Transcript 0:00 [gentle music] I think what's exciting is as the connected devices are out in the world, it's the things we're not even thinking about yet that are gonna help make the buildings more efficient, help make the people that manage it more efficient, make really great living experiences for the end user or the resident, and all of these things can end up being a very win-win-win. 0:22 It's because we're seeing this digital transformation in the real estate or the built world. [upbeat music] Welcome back to The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation. 0:38 Hello, listeners, and welcome back to The Peggy Smedley Show. I'm your host, Peggy Smedley. My next guest is truly an entrepreneur. 0:46 In 2012, he led the Kansas City Smart City Initiative, a public-private partnership led by Cisco deploying smart city technologies in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, creating one of the world's largest smart cities and winning a 2017 Edison Award for innovation. 1:04 He is a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council and Business Journal Leadership Trust, speaking nationally on smart cities, smart buildings, and the Internet of Things. 1:13 Please join me in welcoming Blake Miller, founder of Homebase. Blake, welcome to the show. That might have been the best intro I've ever gotten. Thanks for having me, Peggy. Oh, I- That's amazing... I doubt that. 1:24 I think you've deserved it. It's really exciting- [laughs]... 1:27 what you're doing there in Kansas City, and I'm excited to have you on the show because, uh, you know, this is pretty much an easy walk in the park for you to, to talk about- [laughs]... 1:35 all the things that's happening in IoT, and I love guests who really know IoT and smart cities. So let's talk about that. You know, you were just- Mm-hmm... 1:43 at CES and were probably one of the few people who was [laughs] at CES. Was it kind of weird to be at CES this year, a little different? It, it was definitely a little bit weird, but I was so glad to be back. 1:54 And, you know, I think, like you said, you know, us lifers, uh, that have been going for the last 10, 15 years, you know, it was really good to see a lot of old friends 'cause they were the ones that, that made the trip. 2:04 And, and, uh, you know, they're, it's nice to be able to, uh, not have to wait in a taxi line, you know? So it was good. It is good. It is good. It, it's glad to see that, uh, people still are getting out- Yeah... 2:14 you know, 'cause, uh, this COVID thing is a little too much for all of us. But the good news is technology and innovation is still occurring, and you're one that understands that. 2:24 You understand how technology is disrupting all kinds of industries, and, and one of them that you know really well is real estate. Let's talk about- Mm-hmm... how we're seeing that change. 2:34 Gi- give us a little insight into that. Yeah. So, you know, at Homebase.ai, we are making apartment buildings smart. 2:42 Uh, and that means a lot of different things to a lot of folks, but, you know, we focus on being a software-based company. We're kind of an operating system for the building, if you think about it. 2:51 And we've built an ecosystem of best-in-class partners that have built all this connected infrastructure, right? 2:57 So we focus on two of the, the biggest components, which is you gotta have a way to get people in and out of the building, um, whether it's the residents, guests, vendors, um, service providers, whoever it might be, they've gotta be able to get in and out. 3:09 And so we provide a full access control system for every door in the building so people can get it out, g- in and out with their phones, uh, using Bluetooth. 3:18 And then the other thing that, that we really focus on is you gotta have a way to connect all the things that you want to, uh, connect in, in your apartment building or any s- any smart building. 3:27 And so instead of using a, like, cellular-based hubs that are really focused on just connecting, like, the smart home inside the apartment unit, we actually deploy Wi-Fi infrastructure throughout the entire building. 3:38 That provides that connectivity layer for all the devices that you're gonna connect now or in the future, but also it gives the property owners an, a new service that they can offer their residents, um, which is a, a Wi-Fi solution. 3:50 Um, so residents can pick whatever that, whatever Wi-Fi speeds that they want, p- add it rig- directly to their rent bill, and pay it all through the Homebase app, uh, which is the same app they use to get into their building and then changes their thermostat or any of those other things as well. 4:05 And when we think about that today, the idea, how comfortable have you seen residents feeling about this? Because we talk about using technology, our apps. Some are comfortable, some are uneasy. 4:16 How have you seen the reception to this? You know, we've, we've seen a really positive response. But at the end of the day, you know, a lock is still a lock. 4:24 People still need to be able to get in, whether it's through their phone or, you know, a, a traditional, like, key card or fob access. 4:30 So we have to be able to provide all of that, which, you know, in some cases, those fobs are really just, like, a dumb piece of the smart building, um, or, or a dumb piece of the Internet of Things, right? 4:42 It, uh, it can be assigned to those individual people and allow them in and out. Uh, the same thing with, like, the thermostats or, or any of those things. It should just still function on the wall. You can go up there. 