🏢 Crexi: The Commercial Real Estate Emporium

This week’s dot.LA Deep Dive delves into the stodgy but rapidly changing world of commercial real estate. Marina Del Rey-based Crexi is the new kid on the block, looking to transform the way buyers, brokers, and sellers do business.

Crexi, a commercial real estate (CRE) upstart, emerged on the scene in 2015, reshaping the CRE world with its blend of property marketplace, data platform, and virtual auction. Its mission? To build the simplest and most efficient one-stop-shop for CRE professionals. Crexi is the cupid of the real estate realm, connecting sellers of properties with buyers, and matchmaking the most efficient and effective transactions possible.

This is the actual 4th image on Google when you search “Commercial Real Estate”

Credit: Investopedia

Crexi’s origin story takes us to the early life of its creator, Mike DeGiorgio. Mike was a tumbleweed as a kid, growing up all over the country, which fostered an adaptability that later became a hallmark of his entrepreneurial ethos. Armed with a business degree from Northern Illinois University, Mike embarked on his professional journey at Irvine-based Auction.com, a tech enabled marketplace for bank-owned and foreclosed residential real estate properties. At Auction.com, he witnessed the elaborate waltz of property transactions, and, while there, he was struck by the fact that – while residential real estate was quickly jumping into the digital age, commercial real estate seemed stuck in a bygone era. The itch for innovation gnawed at him, and the concept of Crexi began to take shape.

His idea was a digital emporium in the truest sense of the word: a one-stop destination where CRE professionals could convene, conduct business, and make deals with just a click.

In 2015, Crexi emerged, a result of Michael's determination and a trio of co-founders who shared his vision. The path to success, however, wasn't a cakewalk. With a seed funding of $4.3 million from investors like Lerer Hippeau Ventures and Freestyle Capital, Crexi embarked on a journey to transform the commercial real estate landscape. Over the next five years, Crexi slowly but surely gained adoption across the CRE world, but in 2020, Covid struck and threw the CRE world into a state of disarray from which it has not yet returned. Like much of the financial world, CRE had a rough 2020 but roared back in late 2021 to a total of $1.43 Trillion (with a T!) in transaction volume. Higher rates have since put a damper on things, and transaction volumes have plummeted in late 2022 and early 2023 by 60-75% over the prior year.

Credit: Motley Fool + CBRE

Luckily, Crexi was perfectly positioned to function in an uncertain market and grew through all of the ups and downs. Crexi’s value proposition has actually increased in the current market craziness. With asset values changing rapidly as the value of office space, distribution centers, and malls crash and rebound, Crexi’s data platform gives CRE pros a way to keep up. Additionally, in the event a deal goes sour, Crexi’s auction platform gives financial institutions an ability to offload properties quickly, easily, and to the highest bidder.

Fast forward to the present, and Crexi has emerged as one of the most resilient proptech companies in a brutal year for the space. It leads nearly three million buyers, brokers, and tenants through the intricate maze of CRE transactions, unlocking access to a whopping $5 trillion of property value. Crexi has facilitated transactions worth over $440 billion and continues to grow even during a challenging time for real estate.

So where does Crexi go from here? It just keeps on growing. Mike envisions a commercial real estate ecosystem built around Crexi, where properties are marketed, analyzed, and traded with unprecedented ease. It aspires to be the central hub of its industry, making commercial real estate accessible and efficient for all participants.

Over the last eight years, Crexi has grown from an idea to an integral part of the commercial real estate world. It’s successfully surfed the ups and downs of Covid, work from home, higher rates, and the return to office. Next up, we expect to see more big things from Crexi.

