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Many real estate investors dont set out to build rental businesses. Rather, they stumble into them. Think of the Gen Xer who just inherited their parents home, the professional whos moving out of state for a new job but is reluctant to sell their current home, or the empty nester who bought a townhome for their college student to live in and is renting extra rooms out to other students. We see many of these accidental investors applying gig economy principles to manage their properties with the precision, efficiency, and professionalism of full-time operators, without traditional overhead. Instead of relying on manual processes, accidental operators are embracing a tech-forward, efficiency-driven approach that mirrors how gig workers treat rideshare, delivery, or freelance work: Generate income with maximum efficiency and minimal friction, while building flexible systems that scale. Embrace the gig economy blueprint The gig economy didnt just disrupt industriesit rewired expectations. Rideshare drivers, delivery couriers, and freelancers embraced flexible, app-enabled platforms that allowed them to monetize time, skills, and assets without needing to build infrastructure themselves. These platforms emphasized speed and user experience, qualities that became the gold standard across industries. Whether someone was delivering food, designing a logo, or driving someone to the airport, the mindset was the same: Use tech to accomplish more with less effort. That same logic is now being applied to real estate investing. A gig economy approach to rental operations Gig economy thinking favors systems over sweat. Instead of building massive operations, part-time rental investors prefer to think like gig workers, plugging into tools that do the heavy lifting. That means ditching time-consuming manual processes for technologies that simplify and streamline virtually all aspects of managing properties. Heres how they do that. Automation as infrastructure: Mirroring the way gig platforms consolidate multiple functions into one easy-to-use app, investors are turning to mobile-first platforms to handle everything. What used to take hours of work to manage property listings, tenant screening, lease signing, rent collection, maintenance coordination, and communication now takes just a few taps on a phone. Automation not only saves time but also ensures consistency. Rent reminders are sent automatically. Late fees are triggered when appropriate. Maintenance workflows keep tenants, vendors, and owners updated in real time. These tools create a seamless operating backbone that allows even part-time investors to run their portfolios like a professional business without needing a large back office, much like a rideshare driver operating solo but supported by enterprise-grade technology. Customer experience mindset: Similar to how gig platforms prioritize customer convenience, tenants benefit from more attention with less effort on the investors part, thanks to tech that provides 24/7 access to services from convenient digital rent payment options to submitting and tracking maintenance requests any time of the day or night. Additional perks like credit-boosting features that report on-time rent payments help improve tenants financial standing enhance satisfaction and retention, a dynamic common across gig platforms. Data-driven decision making: Inparallel to how gig workers use ratings, earnings dashboards, and performance data to refine their approach, real estate investors now have access to real-time insights that help them optimize key aspects of their portfolio without relying on spreadsheets or guesswork. Analytics such as rent collection trends, on-time payment rates, maintenance performance, expense breakdowns, and occupancy patterns provide a clear picture of whats working and where improvements can be made. These tools allow investors to fine-tune pricing strategies, manage turnover, forecast cash flow, and control repair costs with greater confidence and precision. In short, real estate investors are managing systems with the same mindset that defines successful gig economy operators. Turn passive income into a streamlined operation Real estate investing has always promised passive incomebut in practice, the day-to-day demands of managing properties often told a different story. Now, thanks to automation and centralized platforms, todays investors are much closer to realizing the true potential of passive income. They can reduce the time, effort, and stress traditionally involved in managing rentals. Automated rent collection eliminates the need for paper checks and late-night accounting. Features like automatic reminders, late fees, and autopay help ensure payments come in on time without the investor needing to chase tenants or manually track balances. Maintenance coordination is now a seamless process. Tenants can submit requests through the app at any hour. Vendors can respond directly. Everything from work orders to invoices is logged automatically. This prevents after-hours disruptions and keeps all parties informed in real time. Pre-screening and leasing tools further reduce the time investment. Investors can quickly identify high-quality tenants using built-in scoring systems that evaluate applicants on key risk factors, offering an instant snapshot of whether a candidate is a strong fit, a conditional accept, or potentially high risk. This helps fill vacancies faster and with greater confidence, lowering turnover and vacancy rates. Gig economy thinking is about doing less, better. By setting up efficient systems, todays real estate investors are building flexible, resilient rental businesses that demand far less hands-on time than in the past. Technology not only reduces workit empowers investors with greater control and visibility, without adding friction to the process. A growing segment with institutional-level ambition Many accidental operators start small, but todays tech makes it easier than ever to scale. With digital platforms and streamlined systems, these investors are closing the gap between independent and institutional playersnot in size, but in sophistication. The same tools that help part-time investors operate like seasoned professionals are raising industry standards. In many cases, they now deliver faster service, stronger communication, and greater transparency than traditional operators. Just as Uber and Airbnb empowered individuals to transform entire industries, tech-enabled investors are reshaping the future of real estate, one property at a time. Ryan Barone is cofounder and CEO of RentRedi.
