Tangent: Conversations with Real Estate & Tech Innovators

Sharon Ayalon is the co-founder and CEO of UrbanMix, a next-gen platform using AI and 3D to streamline real estate operations. An architect by training, she previously taught at Columbia GSAPP and led advanced housing simulations at Cornell Tech. Sharon pioneered Roosevelt Island’s Digital Twin and XR transit experience. Her Ph. D. was awarded the President of Israel’s Grant for Scientific Excelle...

This week, we're introducing Tangent listeners to another podcast in the commercial real estate ecosystem: In The Loop from LoopNet. How can workplaces endure ecologically, financially, and socially? In this episode of In the Loop , Jordan Goldstein, co-CEO of Gensler, explores the future of sustainable and resilient office design. From global design trends and innovative materials to the role of...

Ryan Sawchuk is the VP of Product at Crexi, where he leads cross-functional teams to build advanced, data-rich tools aimed at transforming the commercial real estate workflow. With more than 15 years in product leadership, Ryan specializes in crafting AI-enabled, scalable solutions that boost transaction velocity, improve user experience, and integrate seamlessly into CRE operations. Prior to Crex...

Colton Pace is a founder and currently the CEO of Ownwell, a Proptech company dedicated to democratizing access to real estate expertise and reducing the hidden costs of homeownership. Under his leadership, Ownwell helps homeowners and property owners identify and appeal overvalued property taxes, reduce insurance and utility costs, and manage other home‑related expenses through data, automation,...

Dustin Lacey is the CTO at Mark-Taylor, the leading developer, owner, and investment manager of luxury multifamily communities in Arizona and Nevada, with over 135 Class A Multifamily properties. He leads the firm’s tech evolution, powering the centralization of operations. Under his leadership, Mark‑Taylor has implemented innovative smart‑home integrations, centralized leasing and maintenance tea...

Liz Hart is President of Leasing for Newmark’s operating businesses in the U.S. and Canada, where she drives the strategy of the firm’s leasing platform, leads talent development and recruitment, and helps integrate technology to deliver better outcomes for clients. She also serves on Newmark’s Executive Committee, reporting directly to CEO Barry Gosin. With more than 20 years at Newmark, Liz has...

Rishard Rameez is the Co‑Founder and CEO of Zown, an AI‑powered real estate platform that makes homeownership more accessible and affordable. Zown was born from a viral Reddit post where Rishard shared his frustration over paying over $70K in real estate commissions. The outpouring of support inspired him to flip the model: instead of paying big commissions, Zown gives buyers significant upfront c...

Nathan Herz is the Co‑Founder and COO of Paraspot AI, a New York‑based AI company backed by RE Angels, ffVC, 97212 Ventures, SaaS Ventures & Aroundtown that applies advanced computer vision to automate property inspections for Single-family, Multifamily, Hospitality, and Logistics operators. Paraspot’s platform reduces inspection costs and time, empowering operators to manage assets efficientl...

Aaron Tartakovsky is the Co-Founder and CEO of Epic Cleantec, a leading startup revolutionizing onsite water reuse and sustainability in the built environment. His journey blends bold innovation with a legacy of science and policy. Raised by a Soviet-trained rocket scientist father, Aaron grew up with cutting-edge engineering in the household. Aaron went on to shape federal policy before co-foundi...

David Esber is the Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Enviz, a platform revolutionizing how unbuilt properties are designed, marketed, and sold. Frustrated by the limitations of blueprints and static renders, David launched Enviz in 2019 to enable immersive, 1:1 virtual and augmented reality walkthroughs that bring unbuilt spaces to life. Since then, Enviz has helped thousands of users, ar...

Andrew Ackerman is the Head of REACH Labs at Second Century Ventures, the strategic venture arm of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Backed by NAR, SCV invests in early-stage Proptech and construction tech companies, providing them with access to a vast network of real estate professionals and industry expertise. A former entrepreneur, angel investor, and accelerator director at Dreamit...

Luis Poggi is the CEO and Co-Founder of HouseWhisper, a startup at the intersection of real estate and generative AI, building tools that transform how homes are marketed and sold. A seasoned tech executive with deep experience in product, marketing, and sales, Luis previously held leadership roles at Zillow and Expedia, where he helped scale industry-defining platforms in PropTech and travel. Now...