⛳️ Weather Guarantee for Golfers

Oct 27 2023

🔦 Spotlight

After announcing its partnership with the PGA of America earlier this year, LA-based Sensible Weather, a climate finance platform, has now introduced its Weather Guarantee program in collaboration with 23 distinguished golf facilities in Myrtle Beach, managed by Founders Group International, Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, and True Blue Golf Club. ⛈️⛳️

This guarantee allows golfers to protect their rounds from undesirable weather by offering a reimbursement if rain is forecasted on the day of play. Sensible Weather assessed a need in the golf community, surveying 1,000 golfers and finding that 97% of avid golfers expressed interest in Weather Guarantees. The initiative addresses the increasing impact of disruptive weather on outdoor activities like golf by specifically aiming to simplify operations for golf courses, enhance golfer satisfaction, reduce last-minute cancellations, and generate additional revenue for facilities.

The success of this venture can be attributed to Sensible Weather first identifying a need by the golf community followed by a thoughtful strategic approach. Sensible Weather brought Golf Professional, Ben Tyler, on board to ensure effective communication of the opportunity and exceptional customer service required to make the partnership a success. To implement the Weather Guarantee, Sensible Weather collaborated closely with Tee Time Central, a booking platform, to integrate the feature directly into their checkout process. Golf facilities using Tee Time Central for their online bookings can easily activate Weather Guarantees.

The expansion to golf courses adds to Sensible Weather’s growing market and customer base over the past year. In September, Sensible Weather secured an investment from AMEX Ventures adding to its list of investors that includes Wonder Ventures, Infinity Ventures, and Industry Ventures. Sensible Weather is partnered with over 3,500 businesses and has received $22 million dollars in investments. Since it began offering Weather Guarantees in 2021, they have sold over 55,000 guarantees. That’s the tee! ☕⛳🏌️

Check out our previous coverage of Sensible Weather here.

🎉 Don’t forget about our referral contest this month! 🎉

Competition Status: 🔥 It’s heating up! Number of referrals to beat is 8 with less than a week remaining.

Gif by trt_network on Giphy

The contest is simple: whoever refers the most friends to dot.LA using our referral program by October 31st will get a coffee and conversation with Zillow, Pacaso, and dot.LA co-founder Spencer Rascoff, where you can pitch him, get business advice, or just shoot the breeze. This is a great opportunity for any current or future entrepreneur, so good luck referring! ☕️☕️☕️

P.S. If you’re not based in LA, you can hop on a Zoom instead 💻

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Startups

• Greater Good, a provider of primary care for seniors, raised a $20M Series A led by Flare Capital Partners, and joined by LRVHealth, Health Velocity Capital, Martin Ventures and Optum Ventures. - learn more
• LegalMation, a developer of generative AI solutions for high-volume litigation, raised a $15M Series A led by Aquiline Capital Partners and joined by insiders Motley Fool Ventures, REV Venture Partners, Key Venture Partners, Quick Set and Brentwood Investments. - learn more

LA Funds

• Sony Innovation Fund participated in a $12M Series A for Noodle Cat Games, a Salt Lake City-based game development studio. -learn more
• Griffin Gaming Partners participated in a $20M Series A for Neon Machine, a Seattle-based developer of first-person shooter games. -learn more
• Fika Ventures participated in a $14M Series A for Siro, a sales intelligence tool meant to help sales managers more actively and efficiently coach their sales reps. -learn more

Built for founders, by founders: Rho, the consolidated finance automation platform designed to help you scale.

Founders, we know how much you are handling at once. Operating multiple platforms for each facet of your finances should not be getting in the way of running your business.

Leave managing your finances to Rho, so that you can focus on growing your business. Whether you have just raised your first round of funding and need help managing your funds, or you are a start-up looking to diversify your capital, Rho is the only finance automation platform that lets organizations manage all spend and cash in a single system.

Rho is your trusted and reliable financial support that can help you diversify and manage your cash efficiently. Manage all your cash and spending in one system:

• Cash Management: Enterprise-grade banking where you can streamline your finances and manage multiple entities from one platform. With Rho’s sophisticated treasury management, put your idle cash to work and keep your cash secure with FDIC-insurance up to $75 million.
• Spend Management: Control spend before it happens with Rho corporate cards. Streamline post send reporting by digitizing your expense policy and eliminating expense reports. Pay all your vendors in one workflow.
• Accounting Automation: Reduce time-to-close and reconcile seamlessly. Integrate directly with your ERP.

