By: Anthony

Anthony — Sat, 24 Oct 2015 20:32:12 +0000

Thank you for that awesome response… We’re most definitely in the first couple of innings in all aspects of tech and especially CRETech. I really like your comment about GE and NYT. The nature of technology tends to be a winner takes all phenomena which replaces all existing competition by empowering end users. It becomes easy to focus on the companies that bite the dust. It certainly is contrarian to spotlight the companies that disrupt themselves amidst change. In fact the best companies are constantly reinventing themselves as seen w/ Google in self driving cars and fiber and Amazon in AWS and Echo.

By: Joseph Stecher

Joseph Stecher — Sat, 24 Oct 2015 19:04:19 +0000

Thanks, Anthony. Great and thoughtful piece. Controversy is never 100% or 0%, and with that spectrum in mind, let me take on some of your points which feel a bit absolutist. 1. Incumbents like inefficiency. Sure they do. Just like Barnes and Noble likes bookstores. Problem is that inefficiency transfers costs to customers, and when Amazon comes along and delivers the same results for less, incumbents get replaced and life goes on. 2. You are so right. It can’t just be cheaper, it has to be better. I don’t think anyone’s ambition is to be just as good as paper, email. spreadsheets, and hit or miss meetings at conferences. Again, Amazon. 3. Real estate is not a laggard anymore. Ummmmm…. I think you are ignoring the passage of time here, just a bit anyway. Yes some incumbents are beginning to build and buy into CRETech, but that is in the last 12 months or so. This opportunity has existed for 20 years, so yes we are starting to stir, but just because a bear finally opens its eyes in the spring does not mean he didn’t hibernate all winter. Our tech tummies remain grumbly. 4. Interesting comment on size of market. Maybe we should instead say that our industry has the potential to spend 50% of what DRUG COMPANIES spend on drug R&D every year (per Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America). Not trillions, but not a lemonade stand. But here’s a point you did not touch on and all of us should: why not act like the incumbents in other industries who have embraced tech and won?: GE in healthcare, and the NY Times website are two that come to mind. We are in early days.

Comments on: Thinking Contrarian About CREtech

By: Anthony

By: Joseph Stecher