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The fastest-growing group of real estate investors? Theyre not hedge funds or institutional investors. Theyre nurses, teachers, NASA engineers, and first-time landlords with a smartphone. In recent years, 85% percent of investor-owned residential properties were purchased by small scale mom and pop landlords, rather than institutional players. Thanks to property technology, investors no longer need deep pockets, a finance degree, or a ton of spare time to start building a real estate business. Real estate has long been one of the most capital-intensive, time-consuming, and difficult asset classes to break into. But proptech is dismantling many of the long-standing barriers that once kept many people out, redefining who gets to invest, who gets to earn, and who gets to build wealth from real estate. Just as fintech became essential infrastructure for financial inclusion, proptech is democratizing real estate investing through smart, values-aligned innovation. Time is no longer the gatekeeper In the past, investing in real estate meant navigating a maze of manual taskscollecting paper checks, coordinating maintenance by phone (often in the middle of the night), and tracking expenses with pen, paper, and shoeboxes. The time commitment required wasnt feasible for most people. Today, modern software platforms automate and centralize nearly every step of the process. Automated five-pronged tenant screening tools deliver instant background and credit checks. Lease agreements can be generated digitally and signed online. Rent is collected automatically via mobile apps. And maintenance requests flow through clean, trackable dashboards that dispatch vetted local pros without bothering the owner at odd hours. That kind of automation has opened the doors to investors who once felt priced outnot financially, but in terms of time and attention. Ive seen it firsthand. One landlord and long-time RentRedi user, a NASA engineer named Dawid, manages his real estate business in the evenings and on weekends while continuing to work in aerospace. Proptech makes it possible to treat real estate like a side hustle, rather than a full-time obligation. Financial barriers are no longer the dealbreaker Theres no denying it: The financial hurdles to buying property have grown steeper. Home prices are high. Interest rates have increased. For many aspiring investors, the traditional path to ownership feels out of reach. But while the barrier itself has risen, proptech is helping people find strategic ways to overcome it. Digital tools are making creative income strategieslike renting out space or co-owning propertiesmore accessible and easier to manage than ever before. By generating income from day one, many of these strategies reduce the amount of personal capital needed to cover costs. That means investors can start smaller, take on less risk, and enter the market more affordably. The result? A new wave of homeowners and investors who are building wealth one step at a time. Creative property monetization: Turn space into income Even without renting to long-term tenants, homeowners can generate meaningful income from underutilized parts of their property. Proptech platforms make it easy to list, manage, and monetize these spaces, turning idle square footage into opportunity. One of the most rapidly growing real estate trends is accessory dwelling units (ADUs). These are separate, self-contained structures on a residential lot (often detached in backyards or converted from existing garages) that can be rented out for short- or long-term stays. Creative models can lower the financial strain of ownership and allow people to begin investing in real estate incrementally, without the need for multiple properties or large upfront capital. Scale without the traditional infrastructure For investors who start smallwhether through co-ownership, or a single rental unitscaling is traditionally the next big hurdle. Growing a real estate portfolio used to require hiring property managers, assembling in-house teams, or outsourcing to expensive service providers. The overhead alone made it difficult to expand without deep pockets or significant infrastructure. Thats no longer the case. Today, an individual with the right property management software can manage 1, 10, 50, even 100 units independently. Operations that once required a staff can now be handled from a mobile dashboard in minutes. Investors can grow their portfolios incrementally without sacrificing their full-time careers or quality of life. Another customer, Katherine, is a pediatric ICU nurse who wanted to create passive income for retirement. She started with three units and has since expanded her portfolio to eight units in just three years, managing it alongside her demanding healthcare schedule. These arent isolated success storiestheyre part of a growing trend. Proptech means real estate investing can become something people can build around their lives. The tools once reserved for big players are now in the hands of everyday investors. This shift lowers structural barriers for underrepresented groups. Young, minority, and female investors who have historically faced the steepest entry points are now scaling businesses with little more than a smartphone and a solid strategy. A new era of inclusive real estate investing What fintech did for Wall Street, proptech is doing for Main Street real estate. Its unlocking ownership, income, and long-term financial opportunity for more people in more places, with fewer of the barriers that once made real estate the domain of the already-wealthy. As more people access real estate as a means to build wealth, proptech helps reshape who owns housing in Americaand how that ownership affects communities, families, and futures. This is more than convenience. It’s a structural change and the beginning of a more inclusive, more entrepreneurial economy. Ryan Barone is cofounder and CEO of RentRedi.
