Appealing to investors who crave unstructured information

A recent conversation with the VP of Product at CrowdStreet left me noodling on novel ways to compel individualistic and hard-to-reach high-net-worth investors to engage with its commercial real estate marketplace.
Spurning the “Fleet”
Staying with themes from my previous articles, I see a metaphorical parallel between fishing and investing. Experienced fishermen are the ones who don’t fish where the crowds are, but where they know (or at least believe) the fish to be. Decisions are based on years of experience, which gives them an edge to see something that undisciplined and less-skilled fishermen don’t see. In a sense, “earned-hubris” through years of focused practice.
Every fall, thousands of fishermen converge at the mouth of the Columbia River, where it meets the Pacific Ocean. They are trying to catch massive Chinook and Coho salmon that are returning from four years of ocean roaming. A multitude of factors are at play for boat captains demanding constant vigilance including tidal water exchanges, crazy currents caused when the 265,000 cubic feet per second of river water meets the ocean, unpredictable wind and weather, sand bars, and not to mention navigating around hundreds of other boats.
Although the fishery is approximately 40 square miles, there are areas known to be more predictably productive and attract a large number of boats, the so-called “Fleet” — areas with names like Checkerboard, The Green Line, The Blind Channel, The Church Hole, and the most famous of all, Buoy 10.

Many boats congregate in these areas because they are known to produce — a herd mentality. Who dares going off script and risk going home empty-handed? Many investment websites recognize this same mentality applies — playing on the perceived safety that following the crowd is the best bet.
So like experienced fishermen, I predict that there are commercial real estate investors who are successful because they know things others don’t that they gain by obtaining inside information (e.g., a network of close friends relaying intel), shared knowledge (e.g., fishing with an experienced friend and observing their techniques), and intuition — all of which lead to their fundamental belief that they see things others don’t. Some may call this hubris, but confidence in oneself is one of the most remarkable human attributes adding spice to life.
So as an investment site looking to mine this unique segment, how does one present this ephemeral information digitally without quantifying it to the point where it is commoditized? What information can be digitally displayed or derived that in the eye of the skilled hunter is meaningful but to the untrained eye overlooked?
Visual
Promising innovations are virtual and augmented reality experiences. Assuming sufficient resolution, could a trained eye see something overlooked by the amateur? What if a neighborhood tour could be a rich enough experience with enough scope (e.g., 8–10 blocks in all directions) to afford clues about how the property would perform in relation to its surroundings? For example, would the area provide the necessary foot traffic to make its retail storefronts successful? Is there a vibe that would encourage evening activity, or is it a shuttered-after-5pm neighborhood? We all recognize “vibe” when we experience it, but can it be shared via visual technology?
Read more in this explanation by stepbystep3d of why 3d models can result in a more compelling experience than 360 property tours that could be expanded further to commercial real estate: https://medium.com/@stepbystep3d/is-zillow-3d-home-a-true-3d-virtual-tour-47b9c2f83d50, including this quote from Matterport CEO RJ Pittman said when describing a 3D Virtual Tour “360 property tours lock you into one fixed position and perspective at a time, making it difficult to orient yourself and limiting their application,” Pittman explains. “For customers and professionals looking to make consequential decisions around properties, these factors are material and the differences in quality between 3D and 360 are immediately noticeable.”
Layers and Overlays on AR/VR experiences
Related to the previous, and also super compelling, is AR/VR. For example, Microsoft Hololens as an evolving technology permitting rich Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) experiences. Companies like Object Theory of Portland, OR develop applications that would allow intriguing new perspectives on commercial real estate opportunities. Or this real estate VR project effort from Studio 216.
Assuming the AR-model development could be justified, could existing crowdsourced information could be repurposed for this use case in the form of layers or overlays? For example, Yelp! includes a wealth of information about restaurants, which is a crucial indicator of an area’s after-hours vitality. Overlays could give an enlightening view of an area’s potential for foot traffic, available parking, recently approved or pending zoning changes, school buildings, other city infrastructure improvements, nearby transit plans, etc. Sure, it’s a little futuristic, but not outside the realm of possibility.
Closed Network Information
Lastly, we all envy a local’s perspective — for fishing, it is someone who is lives in Astoria, OR, and fishes the area frequently. Similarly, online investors want to know a city the way a local does, who would have a sense of up-and-coming neighborhoods and other hard-to-quantify components. Local-sourced information, collected and published to paying customers in a private area of the site, would give investors a conduit to obtaining local insights. I imagine these registered “sleuths” would be recognized through a trusted advisor status as their reputation for providing valuable insights grows. Alternatively, locals could be individually contracted by remote investors within the network.
Summary — Appealing to the Hunter
Accredited investors or high-net-worth individuals who don’t follow the crowds are notoriously difficult to reach. However, I believe building out the tools like the ones described above would appeal to the investors who don’t follow the “Fleet”, the ones who take pride in finding big fish themselves and have more subtle ways of selecting opportunities. Granted, hunters may not be the most prominent segment by investor count, but the above ideas could afford an investment site like Crowdstreet with differentiated and unique tools appealing to this special class of investor. Rather than wade into the bloody competitive waters where other investment websites already are, instead spurn the Fleet and find some Blue Ocean to fish.
