Resilience, Innovation, and Purpose: Building Dottid and Making an Impact - Kyle: Proptech Founder

Host Garrett Elconin interviews Kyle Waldrep, CEO of Dottid, a SaaS company in the commercial real estate space. Waldrep shares his personal story, from his college tennis career and overcoming a serious illness to his entry into real estate. He discusses the challenges he faced starting Dottid, his dedication to learning, and his transparent approach to investor relations. Waldrep emphasizes the importance of engagement over adoption in proptech, the impact of COVID-19 on business strategy, and the company's mission to create a comprehensive operating system for real estate assets. He also reflects on personal growth, the value of mentors, and the importance of a purposeful life.

The journey into college tennis (00:02:00) Kyle's passion for tennis and college recruitment process.
Encountering illness and life-changing event (00:03:40) Kyle's encounter with illness, the impact on his college experience, and his physical condition.
Lessons from adversity (00:11:14) Kyle's personal growth and lessons learned from overcoming illness.
The journey to real estate (00:18:13) Kyle shares his non-tech-oriented approach to understanding the commercial real estate industry.
Informational interviews (00:19:02) Kyle and Garrett discuss the value of asking unique questions and learning from industry professionals.
Finding a unique passion (00:20:25) Kyle explains his goal of standing out in the competitive commercial real estate space.
Pursuing the business idea (00:23:59) The pivotal moment that led to the pursuit of Dottid's business plan.
Unique approach to investors (00:31:53) Kyle's humble and transparent approach to investor conversations and negotiations.
The operating system for the asset (00:36:41) Kyle discusses the pivot towards building an operating system for the asset, encompassing leasing, debt, and capital projects.
Proving himself as the leader (00:39:28) Kyle discusses his trust in the CTO and the importance of building the right platform with compliance and security.
Navigating through COVID (00:43:10) Kyle shares his thoughts and decisions during the uncertainty of the COVID pandemic.
Engagement over adoption (00:47:58) Why engagement metrics are more relevant than adoption in the commercial real estate space.
Simplicity and usability in design (00:52:44) Kyle emphasizes simplicity and usability as key factors in designing technology for engagement in the real estate industry.
The value proposition challenge (00:55:25) The industry's lack of holistic buy-in for technology and the challenges faced by some owners in adopting platforms.
The evolving real estate tech space (00:56:20) Kyle predicts the future of the real estate tech industry, including the potential impact of AI.
Dottid's vision and target market (00:57:13) Dottid's goal to be the operating platform for all commercial real estate owners and discusses the company's customer base and integrations.
Overcoming closed doors (00:59:34) Kyle shares how closed doors and rejections have driven Dottid's success and the importance of learning from rejection.
Personal changes for impact (01:01:51) The impact of eliminating caffeine and negative people from his life and how it has influenced his success.
Surrounding oneself with careful assessors (01:04:20) Kyle explains how he seeks feedback from a diverse group of people and the value of multigenerational mentorship in assessing his vision.
Prioritizing well-being (01:06:56) The importance of prioritizing sleep and relationships for maintaining well-being and success.
Community involvement and life purpose (01:09:02) Kyle discusses his involvement with young life leadership and the impact he hopes to leave through Dottid, emphasizing the importance of life impact over business impact.
Finding purpose and fulfillment (01:11:19) Finding purpose and fulfillment, emphasizing the importance of self-perception and building a foundation for decision-making.