4:52 Um, so we've really tried to, uh, enable, uh, those con- that connectivity piece and allow residents to, you know, let the technology fade into the background. And when we think about this, that's what it should be. 5:05 It should be something you don't think about, and it's in this world we're trying to think about today of being more sustainable, more resilient, and that's, in the rental side of it, that's a really big step to it. 5:15 We need to see that in our r- in the homes that we have there and renting, in the real estate space, in our single family homes. In looking at CES in general, what kind of things there, that's one big move that you had. 5:28 Do you see from CES that you're seeing a lot of other innovation disruption that you saw, that you said, "Look, this is gonna take us from this point that you're doing right now, just with your solution, to many other things," that actually say this is just the beginning of so much more that we can do?I, I mean, you're, you're spot on. 5:48 It is completely the beginning. The Internet of things still isn't connected. I mean, all the things still aren't connected. 5:55 But I think w- some of the things that I saw at CES this year that excites me is that we're moving beyond just the, "Oh, we can unlock and, uh, lock a door from our smartphone." 6:06 Um, we're moving beyond that and going into what are the services or what are the, what are the ways this is really gonna affect our lives? 6:12 And, you know, Walmart, uh, actually announced that they're rolling out to now 30 million plus homes or coverage of this to do in-home grocery delivery, and this is something we've actually been testing with them in Kansas City for the last year, uh, literally allowing residents in apartments with, uh, Homebase to sign up for Walmart in-home grocery delivery and allow them to put groceries all the way into their refrigerator. 6:37 They wear a body camera the entire time, so it's super secure and everybody can see that delivery happening in real time. Uh, but it becomes this next level, uh, really future-forward amenity that the residents get. 6:49 They can get groceries delivered into their refrigerator, and it happens because of secure Bluetooth credentialing, getting people in and out of that door. 6:57 It sounds interesting when you talk about this, but I, I have to still go back to... And, you know, I love the Internet of things. 7:03 I'm the one who's going forward, but I can't believe that we're at that point that enough people are saying, "I'm gonna let some stranger come not only into my garage, but all the way into my house and all the way into my refrigerator," camera or not. 7:16 Because we've seen the body cameras on the police officers. They're still not enough. Mm-hmm. Are we there that testing with Walmart says we've gotta get there? 7:25 I mean, it's great, but are we there now, or are we still in that early testing phase to build the confidence or, "You know what? We've, we've gotta put those fears behind us and move forward"? I... 7:37 Yeah, I've gotta give this to Walmart. Um, they have thought this through so well, and it's not just some random, ah, gig worker or, or, or, ah, you know, random delivery driver. 7:47 You actually get to know, ah, in a weird way, the, the drivers who are doing this. They've been employed, ah, by Walmart for over 18 months that they, you know, before they could even apply for the program itself. 7:59 Uh, they do background checks. And, you know, what we, what we've laughed about, ah, all of our... 8:04 All the people that work at Homebase who've been using the service and even some friends of ours and some of the residents that we've seen the feedback is, you know, people know Roy, the delivery driver. 8:14 You know, he leaves, ah, he leaves a dog treat on the counter for us and, you know, he, he threw away the old eggs, ah, because I bought new eggs this time and he knew they were expired. 8:23 You start to actually kind of get to know them, and it almost really feels like a concierge service. 8:28 So, you know, I, I definitely understand the, ah, the hesitancy and, and some of those things, but what I think that excites me is that companies, um, you know, like Walmart are thinking, ah, very in depth on h- what that experience is like to not make it feel like that, and they're working with companies like ours and startups, you know, around to, you know, really try to make it work. 8:50 I can tell you based on the aging population that we have, right? Mm. 8:55 If, if Walmart steps it up and thinks about, look, this isn't just a low-paying job that they provide, that they're taking care of their workers- Oh, absolutely... it is absolutely going to be... 9:06 They're, they're going to be top-notch with this because I do believe just what you just described, that people are gonna feel comfortable with the person coming in, that they're gonna be able to provide not only del- delivery service, but other services. 9:18 Oh, yeah. You can change that, and I think that's what you just described. I see so much more being able to be offered through this that I think it's an amazing opportunity for what Walmart's gonna be able... 9:29 And maybe they've thought this through, but hearing you talk about it right now, I just see the opportunities for them or anybody, that concierge type of approach. 9:38 I think, you know, we're getting used to that s- that software as a service kind of thing, but now the people, the human-centric side of it is, is amazing what you just described. Yeah. 9:49 And, you know, we've taken all those learnings, and we're now, ah, working with several other types of services, ah, to open this up for many other amenities for the residents. 10:00 So things like laundry service, house cleaners, pets, pet walkers. They're... 10:06 And, you know, um, all those types of services that can happen through the door, and these become great amenities for the residents, but they're also... It... We look at the, with the... 10:16 We look at the smart door like the transaction engine now for the property. 