First year in proptech

I recently celebrated my first year in proptech (and at Bloxspring!) and to commemorate the occasion I wanted to document my journey so far. 

When I first started out in proptech I knew nothing - literally not a thing about property technology - I had so many questions, what even was it? As a ‘girly girl’, would I even enjoy working in this sector? Did technology even interest me enough to put my PR head into gear for one sector, something that I was not used to doing. But boy was I not prepared for how much of a tech geek I now am, how much I love the space I work in and what I now get to do.

What is proptech?

So what is proptech? This was one of my first questions. I had no idea. I had heard of fintech, so thought ‘okay, it’s just property instead of finance as the first word’. But that’s as much as I knew. Fast forward to a year later and I’m fully embedded in all things real estate technology. And that is exactly what proptech is: technology that serves the real estate sector or built environment.

Read, read, read!

I’ve gone from being a tech novice to a tech junkie immersing in anything and everything tech real estate. So how have I done it? A shed load of reading is the short answer! I’ve ended nights down massive rabbit holes learning how tech is enabling commercial real estate and the role that CRE plays in making our world more sustainable thanks to ESG initiatives. 

Three months in, I was still very much a rabbit in headlights trying to absorb as much as I could without things going over my head, but by around 6 months things had started to click. I had started to understand how technologies and platforms worked and started to see just how interesting proptech is. 

The submersive stage 

Throughout the year I’ve spoken to industry experts, listened to panels, went to events and just submersed myself into the industry to build a solid foundation of understanding. I knew my role like the back of my hand as I had been doing PR for the last 8 years, and I knew how to delve into a industry from agency experience which taught me to wear many hats from house building, to travel and lifestyle, but I was apprehensive on deep-diving into just one sector. 

I was so used to jumping from client to client giving strategic overview that ideas would just waterfall out, as no two clients were ever the same and I was so relieved that once I understood our clients and the niche industry (and got my head back into work mode rather than baby mode having just come back from Mat. leave!), that the same thing started to happen. 

Year one done!

My first year anniversary has come around so quickly, which is a true indication of just how much I love my job and the space that I work in. I’m excited to continually watch my knowledge grow, carry on meeting interesting new people and see what the next 5 - 10 years will bring. 

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