The Investor with Joel Palathinkal

Episode: Evan Pettit: Metaprop VC (September 14, 2025)

Overview

In this episode, host Dr. Joel Palathinkal sits down with Evan Pettit, a core member at MetaProp—the influential proptech-focused venture capital firm. Evan traces his journey from commercial real estate into VC, dives deep into MetaProp’s approach to accelerators and community, and shares proptech trends, future outlooks, and career advice. The conversation is candid, practical, and full of hands-on insights for anyone interested in real estate, tech, or launching a career in venture capital.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Journey and Impact of the Pandemic

• Adjustment to COVID: Evan shares how COVID-19 affected both personal and professional life, including moving from Hoboken to a larger home in North Jersey due to remote work and getting married under pandemic constraints.
  • "Our one-bedroom apartment felt a lot smaller than it normally did... we decided that we needed more space." (01:53)
• Pandemic Wedding Logistics: Navigating postponement, scaling down, and embracing intimate celebrations.
  • "We decided to do a small outdoor wedding in October. We had 30 people there, our closest friends and family... It turned out to be a wonderful day." (04:25-06:19)
• Industry Impact: Discussion of how event venues and service providers are struggling, but customer service and referrals remain crucial.
  • "Referrals, customer service... that’s the name of the game." (09:19)

2. Career Path into Venture Capital

• Early Career: Started in commercial real estate, moved to a hedge fund (Golden Tree) but felt unfulfilled.
  • "At the end of the day, it felt more like a job and not a career... kind of on the hamster wheel." (11:16)
• Pivoting: Went to business school at Baruch (Zicklin), then landed a Metaprop internship, transitioning from corporate structures to start-up energy.
  • "I really want to get on board and just work hard... I kind of bought into it." (13:37)
• Joining Metaprop: Began as an MBA intern helping with their accelerator, later going full-time as the company evolved to focus on VC.

3. Building Metaprop’s Accelerator Program

• Origins & Structure: Evan describes joining the accelerator in its infancy—helping with recruitment, programming, and growth.
  • "We have now, to date, graduated seven classes... over 30 companies who have gone on to raise over $50 million." (19:50)
• Program Details: 22-week sessions, bi-coastal demo days, focus on in-person bonding pre-pandemic.
  • "Every two weeks, all of the CEOs... would fly into New York to Metaprop’s office... and have an in-person session." (21:13)
• Success Stories: Avail (acquired by realtor.com) and Bowery Valuation (now Series B, commercial appraisal innovator).
  • "Bowery Valuation... streamlined the [building appraisal] process from seven days to under 48 hours." (39:43)

Tips for Future Accelerator Founders

• Allow ample recruitment time.
• Prioritize teams with strong technical founders.
• Carefully curate content, focusing on key early-stage skills.
• Leverage industry networks for mentors, programming, and opportunities.
  • "Give yourself plenty of time for recruitment... Very important to have a strong team... leverage your network to the fullest extent." (23:43-26:10)

Application Process

• Standardized 20-question survey.
• Initial screening, then interviews with at least two partners.
• In-person commitment crucial for bonding and relationship-building.
  • "We would have a fairly quick filter... they would have to talk to a minimum of two partners... and get approval from both." (26:23)

Demo Day Prep & Presentation Coaching

• Early weeks: Core skills development.
• Final stretch: Iterative work on pitch decks and storytelling with real industry feedback.
  • "People tend to speak very quickly under pressure... too much writing on the decks... we refined that to ideally a few words or one major image." (30:17-31:05)
  • "You could tell who was doing their homework by how well they knew their pitch." (31:05)

4. Virtual Communities and Events Post-COVID

• Pivots to Virtual: Real Estate Tech Week scaled from a handful of in-person events to thousands attending virtually from 40+ countries.
  • "We built that up... In 2019, we had 3,500 attendees represented by 40 countries attend 10 different events in New York City." (35:05)
  • "You can definitely see that all of the major events... have really put a lot of time... into moving everything virtual." (36:40)
• Virtual Demo Days: Tools like Zoom and Slack will expand outreach alongside in-person events going forward.