“Rho has made it their mission to help companies like ours. By giving us the ability to loop corporate cards and expense management into one place…we’ve been able to close our book smooch faster each month and automate our spend from end to end.” - Dr. Squatch.

Join other startups like Dr. Squatch, Sundae, Canvas, and Runway that are making finance frictionless with Rho.

✨Featured Event (11/9)✨

RECURRING REVENUE CONFERENCE on November 9th in Culver City

Southern California's premier SaaS and Subscription conference, this one-day event draws 600+ top founders, executives, investors, and Cloud experts. Experience a dynamic program with 20+ sessions, including leading industry speakers, fireside chats, breakout sessions, and roundtable discussions. This year's insights span AI, metrics that matter, scaling strategies, making a pivot, the changing role of the CFO, what investors are looking for, and more. Keynotes include ChowNow and HackerOne CEOs. Attendees will enjoy plenty of networking time during breakfast, lunch, coffee cart breaks, and cocktails on the patio. Join us on November 9th at the Culver City Hilton to learn from industry leaders.

Learn more and register using DOTLA229 for a discounted ticket rate of $229 (regularly $399): bit.ly/3EitWB5

Early-stage founders get a discounted ticket rate ($59). Apply here today!

📅 LA Tech Calendar

Saturday, October 28th

• Mental Health Innovators Social- Saturday afternoon in Venice join a diverse community of founders, investors, researchers, clinicians and creators who are building the future of mental health.

Sunday, October 29th

• Hack Sunday: Machine Learning Together- Join a weekly hack day where builders connect to learn, collaborate, and stay connected while creating.

Wednesday, November 1st

• Community Conversation about AI - Join AIandyou in the South Bay for the country’s first public conversation about AI and how it impacts everyday life, in coordination with the City of Torrance. Congressman Ted Lieu will be a special guest at the event.
• AI Revealed: Demos & Drinks - Join Startup Coil and The KINN Wednesday night in Venice for some casual networking and fun AI demos.
• Rooftop Startup, Business & Tech Networking LA - Join founders, investors, tech explorers and others Wednesday night in Venice for networking and startup pitches at a rooftop bar.

Thursday, November 2nd

• Los Angeles Tech Networking Event - Join other tech enthusiasts in Playa Vista onThursday night for a laid-back networking event that's all about fostering connections.

📙 What We’re Reading

• Celebrity-backed baby brand Hello Bello files for bankruptcy. -
• Fisker cuts price of its Ocean Extreme EV by more than 10%. -
• Activision Blizzard’s long-serving CEO will step down following the Microsoft acquisition. -
• NBCUniversal ad and studio revenues tumble, Peacock reaches 28M Subscribers. -
• Snap beats Wall Street expectations as revenues and users rise. -

🏛️ Brilliant Designs or Billion-Dollar Liabilities? How This LA Ruling May Disrupt Big Tech!

Oct 20 2023

🔦 Spotlight

Ever suspected your go-to black hole of time, I mean social media app, might have a secret plan to keep you hooked? Well, a judge in Los Angeles seems to think so! 📱👀⚖️

A Los Angeles judge has rejected the dismissal of significant lawsuits against Meta, TikTok, Snap, and Google. The lawsuits claim that these platforms are deliberately designed to addict and exacerbate mental health disorders in teenagers, potentially leading to multibillion-dollar liabilities. The judge ruled that the companies cannot use Section 230, a legal shield often employed by Big Tech, to evade some claims. The decision is based on the assertion that it is the design features of the platforms, not the specific content, that cause harm to users.

The lawsuits, brought forth by numerous government officials and parents of minors, argue thatsocial media platforms function as defective products, contributing to issues like eating disorders, anxiety, and even suicide among young users. The focus on design elements aims to bypass the legal protection historically granted by Section 230, which shields tech companies from liability as third-party publishers. The judge's decision also allows allegations that Meta may have concealed internal research on the negative impacts of Instagram on minors' mental health to proceed. This includes data suggesting that young users spending extended time on the platform experience heightened anxiety and depression.