Category:
E-Commerce
The clean energy transition is acceleratingbut it’s running into a critical roadblock: the mineral supply chain. Lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals power everything from electric vehicles to grid-scale batteries. But the world cannot mine these minerals fast enough to keep up. By 2040, global demand for lithium alone is expected to surge more than 700%. Yet traditional mining remains slow, polluting, and geopolitically risky. Industry leaders and policymakers agree: We cant build a sustainable tomorrow on an unsustainable supply chain. But theres a smarter solutionand its already flowing beneath us. The minerals hidden in our water Lithium and other critical minerals are already present in surprising abundancenot only in traditional hard rock or salar basins, but in often-overlooked water sources like geothermal brines, industrial effluents, and oilfield produced water. For years, these streams were dismissed as too complex or costly to process. But thats beginning to change. Advancements in direct lithium extraction (DLE) are now making it possible to recover lithium from these unconventional sourcescleanly, efficiently, and at scale. By isolating lithium directly from water without relying on evaporation ponds or invasive mining operations, DLE opens access to vast untapped U.S. domestic reserves. While the potential is immense, DLE remains an emerging technologyone that only a few companies globally are starting to prove at commercially viable levels of recovery, purity, and sustainability. DLE technologies that balance performance, sustainability, and cost are likely to define the next generation of critical mineral production. Among the most promising approaches are integrated, modular systems that combine extraction, concentration, and conversion processes into a single platform. Clayton Valley in Nevada and regions like the Smackover Formation in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, and the Marcellus Shale Formations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York, are emerging as the proving grounds for this next generation of lithium production. Here, innovative DLE platforms are being piloted in real-world conditions and tested for adaptability to diverse brines and scalability for industrial deployment. As regulatory support grows and urgency around domestic critical minerals intensifies, the outcomes from these early deployments are likely to shape the future blueprint for lithium extraction. Faster, cleaner, smarter Compared to conventional methods, DLE slashes production timelines from monthsor even yearsto just hours or days. It eliminates the need for expansive land use and significantly reduces the environmental footprint. As global demand for lithium surges, DLE represents more than a technical advancementits a radical shift toward cleaner, faster, and smarter mineral production. DLE also delivers powerful cost advantages over traditional hard rock mining and refining. Its modular, compact design requires far less capital investment, bypassing the need for open-pit mines and evaporation ponds. Operating costs are lower thanks to higher lithium recovery ratesoften 6090% versus 3050%and energy-efficient processes that use fewer chemicals. Faster deployment means quicker returns, and it’s a lighter environmental footprint that streamlines permitting and regulatory approval. Combined, these benefits make DLE a breakthrough solution for the next generation of lithium production. Resilient supply chains start at home As geopolitical tensions strain access to global mineral reserves, the urgency for domestic solutions has never been greater. DLE offers the U.S. and other hard-rock-constrained nations a pathway to build resilient, local supply chains. This approach opens the door to new jobs and economic activity in otherwise overlooked geographies. U.S. policy is beginning to catch up. The federal government has designated critical mineral security a national imperative. Programs like the Department of Energys MINER initiative are catalyzing research into greener, more efficient extraction methods. Still, government support alone isnt enough. Its time for the private sector to lead. The call to lead The minerals needed to power the future arent buried in far-off mines in South America and Australia. Theyre right here, already flowing beneath us. Utilities, oilfield operators, and technology innovators already manage the infrastructure, data, and water resources that can power this next frontier. By reimagining wastewater not as a burden but as a resource, we can unlock new revenue streams. In doing so, we also help build resilient domestic supply chains and strengthen national energy security, reducing dependence on foreign lithium sources and securing the materials critical for the clean energy transition. Its time to stop digging deeper and start thinking smarter. Water isnt just a resource. Its a solution. For those bold enough to lead, its the future. Prakash Govindan is COO of Gradiant. Anurag Bajpayee is CEO of Gradiant
