Mitchell Schear

Washington, DC-Mitchell Schear is joining proptech venture capital firm Camber Creek as an executive partner, to work alongside Casey Berman, Jake Fingert and Jeffrey Berman.

Schear has more than 35 years of leadership experience in commercial real estate, most notably as president of Vornado/Charles E. Smith. While there, Schear spent 15 years directing the strategy, performance and growth of Vornado’s 20+ million square foot portfolio. In Arlington, VA, his focus on technology and placemaking paved the way for leading technology companies, including Amazon, to locate offices to Crystal City.

“I have advised and consulted with many dynamic and talented teams in this space, and Camber Creek’s intense focus on contributing in a direct and significant way to the success of its portfolio companies captured my attention,” Schear tells GlobeSt.com. “They are serious investors who are doggedly dedicated to the companies they select to cultivate, invest in, and grow.”

Proptech has exploded in recent years. Since 2011, venture investment in real estate technology has grown from approximately $100 million a year to over $12 billion in 2017. Venture capital in CRE continues to skyrocket with a 69% year-over-year increase in June of this year and investment has now passed $1 billion for 4 consecutive months.

“PropTech has already made a significant impact on the CRE industry, changing the way we think about designing, planning and consuming space. Yet at the same time, we have an exciting, long runway ahead of us,” observes Schear. “The combination of new technologies such as smart phones and cloud computing, the explosive success of companies like Airbnb and WeWork, and a frothy appetite from money sources has led to a massive surge in investment.”

With those investments, entrepreneurs are tackling all aspects of real estate.

“Looking at our own portfolio, Bowery Valuation is automating the commercial appraisal process, TaskEasy is building an on-demand lawn care company, Measurabl is improving sustainability reporting, and WhyHotel is changing how developers utilize space by running pop-up hotels in new luxury residential buildings,” says Schear.

Looking forward, Camber Creek is tracking dozens of trends and industry verticals. It is seeing opportunities in the way people invest in, sell and buy real estate on both the commercial and residential side, Schear says.

“Already, you can get qualified for a mortgage in a matter of minutes (Morty, Better Mortgage), make a cash offer without actually having cash (Ribbon), finance a pre-sale renovation and pay at closing (Curbio), notarize documents digitally (Notarize) and get a cash offer on a home online (Zillow). And we are still in the early innings,” he says. “Enormous opportunities are available for entrepreneurs and venture firms backing new technology companies.”