So what does this all mean…

In summary, this ruling could mark a significant turning point in how tech companies are held accountable for the potential negative impacts of their platforms. It may lead to increased scrutiny, regulatory changes, and shifts in industry practices to prioritize user well-being.🛀🤳🏛️

🎉 Don’t forget about our referral contest this month! 🎉

Competition Status: Number of referrals to beat is 3 with just over a week remaining!

Gif by trt_network on Giphy

The contest is simple: whoever refers the most friends to dot.LA using our referral program by October 31st will get a coffee and conversation with Zillow, Pacaso, and dot.LA co-founder Spencer Rascoff, where you can pitch him, get business advice, or just shoot the breeze. This is a great opportunity for any current or future entrepreneur, so good luck referring! ☕️☕️☕️

P.S. If you’re not based in LA, you can hop on a Zoom instead 💻

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Startups

• Arctop, a developer of cognition software, raised a $10M Series A co-led by Fifth Growth Fund and Supermoon Capital. - learn more
• Jam & Tea Studios, a startup building a remote-first multi-player game studio, raised a $3.2M Seed Round led by London Venture Partners, with participation from Sisu Game Ventures and 1Up Ventures. - learn more
• Salted, a developer of quick-serve restaurant brands, raised a $14M Series B led by Creadev and participation from Proof Ventures and B. Riley Financial. - learn more
• K2 Space, a spacecraft startup, raised a $7M Funding Round from Alpine Space Ventures. -

LA Funds

• MTech Capital participated in a $17M Series B extension for Matic, a startup that operates an insurance agency and marketplace. -learn more
• Clocktower Technology Ventures participated in a $3.7M Seed Round for QuoteMachine, a startup whose software enables retailers to provide customized quoting, ordering, invoicing, and payment services. -learn more
• TenOneTen Ventures participated in a $9.75M Series A for Urban Sky, a startup that provides Earth imaging services using reusable stratospheric balloons. -learn more

LA Exits

• Moment, a livestream platform for events and ticketed experiences, was acquired by Patreon, which connects creators with paying fans. -learn more

Stifel Venture Banking | Where Innovation Grows

Stifel’s Venture Bankers are here to support the innovation economy. From founder dinners to industry-focused events, our LA-based team enjoys bringing people together to build lasting relationships and further strengthen the community. We focus on both VC firms and VC-backed companies from inception to exit across all sectors, including Consumer, Fintech, Enterprise Software, Frontier Tech, Health Tech, and Climate Tech. We aim to provide high-touch, white-glove service to our clients while offering attractive interest rates on deposits. Debt financing is also a critical component, and we are active lenders in the space for both venture debt, lines of credit, and capital call lines.

Al Guerrero, Managing Director, leads Stifel Venture Banking in Los Angeles. Greg Singer and Sam Wogan work with Al as Relationship Managers. Hunter Briggs handles Treasury Management for clients, and Charlie Smith serves as a Fund Banker for venture and private equity firms.

Stifel Venture Banking launched in 2018 and expanded in Los Angeles in March of this year. We are part of Stifel, a global wealth management and investment banking company founded in 1890. Entrepreneurial culture is at the core of our Firm – with over 30 accretive acquisitions in the past 20 years. The strength and diversity of Stifel’s business gives our venture banking clients’ professional guidance on managing their personal finances and planning for the future. As a founders’ business grows, our Investment Banking team can provide guidance on navigating public markets, accessing debt and equity capital markets, and more.

Learn more about Stifel Venture Banking here 😎

✨Featured Event (11/9)✨

RECURRING REVENUE CONFERENCE on November 9th in Culver City

Southern California's premier SaaS and Subscription conference, this one-day event draws 600+ top founders, executives, investors, and Cloud experts. Experience a dynamic program with 20+ sessions, including leading industry speakers, fireside chats, breakout sessions, and roundtable discussions. This year's insights span AI, metrics that matter, scaling strategies, making a pivot, the changing role of the CFO, what investors are looking for, and more. Keynotes include ChowNow and HackerOne CEOs. Attendees will enjoy plenty of networking time during breakfast, lunch, coffee cart breaks, and cocktails on the patio. Join us on November 9th at the Culver City Hilton to learn from industry leaders.