Category:
E-Commerce
Retail is changing, but not because it wants to. From fashion to food, most C-suites are still running on 20th-century systems, designed for a world where raw materials were cheap, landfills were bottomless, and customers didnt ask hard questions. That world is gone. The most forward-thinking retailers and e-commerce companies are adapting. Theyre deploying next-generation climate solutions to address core business challenges. In the process, theyre transforming how products are valued. Two companiesTrove and Wastelessoffer a window into this new logic: climate tech that strengthens margins, deepens loyalty, and delivers a better retail experience for both fashion and food. Resale is the brand Resale and secondhand fashion arent new. But for years, they lived outside the fashion brands controlon platforms like eBay, ThredUp, and Depop. Consumers benefited. Brands lost visibility, margins, and ownership of the customer relationship. Trove changes that. It enables brands to run recommerce in-house, maintaining control over quality, pricing, and the end-to-end experience. Brands like Patagonia (Worn Wear), Canada Goose (Generations), and Michael Kors (Pre-Loved) already use Troves infrastructurea tech platform that handles intake, grading, pricing, and fulfillment alongside the new inventory these brands sell through their own websites. Trove integrates directly into backend operations, so resale doesnt feel like an add-on. It becomes part of the brand. And resale has already gone mainstream. In 2024, U.S. secondhand apparel sales approached $50 billion. Nearly 60% of consumers now shop secondhand, and many prefer to buy secondhand directly from brands they trust. The consumer would prefer to buy a resale item from the brand thats essentially certifying it and condition grading it, CEO Terry Boyle told me on the Supercool podcast. Theyll pay more for that. Brands are paying attention. Brand-owned resale delivers: Higher margins than traditional discounting and off-price channels Lower acquisition costs50% to 80% of resale buyers are new to the brand Higher lifetime value as resale becomes a reentry point into the brand ecosystem Were not the hard part of being environmentally friendly, Boyle told me during the podcast. Were the easy part. Because we actually make money. This model is especially effective for premium and luxury brands, where quality control is paramount. It protects brand equity while offering sub-luxury pricing, without channel conflict. Boyle added, Thats why I call resale off-price with a better brand halo. Sell it before it expires Grocery has a different challenge: perishables. If food waste were a country, it would rank third in global emissionsbehind only China and the U.S.responsible for 8 to 10 percent of the total. For supermarkets, thats not just an environmental issue; its margin and profits expiring in plain sight. Wasteless engineered a solution. Its platform applies AI-driven dynamic discounting to supermarket shelves, adjusting prices in real time based on expiration dates. Two identical tubs of yogurt with different sell-by dates? Troves solution reduces the price of the tub thats expiring sooner, encouraging the consumer to buy it. Everything is synced to inventory systems and displayed on digital shelf labels. As Wasteless CEO, Oded Omer, told me on the Supercool podcast, Our goal is not to discount. Our goal is to discount the right amount at the right time in order for the goods on the shelves to be sold. The results from three international grocery stores: DIA (Spain): 32.7% reduction in food waste Hoogvliet (Netherlands): 50% drop in markdown costs Carrefour (Argentina): Expanded to all 640 stores after successful pilots in France Omer doesnt talk ESG targets. He talks pricing. If food waste is just the sustainability departments job, it wont get solved, he added during the episode. This is pricing strategy. It protects margin. And thats the point; climate tech in retail works best when it solves for margin, not mission. Design for better outcomes The most powerful retail innovations dont ask consumers to change behaviors or make sacrifices. They redesign systems so that better outcomes emerge by default. Trove doesnt ask customers to rethink used clothing. It makes resale feel as seamless and trustworthy as buying new. Wasteless doesnt preach about food waste. It uses real-time pricing signals to move inventory and optimize supply chains. Neither company markets itself as a sustainability brand. Theyre retail tech providers focused on profitand performance. Both solve problems retailers already have. Both harness technology to make it easier to serve customers. And both reduce emissions in the process. Thats the new climate advantage: not just doing less harm but running a better business. Josh Dorfman is CEO of Supercool.
Category:
E-Commerce
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