5. Investing: MetaProp’s Model & Portfolio

• Accelerator vs. Core VC Fund:
  • Accelerator companies usually pre-seed or seed; eligible for up to $250k investments upon graduation.
  • Main fund supports larger (seed/Series A) direct investments.
  • "Part of the gig for the accelerator is we’ll write up to a $250,000 check... Smaller allocation... but some of our most successful investments come straight from the accelerator." (39:01)
• Types of Startups: Focused mainly on software but also including hardware (e.g., Entertiv—building analytics devices), tech-enabled services, and modular/3D-printing construction tech.
  • "On average, more software, but we have some hardware companies like Entertiv... the brain of your building." (41:24)

6. The Future of PropTech

• Adoption Accelerating: COVID is speeding up adoption; 89% of surveyed investors believe the pandemic is pushing real estate towards new technology.
  • "Real estate is a very slow moving industry... but now, a lot of old school owners, managers, developers... acknowledged that PropTech is here to stay." (43:49-45:28)
• Challenges: Main challenge remains the hurdle of convincing legacy players to adopt and scale new technologies.
• Key Trends:
  • 3D printing & robotics (e.g., Branch Technology).
  • Smart buildings, sensor-driven management, touchless access, health/temperature monitoring.
  • Modular construction and flexible urban design.
  • Innovations in rent/payment models (e.g., Till, personalized rent schedules; Rhino, alternative security deposits).
  • "People are rethinking buildings... touchless access, temperature taken automatically, sensors for space management, air quality." (50:07-51:47)

7. Career Advice & Life Lessons

• “Pursue something that you’re passionate about... sometimes you have to make tough, tough calls in order to continue improving your career or pursuing something that will make you happy at the end of the day.” (53:30)
• Take calculated risks and be willing to step off the easy path to pursue greater satisfaction.
  • "Sometimes I say that I took a half step back to take two steps forward." (53:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On accelerator program building:
  • "Finding the right CEO and the right team is very important... The team needs to have a strong technical co-founder." (24:33)
• On effective pitching:
  • "You could really tell who was doing their homework and who wasn’t as much by how well they knew their pitch." (31:05)
• On trends in proptech:
  • "89% of investors believe that the pandemic is accelerating the adoption of prop tech within the real estate industry. For us that’s a huge indicator." (44:31)
• On choosing happiness:
  • "Being content is not the best thing. It’s usually the easiest thing. So, you know, challenging yourself to get out of your comfort zone... using your ambition and the positive thoughts to kind of outweigh the negative is sort of how I go about a lot of that." (61:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------|-------------------| | Personal background & pandemic life | 01:21 – 08:19 | | Customer service, referrals in business | 09:19 – 09:29 | | Evan's career path to VC | 10:46 – 19:40 | | MetaProp accelerator: Introduction | 19:50 – 23:03 | | Accelerator application & programming | 23:43 – 29:43 | | Demo day, pitching advice | 30:17 – 32:23 | | Community building, scaling events | 34:37 – 36:39 | | MetaProp’s portfolio/strategy | 38:15 – 43:49 | | Tools/trends in smart buildings | 50:07 – 51:50 | | Career advice & overcoming fear | 53:28 – 61:55 | | Audience Q&A on proptech future, rent | 55:07 – 60:26 |

Final Takeaways

• MetaProp’s model blends VC investment, accelerator support, and robust community-building to drive growth in an industry known for slow evolution.
• Career growth in venture often relies on calculated pivots and trusting energy—the right team fit is as important as technical expertise.
• PropTech adoption is speeding up, with pandemic-driven change paving the way for innovations in smart buildings, construction, and payment models.
• Storytelling, team quality, and network leverage are crucial for both founders and fund builders.
• Personal happiness and career fulfillment sometimes require bold leaps—Evan encourages listeners to take them.

PropTech101 Book Offer

Evan offered complimentary copies of PropTech101 to listeners interested in deepening their understanding of the sector.
Contact: Provide your name and address via Joel to receive the book. (45:31 & 62:15)

For aspiring founders, investors, and proptech enthusiasts, this episode is an authoritative guide to breaking in, building programs, and navigating the ever-changing built environment.