Learn more and register using DOTLA229 for a discounted ticket rate of $229 (regularly $399): bit.ly/3EitWB5

Early-stage founders get a discounted ticket rate ($59). Apply here today!

Want your event featured? Shoot us an email!

📅 LA Tech Calendar

Tuesday, October 24th

• AI and the Creator Economy - Join AI LA in partnership with FYI and Underscore Talent Tuesday evening in Hollywood, at an event centered around how AI is reshaping expression, content, and entrepreneurship in the Creator Economy.
• Venice Tech Happy Hour - Join Startup Coil and FoundrHaus for a special LA Tech Happy Hour event.

Wednesday, October 25th

• University $50K Shark Tank Startup Competition - Join ORCA and Honors Fund Wednesday night in DTLA to see 6 of the best University Founded B2B SaaS Startups pitch live in front of a investor panel and audience of 100+. After all 6 pitches, the panel will debrief and then make the $50k investment decision live on the spot.
• LA Startup and Tech Mixer - Join LA Tech Mixer in Santa Monica to connect with individuals in the startup, tech & entrepreneurial space!

Thursday, October 26th

• FUNders’ Halloween Happy Hour - Join Wiseras.com for a spine-tingling evening of connection and innovation at their Tech Founder's Halloween Happy Hour.
• Expert DOJO Fall 2023 Cohort Demo Day! - Join Expert Dojo’s fall demo day to learn about the investment opportunities in their 10 newest investments! Sectors vary from artificial intelligence to gaming!

Have an awesome event coming up? Reach out to be featured on next week’s Newsletter!

📙 What We’re Reading

• Learn about NBC’s new streaming service that bets on high school and amateur sports. -
• Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard in $69-billion gaming deal. -
• MetAlert gets first order for its gun tracker device. -
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) is celebrating a milestone of its flagship startup program AWS Activate , the 10th anniversary of the program’s launch. -
• Netflix raises prices and adds nearly 9 million subscribers in Q3 with ad-supported plans up nearly 70% from Q2. -

Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.

☕️ Top Cafes For Running into LA's Tech Leaders

Oct 16 2023

Good Morning!

We’re are releasing a new edition – a heartfelt homage to Los Angeles. In the hustle and bustle of work and family life, its easy to forget what makes this city truly magical. Take these 2 minutes to pause with us and explore the LA gems in this vibrant, diverse, and utterly unique parking lot we call home. Every other week we will release a list of some type of establishments loved by Los Angeles VCs, entrepreneurs, your best friend’s cousin and everyone in-between.

Help us as we shine a spotlight on Los Angeles' unique establishments that contribute to the city's charm and indirectly enrich its thriving tech ecosystem. This week we are featuring the eight best coffee shops on the Westside corroborated by influential VCs and founders alike. Our list flows west to east and the cafes were evaluated on the following criteria:

• ☕️ Coffee Quality (table stakes)
• 💻 Work friendly environment (wifi, noise, outlets, seating, etc.)
• 🚗 Parking (can make or break a meeting)

Don’t forget about our current referral contest! Whoever refers the most friends to dot.LA using our referral program by October 31st will get a coffee and conversation with Spencer Rascoff, where you can pitch him, get business advice, or just shoot the breeze. This is a great opportunity for any current or future entrepreneur! Perfect time to visit one of the following coffee shops ☕️☕️☕️

Top Cafes For Running into LA's Tech Leaders

Primo Passo

Image Source: Timeout.com

Neighborhood: Wilshire/Montana

Address:702 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

Description: Primo Passo is a cute locally owned spot on Montana Ave with fantastic coffee. Fairly quiet compared to neighboring coffee spots on Montana with a vast pastry assortment and small bites from nearby Farmshop.

Quick Rundown: Indoor and outdoor seating. No wifi. Clean minimalist vibe. Not too loud. Lots of street parking you just may have to walk a block or two.

