Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
A recent Q & A we had with Adam Segal, CEO + Founder of Washington D.C. based Cove offers a picture window into the future of business. What was intended to be a real estate technology informative, turned out to be a glimpse of what the post-COVID world of real estate may look like. Initially focused on creating a network of co-working spaces to foster efficiency and productivity in the digital age, Segal’s company’s ship may have just arrived in the form of a world cataclysm.
The coronavirus pandemic is forcing a paradigm shift for every business and institution on Earth. The world is turned upsidedown, and the only sure thing people can cling to, for the moment, is uncertainty. The daily grind, the 9-5, in contrast to the homogenization of the digital and the physical world, is creating catastrophes and vast opportunities for the future. And Cove sits smack in the middle of what most experts think will be the transition of transitions not just in real estate, but for business in general. I exchanged emails with the Cove CEO this past week, since catching up with him via phone proved impossible. Here’s the brief interview, followed by some takeaway points.
RealtyBiz: How do you see commercial property marketing shaping up in the post-COVID era?
Adam Segal: At Cove, we believe commercial real estate will still have a place in a post-COVID era. In fact, it will transform from a place for your dedicated desk into an absolute key business resource to define culture and engagement. Traditionally, there has been a strong emphasis on your everyday desk or office. Moving forward, companies will consider where and how people are most productive, thereby enabling employees greater flexibility to choose when and where they work. The office will morph into a place to come together as opposed to being the required 9-5, everyday solution. For employees, this is an incredibly exciting future — as soon as you are no longer tied to a single desk or office, you have the freedom to design your life without your employer’s office location and long commutes as the deciding factor. At Cove, we provide the technology and service to support that future world for companies, while empowering office building owners a partner to create modern experiences integral to the future of work.
RealtyBiz: Some experts see the negative pricing trend for commercial property continuing to spiral downward. What is your view on this trend, and how can owners/developers prepare?
Adam Segal: When there is an increase in demand, differentiation becomes the absolute key. For those assets that are able to capture the future of work and unlock a differentiated experience, there will not be a downward spiral — in fact, just the opposite.
RealtyBiz: How do you see your business at Cove changing to address this new landscape?
Adam Segal: Cove implements a modern consumer approach to the future of work for companies and owners of office buildings. Our focus is on building an experience around the office by building robust tools to bring everything online — from scheduling and coordinating your team to reduce capacity, unlocking onsite services and delivery, real-time updates — really a gateway to a modern work experience. The post-pandemic office will look nothing like the office of yesterday. In the future, the office will no longer be a home for your desk. Instead, the office will be a resource to bring people together for meaningful engagement. As a result, every company will need more intentional and coordinated office days for collaboration. The future of work for any company will include a mix of working remotely, in office, on travel — but now a real focus on productivity as opposed to a default 9-5, Monday through Friday culture.
According to Crunchbase, Cove is funded by Early Light Ventures. My takeaway on their investment, given the current state of transformation in business, is that those investors are smiling great big about now. $8.4 million in total funding could well turn into 100 times that figure. Here's why.
Whatever benefits the remote office had before COVID-19, those benefits have been multiplied by 10,000 now. Furthermore, whichever businesses chose to optimize their buildings using Cove services before the pandemic, those clients are the leading edge of what physical office space will be in the future. Think about the whole situation like this. Once corporations and smaller entities make the adjustments for distancing, access assurance, safety measures, and added efficiency, how many do you think will switch back to business as usual? I should not have to spell out Cove's potential here. From custom virtual events to building access management, Cove had a finger on the pulse of office buildings to start with. The next generation of office space will be all about remote work and managing a new kind of physical space. Who better to help transform the work at home corporate synergy? So, Cove has one of those rare opportunities brought about by the cosmos.