Category:
E-Commerce
Effective mentorship will be the secret recipe to grow the next generation of leaders. Ill be the first to admit that this isnt a new concept, but its extremely hard to get mentorship right. Ive seen organizations toss mentorship into internal and external communications content as a vague component of professional development, with no real structure. Similarly, I know too many wildly talented, well-intentioned executives who are fully on board with the concept of mentorship but stop short of adopting it as a core element of their lives. The same goes for those just starting out in their careers: Being or finding a mentor is an afterthought, a nice to have, something to consider when their to-do list gets shorter. Spoiler alert to those starting a career: Your to-do list never gets shorter. Mentorship is a foundation The word mentor is a noun, describing a person who mentors, but its also a verban action you to do. Im passionate about this because I wholeheartedly believe that mentorship is the key to breaking down self-imposed artificial barriers and unlocking our true potential as professionals, and as people. Before I go any further, heres a critical point: Mentorship is traditionally characterized as benefitting the mentee, as altruism on the part of the mentor whos doing a favor for the person who is less advanced in their career. Please, if you take nothing else from reading this, hear me on this one: Mentorship doesnt just break through barriers for the mentees. Done right, mentors too, will find themselves reimagining whats possible. This may sound like Pollyanna-style thinking, but I am speaking from my own experience and from observing countless other mutually beneficial mentor/mentee relationships. Break self-imposed ceilings Heres why mentorship matters so much. Most of us construct invisible barriers that limit our potential. That applies even to those who areor believe they areat the so-called top of their careers. These self-imposed ceilings manifest in surprising ways, not just in career aspirations but in how we approach work itself. Ive placed limitations on myself, too. And I had every reason not tomy mother was an executive, picking me up from gymnastics practice in a suit, typically the last one to arrive. Ive seen what climbing the corporate ladder looks like. But theres a difference between seeing it and immersing yourself in whats possible, because the latter requires confronting your real goals. Consider how many talented departmental leaders hesitate to pursue paths beyond the head of their department. How often do we see a CMO who wants to become CEO? Theres nothing inherently wrong with topping out at anycareer level, but it should be because thats where you want to be, not because thats where you think your path is supposed to end. In so many cases, the stopping point isn’t due to capability gaps but because of internalized assumptions about where your career should plateau based on your background or expertise. Rethink whats possible This is where mentorship comes in. Effective mentorship creates space to examine and challenge these self-constructed limitations. When someone asks the right questions and provides consistent support, seemingly fixed boundaries suddenly become permeable. Clearly, this is important for mentees who are rising through the ranks in their careers. Ive found that serving as a mentor forces you to confront your own path, assumptions, and limitations. You might never dream of telling a mentee, This is where your path should end; dont explore any lateral moves to a different area of expertise, and dont pursue a role that most people with your background would consider too advanced. And yet, wesubconsciously or blatantlytell that to ourselves all the time. Cross-functional experiences build leaders Many of the limitations we place on ourselves are constructed from a traditional perception of career paths. And yet, my own path taught me that leadership excellence requires perspective from multiple angles. My first job involved fulfilling collateral packages for inside sales. And while my career has been centered around marketing, Ive branched out the last few years by embracing customer success and renewals. This diversity of experience has done more than build my resumeit completely changed how I understand business. Each role offered a different vantage point on the same organizational challenges, creating a comprehensive picture impossible to see from a single department. When mentoring emerging professionals, I encourage similar exploration beyond their comfort zones. Breaking down silos between departments improves organizational efficiency and develops leaders with a fuller understanding of how businesses function. Win-win! You dont have to stay in your lane to advance. The most effective leaders combine deep expertise with broader business acumen gained through varied experiences. Making membership work Its a misconception that mentor/mentee relationships must be someone from an older generation mentoring someone from a younger generation, or that they must be at opposite ends of a traditionally linear career path. An effective mentor/mentee relationship encourages people with different experiences and perspectives to share and grow together. Find someone with whom you click, who challenges you, who holds you accountable, and who has a similar level of commitment to the relationship. For the mentees, show up with something to offer, whether thats a useful perspective or even just a high level of preparation so youre making the best use of your mentors time. I encourage my mentees to come prepared with clear agendas for our discussionsensuring we address priorities efficiently whether we have five minutes or 30. From mentorship to legacy I have benefited tremendously from mentors throughout my career. And my commitment to developing the next generation of diverse business professionals has become central to my leadership philosophy. I measure success not only by my achievements but by the growth of those I’ve mentored and the ripple effects their advancement creates. Again, mentoring isn’t about doing favorsit’s about building something larger than individual careers. It’s about creating pathways for others to follow while simultaneously expanding your own vision of what’s possible. Mentors, this is how you turn a career into a true legacy. Sounds good, doesnt it? Melissa Puls is chief marketing officer and senior vice president of customer success at Ivanti.