Caffe Luxxe

Image Source: Caffe Luxxe

Neighborhood: Wilshire/Montana

Address:925 Montana Ave Santa Monica, CA 90403

Description: The very first Caffe Luxxe modeled after a European cafe, this cozy coffee shop is owned by two best friends in LA. There is a decent amount of seating but no wifi as the cafe is focused on human connection. Great for a meeting but probably not great for a work session.

Quick Rundown: Parking lot in the back and metered street parking. No wifi. Mostly Indoor Seating. European cozy vibe.

GoodBoyBob Coffee

Image Source: EaterLA

Neighborhood: Santa Monica

Address:2058 Broadway Santa Monica, CA 90404

Description: Industrial, hidden, charming, and attached to a virtual reality studio, GoodBoyBob is a prime place to hunker down and get some work done. The coffee is roasted in-house and the menu features whole wheat wraps, grain bowls, pastries and an extensive Happy Hour menu to reward yourself after all of your hard work.

Quick Rundown: Indoor and outdoor seating. Fast wifi. Industrial Chic Vibe. Not too loud. Fairly easy to find parking.

Zinqué - Venice

Image Source: Eater LA

Neighborhood: Venice

Address:1440 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

Description: A vibrant and airy, low-key neighborhood restaurant with french-inspired dishes. They have wifi but you generally don’t see a bunch of people head down in their computers. The majority of people here are in meetings or out grabbing a meal with friends.

Quick Rundown: Indoor and outdoor seating. Fast wifi. Elevated beachy vibe. parking?

Alana’s Coffee Roasters

Image Source: Folk LA

Neighborhood: Mar Vista

Address:12511 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Description: Locally owned, Alana started off in farmers markets and moved to a brick and mortar in 2016. Alana is a quant neighborhood coffee shop with a super cute patio and some killer coffee.

Quick Rundown: Mostly outdoor seating. No wifi. Clean surfer vibe. Not too loud. Parking lot plus metered street parking.

Urth Caffe - Beverly Hills

Image Source: Urth Caffe

Neighborhood: Beverly Hills

Address:267 S Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Description: Urth is a unique Los Angeles staple located in an old home flanked by classic retail establishments. Expect it to be pretty crowded, but you can almost always grab a table within a few minutes. There is wifi, but the bustling atmosphere make for a better meeting location than a focused work session. The food and drink menu is extensive but the coffee, tea and pastries are the star of the show. You really can’t go wrong.

Quick Rundown: Mostly outdoor seating. Fast wifi. Quirky cozy vibe. First 2 hours are free for public parking garage north on Beverly plus metered street parking.

Maru Espresso Bar

Image Source: lovebeverlyhills.com

Neighborhood: Beverly Hills

Address:201 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Description: Maru Coffee prioritizes top-tier coffee quality, and their menu stays true to form, quality over quantity. While the Beverly Hills branch lacks seating, it neighbors Beverly Canon Gardens, a sprawling 33,000-square-foot expanse of public gardens and open spaces with communal outdoor dining spots, water features, and beautifully landscaped gardens. Pro tip there’s a fantastic creperie in Beverly Canon Gardens!

Quick Rundown: Outdoor seating. Fast wifi. Urban Oasis Vibe. Not too loud. First 2 hours are free for public parking garage north on Canon plus metered street parking.

Verve Coffee Roasters

Image Source: Verve Coffee Roasters

Neighborhood: West Hollywood

Address:8925 Melrose Ave West Hollywood, CA 90069

Description: We may be using a liberal definition of West LA, but it is called West Hollywood which seems like pretty bullet proof logic. Located along Melrose Avenue in the heart of West Hollywood, Verve is a not so hidden gem with a fantastic outdoor patio. Their great coffee is complimented by a menu full of snacks and sandwiches. This spot is ideal for an in-person meeting because there are very few outlets and the tables are fairly small.

Quick Rundown: Indoor and outdoor seating. Fast wifi. Tech-Hipster Vibe. Not too loud. Parking can be rough at peak times.

Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.