Jason Griffith is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Synco, a centralized messaging platform designed to streamline communication for property management teams like LeFrak and Kaled Management. Synco addresses the challenges of fragmented communication channels by providing a real-time, collaborative environment that enhances operational efficiency across office staff, on-site teams, and external vendor...

Benjamin Kanner is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of 3V Infrastructure, a company accelerating access to electric vehicle charging in multifamily, hospitality, healthcare, and commercial real estate. 3V eliminates the steep upfront capital and operational costs that have historically slowed the deployment of Level 2 EV chargers, enabling rapid, scalable infrastructure expansion. With o...

Julius Nyanda is the Founder and CEO of HouseKeys, unlocking housing opportunity for cities, developers, homeowners, and renters. HouseKeys is a civic tech platform that helps local governments manage affordable and mixed-income housing programs across ownership, rental, and finance. Through its Program Marketplace, Julius and his team streamline administration and expand access to community-drive...

Mark Zurada is the COO and Co-Founder of PinPoint Analytics , an AI-powered platform transforming how public works projects are estimated and bid. PinPoint harnesses advanced algorithms and historical bid data to help contractors, municipalities, and engineering firms in the $200 Billion construction industry generate more accurate, competitive estimates with unmatched precision. At PinPoint, Mark...

Julie Kheyfets is the CEO of Block Renovation, an AI-first marketplace platform revolutionizing the home renovation industry by connecting homeowners with contractors and streamlining project planning. She assumed the CEO role in January 2025, following seven years as the company's COO. ​Before joining Block, Julie led North American growth for Tractable, an AI company specializing in accident and...

Frederik Hendriksen is the co-founder of Rensair, pioneering the world’s first air quality ecosystem to cut carbon, costs, and pollutants through next-generation ventilation technology. Rensair’s connected solutions optimize existing HVAC systems, reducing energy costs while delivering cleaner, healthier indoor air—without expensive infrastructure upgrades. Their tech traces back to Frederik’s fat...

Amit Gupta is the CEO of Aeroseal, a cleantech leader revolutionizing building efficiency through patented sealing technologies. Under his leadership, Aeroseal has secured nearly $100 million in private equity funding, including backing from Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The company has sealed 300,000 homes, enhanced performance in 500M+ square feet of commercial properties, and expanded to 90+ co...

Sean Miller is the Chief Revenue Officer at Lessen, leading sales and marketing to expand its tech-enabled property maintenance, repairs, turns and capital improvement services platform, with 3 million work orders completed annually. With deep expertise in real estate technology and IoT, he currently serves as Built Environment advisory board member of SIA, and previously served as CRO at Sensor I...

Dennis Lee is the co-founder and CEO of MarketStadium, a real estate data platform transforming how investors analyze multifamily and single-family markets. His journey began as an urban planning researcher in South Korea, where he identified key locational advantages driving gentrification in Seoul. This insight led him to explore how urban planning research could be applied to real estate invest...

Lior Abramovich is the Co-Founder & CEO of Blanket, a platform transforming the single-family rental market backed by RE Angels. With over a decade of experience, he's overseen $200 million in acquisitions for more than 1,000 investors. Beyond real estate, Lior is dedicated to impact-driven initiatives—he co-founded Golden, a nonprofit renovating homes for senior citizens in need, and a founda...

Ben Borton is a Co-Founder of PodPlay Technologies, where he oversees go-to-market strategy and leads the Sales and Marketing teams. He also serves as Chief Strategy Officer and was the first external investor in PodPlay's parent company, PingPod Inc. Before joining PodPlay, Ben held several leadership roles in the finance and technology sectors, including as Head of Digital Fund Services at Figur...

Ross Piermarini is the co-founder of symmetRE, a Chicago-based proptech firm specializing in automating data aggregation and reporting for commercial real estate investors. Prior to founding symmetRE, Ross worked in the Leveraged Finance group at BMO Capital Markets, focusing on real estate clients. His firsthand experience with the challenges of manual data aggregation and reporting in the real e...

Austin is CEO of Pacaso and co-founded the company with Spencer Rascoff (co-founder and former CEO of Zillow) to make the dream of second home ownership a reality for more people after experiencing the profound effect it had on his own life. Pacaso is Austin’s second startup. In 2009, he founded dotloop in his hometown of Cincinnati, a company that created software to seamlessly manage real estate...