10:20 So it becomes a way for the properties to generate new revenue streams for the, for their properties as well, and it ends up being a very win-win solution we see, we think. 10:29 And it's amazing how the vision that we have now of what thinks of happening with our smart buildings, to think what happens with the IoT and how it's evolved. Mm-hmm. And, and we wanna think that, that... 10:41 And when we look at COVID, COVID has just changed our mind of what we would or wouldn't have done before. What's... What do you think is coming next? I mean, this is an opportunity for us. 10:51 Sky's the limit, as I always say, about our imagination, about the things we can bring to our lives that we might not have done before, but that can enhance and make our lives better in, in a way that is good for everyone. 11:05 Well, I think what's exciting is, you know, Homebase, along with, you know, some of our great competitors that are in the market all kind of creating this new category of smart buildings, we're, we're actually finally now starting to get some scale, all of us. 11:19 And so we, we've found a lot of things that provide ROI. There's a lot of early energy management things happening. 11:25 I think what's exciting is as the connected devices are out in the world, it's the things we're not even thinking about yet that are gonna help make the buildings more efficient, help make the people that manage it more efficient, make really great living experiences for the, for the end user or the resident. 11:42 Um, and all of these things can end up being a very win-win-win, and it's, and it's because we're seeing this digital transformation in the real estate or the built world.As you look at the solutions that are out there and you see what's happening and you see, like we're talking about IoT, but now you see it advancing to AI and AR and VR and all of these types of things that are, are moving, machine learning Mm-hmm... 12:07 what do you think we need to do to get there? Is there one thing that's going to push, I always say, push that needle faster or harder or whatever the word wi- might be. 12:17 What do you think is gonna, uh, get us to where we need to be that we embrace these things that change our lives to a point that we won't even think about Joe coming through the door and, and throwing out those eggs anymore, or, you know, there's this spoiled whatever in the refrigerator, or helping us, you know, in finding, you know, we wa- unfortunately somebody's passed away sleeping. 12:39 You know, we've all heard about the Bob Saget story. Yeah. I mean, knowing these things, but s- you know, won't be stories like that that are, you know, because so- a loved one... 12:48 'Cause there's not, people don't have their loved ones anymore to be able to find that. I mean, those are things that somebody else is coming in and checking on people. 12:54 I mean, there's all kinds of things that we haven't even thought of that we might be able to find out. Well, you know, I, I think there's [laughs] a lot of different answers to that, but- I know, right? 13:02 I threw a lot at you right there... like I'm sorry. You threw a ton. 13:05 You threw a ton at me, Peggy, but I'll, I'll try to, I'll try to bi- take a bite at the apple here as, you know, I think one of the things that we're seeing right now, and some of this is chip shortages, some of this is labor shortages, but you know, a lot of it is we need to figure out how to build a lot more housing. 13:19 And I think one of the things that we're seeing and the groups that we're working with, real- from a real estate developer or, you know, large scale, uh, community developer, is standardizing across as many of these components as they can, you know. 13:34 They can standardize across access control, standardize about what types of, uh, HVAC systems are gonna go in their systems, and it allows them to start to shorten the cycle of building the building, but also, and save some g- save capital in, in some of that CapEx upfront, but it allows their management teams to go into the building knowing how it already runs. 13:57 Uh, and that scale is going to allow the buildings to be more efficient, which ultimately should help affect the cost of, you know, managing that building from the long term, which hopefully will keep rents down and, and affect so many other things that the smart technology can do. 14:15 Uh, and I think it's just tip of the iceberg of getting the, the tools in the building to be able to start this kind of revolution that we're all working towards. We have to do a lot of education, you know? 14:25 We have to make sure the owner, the operator, the facility management, everybody involved understands the tools and the benefits here in order to be doing these things, and I think that's it. 14:36 So Blake Miller, founder of Homebase, thank you so much for being with us. Uh, I really appreciate your time. 14:41 Where can our listeners go to work with you to be able to help continue the education and to continue to drive the Internet of things forward? Yeah, you can find us online at homebase.ai. 14:53 Uh, we're pretty active on all the social media as well at, @homebaseai. All right. Well, thank you again, Blake. I really appreciate it. Thank you for having me, Peggy. 15:03 All right, listeners, that's all the time we have for our show today, but remember, you can share your thoughts with me on Twitter at ConnectedWorld. 15:10 Remember, we are broadcast live every Tuesday at 12:00 PM Central, and please check out our website at connectedworld.com or the peggysmedley show.com website. 15:20 All right, this is The Peggy Smedley Show, the podcasting voice of IoT and digital transformation. And remember, with great technology comes great responsibility. Have an awesome week. [upbeat music]