Category:
E-Commerce
In the next 24 months, your most valuable customer may never visit your site, click your ad, or read your email. Imagine this scenario: You have a lake holiday coming up in two weeks. Instead of manually researching a new set of water skis, scrolling through reviews, and comparing prices, your AI agent handles this task. It scans your calendar to confirm the trip dates, checks the destination and expected conditions, then pulls data from your smartwatch to understand your height, weight, and skill level. It knows your brand affinities, your budget, your shipping constraints, and your preferred colors. Within seconds, it selects the perfect skis, ensures theyll arrive in time, and purchases themno endless open tabs, no second-guessing, no friction. This isnt sci-fi. Its the next wave in digital commerce, and brands that dont adopt now will fall off the digital shelf. If your brand isnt optimized for AI agents, its already losing. Think of AI agents as hyper-loyal personal shoppers but with perfect recall and zero patience for friction. Agents dont care how beloved a brand is. They just care about the data. The primary shopper your brand must persuade into purchasing will no longer be a person, but an AI agent acting on that persons behalf. The traditional marketing funnel is irrelevant in a world where agents compress it into a single millisecond. These autonomous agentic AI systems ingest a customers preferences, constraints, and history, then compress the entire marketing funnel, from awareness to consideration to checkout, into a single, split-second decision. If AI agents are the future of digital commerce, then the checkout process becomes even more critical. Its one of the last, and sometimes only, moments where brands have permission to show up. That means relevance is what keeps you in the consideration set. Most brands market to people. Those days will soon be gone as reasoning-capable agents are beginning to transact, not just inform. A vacation that once required hours of research can now be booked end-to-end in moments, with flights, hotels, and dinner reservations stitched together by code, not clicks. To thrive in this agent-first landscape, brands must reengineer how they surface, price, and prove value, because the algorithms will do the selecting long before a human ever sees the options. AI agents are a new distribution channel SEO alone wont cut it in the agentic world. AI agents arent browsing like humans; theyre retrieving, evaluating, and transacting based on clean, structured data. With 42% of U.S. businesses already paying for AI tools, the infrastructure to support agentic interaction is rapidly being normalized across enterprise stacks. On top of that, the consumer mindset is catching up with the infrastructure as ChatGPT is one of the fastest growing platforms of all time, reaching 100 million users in just two months. To remain in the consideration set, brands must optimize not just for discoverability but for the entire purchasing journey. That means building for machine experience the same way brands once built for user experience. Agents will become distribution endpoints, not unlike marketplaces or search engines, except theyll be personalized and always-on. Product information, pricing, and availability must be structured and accessible via APIs or structured feeds, not buried in formats or siloed systems that cant be read by AI. Brands that view agent-friendly infrastructure as a key growth lever are poised to grab an outsize share of voice and revenue on whats quickly becoming the new algorithmic shelf. Loyalty from both humans and agents Loyalty must be earned on two fronts: emotional and algorithmic. In a world where AI agents can ruthlessly parse thousands of SKUs in mere milliseconds, emotional storytelling may no longer get the job done. Agents will weigh product attributes against shipping timelines, historical pricing data, and ratings volatility with surgical precision. Subpar signals can cause a product option to be filtered out, no questions asked. What does this mean for brands? More than anything, they must operationalize loyalty across two separate but equal fronts: one emotional, and one algorithmic. For human shoppers, loyalty is still earned through rich brand experiences and tailored-to-you storytelling. Agents, on the other hand, demand a very different kind of digital courtship: high-quality, structured data, consistently reliable fulfillment, competitive pricing, seamless checkout with relevant upsells, and gold-star customer satisfaction signals. Brands that win both the hearts and algorithms wont just lead; theyll lock out the competition. For shoppers with only a tenuous connection to your brand, AI agents are your best shot at winning them over, if your data can back it up. Advertising to agents Marketing to machines doesnt require charm, it demands cold structured truth. Unlike people, agents cant be charmed or cajoled by creativity, only swayed by real-time relevance and quantifiable value. That forces a rethink of how brands allocate their media dollars. Traditional ad strategies that have been optimized for human psychology will need a parallel track for performance-driven, machine-readable messaging. In this new paradigm, advertising becomes less about storytelling and more about signaling. These agents wont merely browse, theyll retrieve, rank, and decide. Thats why advertising must evolve to speak their language: real-time product availability, structured metadata, and machine-readable signals. The agent economy is no longer speculative, its investable. To stay in the consideration set, brands must act now to build a data-first infrastructure, prove performance integrity, and become fluent in the language of machines. Agent-based advertising isnt a futuristic niche; its the next frontier of performance marketing. It demands precision, agility, and real-time truth. Because in an agentic world, every brand is constantly reevaluated. Relevance isnt a campaign. Its a living negotiation with algorithms in the drivers seat. Elizabeth Buchanan is chief commercial officer of Rokt.
