Climate Tech | Fifth Wall CEO Brendan Wallace on Building Real Estate's Tesla & US Elections Impact on Climate Tech Investment

Brendan Wallace is CEO & CIO at Fifth Wall, where he guides the firm’s strategic vision. Fifth Wall is the largest venture capital firm focused on technologies for the global real estate industry, including those which decarbonize the sector. Wallace has described the impact of the real estate industry on the environment as "the single-biggest lever we can turn on to mitigate climate change.” Prior to founding Fifth Wall in 2016, Brendan co-founded Identified, a workforce optimization data and analytics company that raised $33 million of venture funding and was acquired by Workday (NYSE: WKDY) in 2014. He also co-founded Cabify, the largest ridesharing service in Latin America, and has been an active investor, leading more than 60 angel investments including Lyft, SpaceX, Dollar Shave Club, Bonobos, Philz Coffee, and TriNet Zenefits.

(1:28) - Why Fifth Wall built a dedicated team for Climate Tech investing
(6:22) - Feature - Blueprint: The Future of Real Estate
(7:10) - Selling software vs. Climate Tech to Real Estate LP's
(9:10) - Proptech investing & adoption across different markets
(13:15) - US presidential election impact on Climate Tech
(16:10) - Fifth Wall's role and legacy in Climate Tech
(20:27) - What would Brendan do if he was a founder today
(25:00) - Collaboration Superpower: Sam Zell (Wiki)

💚 Learn more:
➡️ Fifth Wall's site
➡️ Brendan Wallace on LinkedIn

➡️ Am I Being Too Subtle - Sam Zell's Book
➡️ Cherry Lawn Capital White Paper - Transitional Finance: A New Credit Model for High-Growth Real Estate Businesses

💚 Feature:
➡️ Blueprint Vegas 2025 - Register for 2025: The Premier Event for Industry Executives, Real Estate & Construction Tech Startups and VCs, at The Venetian, Las Vegas on September 16th-18th, 2025.

💚 Connect with Tangent:
➡️ Edward Cohen on LinkedIn
➡️ Jeff Berman on LinkedIn
➡️ Zach Aarons on LinkedIn
➡️ Tangent on LinkedIn

Clarification: The number cited at the beginning of the episode $3.2 Billion refers to the amount raised, not deployed, but the VC firms.

Disclaimer: Tangent podcast is for entertainment and informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advise. Nothing contained on our program constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Tangent, Camber Creek, MetaProp, or any third party guest to buy or sell any securities, public or private, other financial instruments or funds.