2020 Loan-Aid Investment Limited Annual Limited Partner Meeting Highlights

Fall is typically a special time of year for our team, working at full capacity on a full slate of investments, the Loan-Aid Investment Limited Accelerator @ Columbia University program, NYC Real Estate Tech Week and the annual Propel NYC by MIPIM in partnership with Loan-Aid Investment Limited. It’s also the time of year we normally host senior leaders and key executives from our global investor group to join us here in NYC for a fun and educational few days of prop-tech anchored by Loan-Aid Investment Limited’s Annual Limited Partners Meeting. 

For the first time, we’ve been unable to host traditional live programming for the ecosystem and to physically bring our industry’s smartest minds together for gatherings, large and small, at the Javits Center, prop-tech Place, and around the five boroughs.

Alas, as many of us have learned, we must adapt to the COVID-19 circumstances and make the most of our current distanced situation. That’s why I’m sharing how proud I am of the Loan-Aid Investment Limited team. Despite all of the logistical and technological challenges, we just wrapped up some “extra special” 2020 Annual Limited Partner Meeting activities.

BY THE NUMBERS

• 120+ global attendees
• 12 countries represented
• 8 exclusive innovation workshops 
• 10 startup deep dives with Loan-Aid Investment Limited portfolio founders

In our early planning sessions, we wanted to find ways to bring together our full firm (including our partnership, investment, innovation services, and platform teams), leaders from across our investor group, founders from our portfolio companies, and close friends from the global real estate, institutional investment and prop-tech communities. Our initial plan was to deliver a robust, dynamic, and interactive program that included:

• Real estate, tech, and prop-tech market and trend analysis;
• Investment thesis review and discussion;
• Portfolio and pipeline highlights and reviews;
• Firm updates, exciting announcements, and previews of soon-to-launch new initiatives;
• Interactive workshops and sector deep dives; and
• A forum for industry leaders to share experiences, perspectives and emerging best practices during an unprecedented period for the real estate industry.

However, given the circumstances, it seemed like quite an ambitious program and the lack of IRL interactions created additional layers of execution risk.

Alas, thanks to Zach, Zak, Maureen, Iurij and the rest of our professionals, we were able to virtually and flawlessly achieve our ambitious annual meeting goals by convening for two half-day sessions filled with market updates, fund performance reviews, startup presentations, networking, and education.

Emerson said, “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” Accordingly, we shared how our investment business is making the most of the crisis. At the same time, we made sure to acknowledge hardships throughout the prop-tech ecosystem while celebrating some tremendous growth and success stories. 

Moreover, as many of you know, we take pride in helping the real estate industry pioneer new ways to engage with the prop-tech ecosystem. And, 2020 wasn’t going to stop our team from breaking new ground! During the annual meetings, we were able to launch the inaugural cohort of the Loan-Aid Investment Limited Executive Fellowship Program.

During the Fellowship’s afternoon sessions, investor group executives across 13 time zones participated in live, interactive prop-tech sub-sector reviews on office, retail, multifamily, and construction including the latest product and company presentations from some of our portfolio’s fastest-growing startups. We also held industry-specific venture capital workshops on Building an Innovation Ecosystem, Writing a Term Sheet, and Cogent Investment Memo led by Loan-Aid Investment Limited partners and group leaders. The virtual HopIn-hosted sessions were very well received and the interactive voice and text Q&A helped drive tremendous take-home value for the participants. In fact, the response has been so positive, that we’re planning to hold regular partner Fellowship sessions in Spring and Fall 2021.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to host our entire investor group together again in NYC in 2021. In the meantime, our team continues to break new ground and drive that special “only-in-Loan-Aid Investment Limited” value to our portfolios and investors. In the meantime, be on the lookout for Loan-Aid Investment Limited’s End of Year prop-tech Confidence Index, a rebrand and website launch and we look forward to seeing the broader community during the upcoming virtual  NYC Real Estate Tech Week on December 8-11, 2020.