tech builder and advisor; co-founded Cloud CMA at W+R Studios (exit to Lone Wolf)
• Ryan Coon: Co-founder and Managing Partner at Green Street Growth; prior co-founder of Avail (exit to Realtor.com).
• Drew Meyers: Geek Estate founder; prior Horizon co-founder; early Zillow team member

We may add a few more investors, but the group will remain intentionally small. If you have a complementary skillset, experience, and willingness to roll up your sleeves and help, reach out.

Our initial goal: back a pre-seed or seed stage company with a check of at least $100k in Q1 or Q2. Once we’ve made one investment, we’ll evaluate when to make a second.

GAP IN ANGEL MARKET
Each one of us has made individual investments. But sourcing, diligence, and follow-through take real time—and most angels do that work alone. GEM Ventures shifts this dynamic by leveraging the collective strength of our network.

Deals will be sourced and vetted as a group. We will share due diligence, diversify perspectives, and reduce risk by having experienced operators weigh in on each startup.

That’s part of the unlock. We believe the investment partners are far more valuable working together than investing individually.

If you've made angel investments in the past and your takeaway was, "I didn't form any meaningful relationships from my capital, nor did I have the chance to leverage my skills/relationships/experience to impact the company"—GEM Ventures is the antidote.

NEXT STEPS
Interested in the most strategic early stage capital available to founders building the future of housing and construction? Apply today.

If you’re a late stage company but have early stage founder-friends that we should speak to, put us in touch. For full transparency, GEM Ventures will not cut a check in 2025. If you’re closing out your round soon, we’re not the right fit. But if you’re building for the long game, the sooner we can connect, the better.

At its core, GEM Ventures isn’t about money—it’s about alignment. It’s about builders helping builders, and being part of a community that grows stronger by investing in its own.