Category:
E-Commerce
We are in a once-in-a-generation moment. AI isnt just changing how people workits pushing companies to rethink how theyre structured, how decisions get made, and who gets to lead. Our annual Work Trend Index report reveals the stakes: While 81% of women leaders say their company must adopt AI to stay competitive, fewer than half feel they have the resources to drive real impact. Additionally, our research found that men are more likely to use AI at work, trust it with high-stakes tasks, and worry less about being replaced by it. Knowing this matters, because as AI reshapes jobs and workflows, those who engage early will shape what comes next. Become an agent boss Ive seen too many brilliant women opt out because they dont feel technical enough or ready. We saw this pattern during the rise of STEMwhen closing the gap took decades of education and investment. But readiness isnt innate, its built. Say yes to the uncharted projects. Say yes to leading the pilot. Say yes to rethinking how your team works. The most meaningful roles in the AI era wont be assignedtheyll be claimed by those bold enough to step forward. That also means investing in a new kind of skill set. At Microsoft, we talk about becoming agent bossespeople who build, direct, and collaborate with AI agents to amplify their impact. This shift is already underway. In fact, 51% of managers say upskilling for AI will be a core responsibility within five years. Just as we once learned to manage teams, we now need to learn to manage agents. But AI fluency alone isnt enough. If we want to truly change how work feelsnot just how its donewe need to rethink the systems around us. Break the cycle of burnout The pace of work has outgrown the workday. What once fit inside the bounds of a 9-to-5 now spills across time zones, platforms, and personal hours. Our research found that despite 84% of women leaders saying hybrid work improved their experience, 74% still feel they dont have enough time each day to get their work done. This comes as no surprise given that the average employee is interrupted roughly every two minutes275 times a day. Even with gains in flexibility, many are still stuck in cycles of time poverty and busywork. AI offers a way forwardbut only if its paired with structural change. Start with the 80/20 rule: Reclaim time from low-value tasks and reinvest it in what truly moves the business forward. Replace rigid org charts with agile work chartsflexible, outcome-based teams powered by AI to close skill gaps. And empower every employeenot just the technical onesto lead with AI. The magic is in the handoff. For example, AI helps me draft a memo, and an agent tracks the responses and prompts the follow-ups. This frees me to focus on bigger challenges instead of managing my inbox. Because progress doesnt come from the tools aloneit comes from who gets to use them, and how theyre used. Design the future of work The organizations pulling ahead today arent just using AItheyre building with it. We call them Frontier Firms: AI-native companies with digital labor embedded from the start. Theyre leaner, faster, and more adaptive. But what truly sets them apart is how they prioritize people. According to our research, Frontier Firms employees are more likely to report being happier, fulfilled, and able to take on meaningful work. Because real transformation isnt just about technologyits about trust, autonomy, and opportunity. On my own team, weve started making intentional changes: asking whether every meeting is necessary, muting notifications during heads-down time, integrating AI into our workflows, and protecting time for recovery, not just delivery. These small shifts help reset the rhythm of the day and create room for people to thrive. The future of work wont write itself. If we want it to be more equitable, more human, and more inclusive, we have to build it that way. And that starts with more women raising their hands, using their voices, and picking up the pen. Colette Stallbaumer is Microsoft 365 Copilot general manager and WorkLab cofounder.
