Weekly Radar #347: The 95% Low Code Reality, Boosting Techstars, Zirconium: Gem's First Peer Circle, Proptech Index Up 1.08%
In this Weekly Radar, we cover:
- Garry Tan from Y Combinator highlights how a quarter of the Winter 2025 startups are building with 95% LLM-generated code, signaling a future where AI replaces much of junior engineering and makes distribution the primary startup challenge.
- TechStars has increased its investment offer to $220K, a move seen as strategic despite startups needing less capital upfront, as it gives founders early confidence and potentially reduces long-term dilution.
- The GEM Proptech Index increased 1.08% from the previous week.
As always, links surrounded by the ❇️ emoji indicate exclusive GEM Diamond content. If you would like to have access to all links, please consider GEM Diamond membership.
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Transmission Recap:
Last week, Drew Meyers asked the question, what if dropping an LLM and conversational prompt on top of a traditional search UI isn’t the solution at all. Before that, Drew explored whether the next major MLS tech disruption isn’t a desktop/mobile experience, but one that eliminates the need for a traditional interface at all.
BIZ INTEL
PROPTECH INDEX WEEKLY
By: Community Relations
Consisting of 28 stocks, the GEM Proptech Index had a combined market cap of $223.182B, an increase of 1.08% from the previous week.
Better Home & Finance surged 39.01% this week after retiring $530M in debt, which boosted pre-tax equity by $265M.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
ZIRCONIUM: GEM'S FIRST PEER CIRCLE
By: Drew Meyers
While the world sees the highlight reel of startup success, founders often navigate the most challenging moments in isolation. In short, it's a lonely journey.
❇️ Peer Circles❇️ is where founders find their tribe – intentional spaces where people are authentic and vulnerable, and grow alongside others who truly understand their unique challenges. Peer Circles are carefully curated groups that meet regularly in a structured setting and follow a deliberate format designed to foster meaningful connections, facilitate problem-solving, and provide emotional support.
We're thrilled to introduce our first fully matched Peer Circle. We ask Peer Circle participants to name their group with a gemstone. The first group has selected Zirconium, a play on Zircon, known for great healing energy that can promote balance between a person's physical, emotional, and spiritual selves.
What makes these circles powerful is the diversity of perspectives. The Zirconium Peer Circle is composed of founders from various PropTech verticals:
- Guillermo Salazar (IrisCX): AI telemaintenance software
- Ryan Buckley (Shovels.ai): Building permit data aggregation
- Jeremy Henley (QwikFix): AI-powered home repair quotes from inspections
- Vin Vomero (FoxyAI): Visual property intelligence converting photos into data
- Adi Pavlovic (NewZip): Connecting mortgage and real estate transactions
- Steven McCord (Locate Alpha): Portfolio acquisition analysis for large owner-operators
- Stefan St. Marie (RevNest): Marketplace for buying and selling vacation homes
- Sean Hsieh (Concreit): Fractional private real estate investing
COMPONENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL CIRCLE
First Meeting Foundation (90 minute Zoom call)
- Personal Introductions focused on who you are beyond your business
- Company overviews to understand each business's positioning
- "State of Play" check-ins across multiple dimensions of founder life
Ongoing Structure (90 minute Zoom call)
- "State of Play" check-ins across multiple dimensions of founder life
- Quick updates with focused questions to drive accountability
- Group coaching on pressing topics affecting multiple founders
- Rotating leadership where members take turns as chair and note-taker
INTANGIBLES
Beyond tactical support, Peer Circles offer:
- Perspective Alignment: Seeing how other founders manage the relationship between personal identity and business outcomes
- Discipline Sharing: Learning how peers maintain mental health through practices like regular exercise
- Network Amplification: The ability to tap into member's extended networks
- Celebration Culture: Having people who truly understand the significance of your wins
The entrepreneur's journey is filled with challenges that can't be solved through articles or podcasts alone. As one founder in a recent Peer Circle session put it: "You can't be trusted if you can't be vulnerable." This captures the essence of why safe spaces to process challenges collectively are sorely needed. The icing on the cake is that many of those issues are ones that you can't discuss with anyone on your team or even your spouse.
❇️ As I said before❇️ , I know with absolute certainty that a personal “brain trust” of equals is the absolute best time and money investment a business owner can make to level up.
APPLY FOR A PEER CIRCLE
If you're a founder seeking meaningful connection with others who understand your unique journey, Peer Circles are for you. The most successful entrepreneurs know that a support community isn't just nice to have – it's essential for sustained growth and wellbeing. GEM Diamond Membership required to apply.
STARTUPS
THE 95% LOW CODE REALITY
By: Drew Meyers
This isn't necessarily new information, but wanted to re-iterate...AI code isn't just for side projects and experiments. According to Garry Tan at YC, "For 25% of the Winter 2025 batch, 95% of lines of code are LLM generated."
That's a legit VC putting investment dollars into companies building with AI tools, not human engineers. Plan and build accordingly. And, if you're a junior engineer, I truly hope you get really really good, really really fast. Entry level engineer jobs will be few and far between in the coming years. As ❇️ the cost and time to launching products compresses❇️ , distribution becomes literally everything.
BOOSTING TECHSTARS
By: Drew Meyers