Jeffrey is a General Partner at Camber Creek. Jeffrey runs Camber Creek’s New York office where he sources deal flow, leads the due diligence, makes investment decisions and coordinates customer acquisition, retention and marketing strategies for Camber Creek’s portfolio companies. In addition to coordinating investments in numerous portfolio companies, Jeffrey is a current or past board member of Nestio, Bowery Valuation, Vedero (acquired by Murata), and SalesWarp. Jeffrey brings close to two decades of executive experience in the real estate industry.
I began my career in the real estate industry. I call myself a reformed developer having been involved in leasing, management, acquisitions, dispositions and, of course, development. Technology in real estate back then was your cellphone, computer and a fax machine. I became aware of early stage companies entering the market with promises of making real estate and associated workflows more efficient...I was hooked.
I would describe it as two phases. First, to get past the initial hurdle, a founder needs to rise above the rest by demonstrating scrappiness, hustle, or attention to detail. As a partner at a prominent VC firm, I see an average of 5 to 10 pitches per week. The founders who have built a lot with a little, who demonstrate an intensity of purpose, or who are operating at a consistently high level stand out. But to get to conviction to make an investment, a founder also needs to demonstrate a deep, particularized knowledge of both the underlying technology or service s/he is selling and the customer to whom s/he is selling. North of 95% of the founders we meet fail on one or the other of those two dimensions.
Camber Creek was founded on the idea that if we drive value for our portfolio companies, we will deliver exceptional returns to our investors. We add value through our network of limited partners, who own and operate real estate assets across all real estate verticals and in all major U.S. geographies. After we invest, we make strategic introductions to potential customers to increase revenue. We will not invest unless we think we can drive that kind of value. So we are very hands-on with our founders. We’re in touch every week if not every day, we’re lending advice, we’re making connections, we’re staying abreast of the major challenges and opportunities. Over time, we have found that the strongest leaders are those who have enough confidence to think big and enough humility to take feedback and learn from mistakes.
Know your stuff. Do your homework. Proofread your materials for typos. And try to avoid saying "um", "uh", "you know" and "kind of" - it erodes confidence.
I personally believe, and our firm believes, that you should always add value as a partner and as an investor. A lot of firms make promises and end up in a position where they overpromise and underdeliver. We show before we tell. And when we tell our limited partners and our portfolio companies what we are going to do, we do it. That helps us build trust, which is the foundation for long-term, enduring relationships.
New York City is the greatest city in the world. I am deeply bullish on the New York City technology scene in general and especially as it relates to proptech. I would argue that New York is one of the most important urban landscapes within the proptech industry. It has been painful to witness first-hand the impact of COVID-19 on New York, but I am confident the city will rebound stronger than ever in the years ahead.
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