Category:
E-Commerce
Most ag startups dont fit the venture capital (VC) model. But heres the thingmost companies in most industries dont fit either. VC is where Big Money goes in search of massive bets with massive rewards, typically representing a small part of a diversified portfolio for limited partners. VCs bet billions ($221 billion in 2024 in the U.S.) knowing that theres a 1% chance for any company they invest in to become a unicorn ($1 billion valuation) and that 67% of startups fail to exit or raise follow-on funding, according to CB Insights. Sure, 30% of startups exit via IPO or M&A, but VC goes to the ball to find the 10x return on investment, not to settle for a stepsibling. This topic has been covered ad nauseam lately by agtech VCs and journalists. A recent article from Ag Startup Engine argues that agtech doesnt fit the VC fantasy. The article argues that smaller funds targeting profitable, mid-sized companies pursuing longer-term growth toward $50 million to $200 million exits via M&A are more likely to conserve their capital. And the companies they fund will drive incremental benefits that will make their customers happy. Thats a very reasonable takeaway, and it exists; its called mid-market private equity (PE). But thats not VC, nor does it fulfill VCs purpose of funding high-risk, big ideas that hold the potential to solve farmings biggest problems and change the industrys future. Rather than trying to shoehorn VC into ill-fitted enterprises, the solution is for agtech founders to build Cinderella companies that fit VCs glass slipper model with the potential to deliver magic for the industry and investors. Deja vu all over again You dont need to search much to see that agtech is suffering. But this is a familiar cycle punctuated by rhetoric about how VC doesnt understand ag. This is followed by hope for green shoots that brings to mind a rough morning after: We learned from the mistakes of the past and were going to do things differently. Spoiler alertthe reality is that were not. The same thing that happened in the two previous agtech cycles is happening again: Founders are thinking too small and inside the box. Investors (even more cynical than before) are looking for safe betsthings that dont contradict any of the axioms relayed by the industry (regulatory is long, farmers dont adopt new products, cycles are too long, and everyone inevitably sells to one of the incumbents). If we dont turn this narrative around, the next batch will suffer the same outcome. More capital will flee the space. And the industry will continue churning out incremental products with farmers remaining underserved. Those who dare If we want to break that cycle, its time for founders to swing for the fences and embrace bold visions rooted in contrarian views. If you arent hearing that wont work, it probably isnt daring enough. The sad reality of agtech VC is that risk exists if youre building something small or big, but the reward is only there in the latter. Agtech VC is failing because risk is dominating decision making in the absence of a big upside. And the tendency to suppress and control risk often comes at the expense of accelerating innovation. Three founder behaviors are limiting the upside and creating agtech stepsisters rather than Cinderellas: Creating incremental products: Its safer to lean into an existing market, but its almost always innovation that creates the upside, especially in a mature market. Uber didnt make it easier to hail a taxi, it blew up the market by fundamentally changing how customers managed their transportation. Mimicking the behavior of incumbents: We need innovation in the market approachbusiness model, pricing, marketing, etc.as much as innovation in the product itself. Copying the incumbent playbook might be rationalized by the desire to not reinvent the wheel, but in a world where failure is the norm, its better to innovate every aspect of your business. Building to get bought: Founding a company by planning who you want to sell it to is inherently thinking small, and it drives me bananas. M&A rarely delivers the 10x returns needed to make a case for true VC, so starting with a limited goal makes a poor fit for venture backing. Even worse, by capping the outcome, founders are capping their ambition (without noticing). My company, InnerPlant, was designed from the beginning to swing for the fences, hence fitting the VC model. Weve always known that we were going to learn from how the incumbents disappoint farmers to chart our own path, and weve always aimed beyond M&A. And as for the boldness of the vision, Ive heard to no end that my idea was too hard, too complicated, with too many elements that have to go right. Luckily I found the investors who arent afraid of hard things. The people who said those things werent wrong. But ultimately, VCs are looking at risk versus opportunity; those risks are all still there, but the prize is massiveand that is what venture all about! The future is unknown, and its impossible to predict what will happen when the clock strikes midnight. But founders need to make sure that theyve done everything possible to ensure a big upside so they can fit the glass slipper when the VCs come calling. Shely Aronov is CEO and cofounder of InnerPlant.
Category:
E-Commerce
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