White-Label vs. Native Apps: Navigating the Multifamily Mobile App Maze
The future of multifamily is being rewritten—not in boardrooms, but in the minds of daring entrepreneurs. That energy was unmistakable as Andrea Taylor, Guillermo Salazar, John Hinckley, Jason Wallis, and Anthony Paganucci, five forward-thinking startups, took the stage to pitch their vision, backed by a panel of sharp-eyed operators and investors ready to separate the hype from the real opportunity. The showcase brought together a mix of optimism, disruption, and hard-won insight on what it really takes to move the needle in an industry often slow to change.
The format was fast-paced and dynamic: each startup had just five minutes to pitch, followed by an immediate round of probing questions from the panel. This setup allowed attendees to not only hear about breakthrough ideas, but also observe how these founders handled real-time scrutiny and demonstrated business viability under pressure.
Themes of automation, personalization, and frictionless experiences surfaced repeatedly. Several startups proposed tools that streamline processes like maintenance, leasing, or communication—highlighting pain points that have long plagued property operations. What set these pitches apart wasn’t just the tech itself, but the clear articulation of ROI, whether through reduced labor costs, enhanced resident retention, or optimized asset performance.
Panelists John Helm, Girish Gehani, and Marcella Eppsteiner pushed each presenter to clarify their market fit, scalability, and customer traction. Rather than being a passive audience, they offered candid feedback about data privacy, integration complexity, and the difference between a cool feature and a must-have platform. The emphasis wasn’t on trendiness—it was on business fundamentals and long-term relevance.
A few pitches zeroed in on underserved customer journeys, especially around move-in and service workflows. By addressing these overlooked moments with intuitive tech, the startups aimed to improve both resident satisfaction and back-end efficiency. Others leaned into predictive analytics and AI, suggesting new ways to anticipate maintenance issues or personalize leasing journeys in real time.
One particularly compelling moment came when a startup reframed their product not as a tech layer, but as a business transformation engine. They stressed that technology should help teams do more with less—freeing up humans to focus on empathy, connection, and community-building. That sentiment resonated deeply with the panel and audience alike, reinforcing that successful innovation in multifamily must strike a balance between digital tools and human experience.
Another key insight was the need for tech solutions that can scale across portfolios. Operators don’t just want good ideas—they want solutions that integrate with existing systems and workflows. The panel pressed for proof of integration success, citing the difficulty of rolling out point solutions that don’t play well with PMSs or CRMs.
The dialogue wasn’t limited to startups. The panelists, each representing different parts of the ownership and operations spectrum, shared what excites them most in proptech today: automation with clear labor ROI, solutions that align with ESG goals, and platforms that enable data unification and smarter asset decisions. Their questions and commentary reflected the high bar for adoption—but also a genuine hunger for innovation that delivers tangible value.
What emerged from the showcase was not just a look at the products themselves, but a broader conversation about timing, execution, and market readiness. Several panelists acknowledged that being “too early” is a common challenge for startups in real estate. As such, founders were encouraged to focus as much on customer education and change management as they do on code and features.
Importantly, the showcase was a reminder that innovation isn’t just about flashy tech—it’s about solving real, persistent problems in ways that teams can actually adopt. Whether addressing renter communication gaps, back-office inefficiencies, or predictive asset performance, the most compelling pitches were those grounded in operational empathy and strategic foresight.
By the end of the session, attendees walked away not just with a few app names to remember, but with a renewed sense of what’s possible when bold ideas meet practical execution. The event reinforced that startups have a critical role to play in reshaping multifamily—but only if they’re willing to speak the language of the industry, meet it where it is, and build toward where it’s going.
Here is the replay: