Bogdan Nicoară, co-founder and chief executive of Bright Spaces, on how he got started in property, his top film and book picks, the superpower he wishes he had and what he would do with one million pounds
How did you join the property industry?
I started my career in tech in 2008 when, together with other partners, I launched a web design company that later grew into a software company and a digital marketing company. After almost 10 years, we wanted to create something different. In 2019, a project that became the initial idea for Bright Spaces won a real estate hackathon. That is when we realised how much untapped potential there is in the digitalisation of the real estate market.
What does your job entail?
I am now mostly focused on business growth, market penetration and raising capital. I do get involved in product development, ESG policies, HR, crisis management and communications, but on the strategic side.
What do you like most about the property industry?
I like working with an industry that is now going through a digital transformation and finding the best approach to optimising work processes, without losing sight of the value added by direct, human interaction.
And what do you dislike most about it?
We’d like for things to happen faster, of course, and to see a more rapid adoption of 3D digital twins, but at the same time, we know we are working with deeply embedded processes that have paid off until now.
What would you change about the property industry?
There is a considerable impact of the property industry on the environment and society at large. What I’d like to see – and we have started to slowly witness this – is a greener, more sustainable approach towards how real estate influences our natural environment, our economy and people.
What barriers or challenges have you overcome?
One unexpected challenge we are facing is that we are just at the beginning of the digital transformation in real estate. There are not many deep tech solutions on the market, and we still see a preference for traditional processes and tools.
What are you most proud of in your career?
We are contributing to the creation of a new category; this is one of the things I am extremely proud and excited about. Looking for solutions and for ways to make things better has always been a driver for me.
What do you value in people?
In order to grow a strong, future-proof business, you need more than just a good idea – you need the right people. It is very important for the people I work with to be motivated, coachable, proactive, and to have a critical way of thinking and care deeply about others and their work.
What advice would you give someone starting a career in the property industry?
To people just starting their career in the built world, I would tell them to look at the future (even the near future) as a digitally enhanced set of assets and processes. Even if, right now, real estate is still clinging to the old ways, we can see that change has started and that proptech is advancing fast in all areas of the biggest asset class in the world.
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