Weekly Radar #353: Wandering to $50M, Challenges Abound in Fractions, New Jersey's Blockchain Bet, Proptech Index Up 0.68%
In this Weekly Radar, we cover:
- Success as a startup founder boils down to consistently embracing the unglamorous, persistent work of sales, regardless of company stage.
- Wander's shift to an asset-light short-term rental model is smart, but building a branded rental brand faces steep, steep executional challenges.
- Fractional real estate investment platforms continue to struggle with trust, execution, and credibility, threatening the viability of the entire category.
- Bergen County’s move to tokenize 370,000 real estate deeds on Avalanche marks a breakthrough for blockchain in government-backed property infrastructure.
- The GEM Proptech Index increased 0.68% from the previous week.
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Transmission Recap:
In the real estate portal arms race, Zillow, Rocket + Redfin, and Movoto + Lower are all chasing the same prize: owning the entire consumer journey. As a consumer, Drew Meyers is left wondering: What does that even mean? Previously, we brought you GEM's latest Biz Intel: Proptech Earnings Radar for Q1 2025.
BIZ INTEL
PROPTECH INDEX WEEKLY
By: Community Relations
Consisting of 27 stocks, the GEM Proptech Index had a combined market cap of $233.567B, an increase of .68% from the previous week.
STARTUPS
FOUNDERS: A IS FOR THE ANTS WE EAT
By: Michael Barnes
In Madrid, in a prelude to our Camino journey, Drew Meyers and I were sipping Americanos in the shadow of the Museo del Prado.
We took a moment to reflect on the unavoidable imperative for founders to Always Be Closing. To be the unequivocal leader of the sales team.
We arrived at a dramatic visual: A founder buried in the ground up to their neck, next to an ant mound.
No matter how big the company grows, the founder has the unending task of "eating" the ants (a small, steady sales diet) to survive.
Do startups lose their sex appeal if we admit it all comes down to sales?
If we're honest... at the end of the day being a successful startup founder is determined by the basics; it really is as easy as ABC.
For example: the idea of a wartime vs. peacetime founder is by now commonplace in the land of startups.
But, what if the only difference between a wartime founder and a peacetime founder is whether the founder chooses to see the ants as a nauseous nuisance – or a welcome and nourishing delight?
And that precious VC capital some founders love to boast about?
This just might be the honey you see - sweet golden sucre - that accelerates the pace of the marching ants of "war or peace."
Which founder will you choose to be?
BUILT WORLD
WANDERING TO $50M
By: Drew Meyers
Luxury short-term rental operator Wander raised a $50 million Series B, co-led by QED Investors and Fifth Wall with participation from Redpoint Ventures, Uncork, Starwood, and Breyer Capital, according to a press release. With over 1,000 homes on its platform, "Wander focuses on the top 5% of properties, the homes that already drive 30% of the industry's revenue."