01/25/2021
John Helm | Managing Director of RET Ventures
John Helm, Managing Director and Founder of RET Ventures, joins Matt for this week’s episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate. RET Ventures is the first industry-backed early-stage venture fund focused on helping build cutting-edge real estate technology companies for the multifamily and single-family rental industries. John is our third guest from the proptech space (we previously featured Clara Brenner from the Urban Innovation Fund and Brad Greiwe from Fifth Wall). RET Ventures’ business model is differentiated in both its focus on the rental space and that all of their investors are owner-operators, creating a virtuous cycle between clients, customers, and investors. In the episode, John and Matt talk about the impact of technology on the rental housing business, the benefits of tenure and deep relationships in a relationship-oriented business, and John’s fascinating career journey.
John also sits on the boards of Smart Rent, GiGstreem, Fernish, Moved, Lexicon, Sight Plan, Funnel and Opiniion. Prior to founding RET Ventures, John was a Venture Partner with DN Capital in Munich, Germany, ran and successfully exited two venture-backed real estate tech startups, was CFO of Marcus & Millichap, and a consultant at McKinsey & Company.
