An interactive workshop exploring how we at Thesis Driven evaluate emerging real estate business models, and some of the best opportunities we see for 2026.
In this two-hour session, Brad Hargreaves and Paul Stanton teach the frameworks they use to evaluate new real estate categories: how to assess growth potential, understand downside risks, judge scalability, and determine which business models have a path to institutional capital.
This is essential for both investors exploring new categories and operators aiming to understand how investors will hear their pitch and evaluate their asset class.
We'll use case studies from categories like Outdoor Hospitality, Data Centers, Urban Membership Clubs, Golf Course Roll-Ups, STR and Investment Homes, Boutique Office, and additional niches we're tracking in 2026.
Alongside walking through these emerging asset classes, we'll teach you how to think about and frame:
- Revenue drivers and margin structure
- Operating models and OpCo/PropCo splits
- Underwriting risk and sensitivity traps
- Barriers to institutionalization
- Pricing power, volatility, and scalability
- What makes an operator fundable
You'll learn to decode any niche by understanding the underlying business model, not just the asset class.
Participants get ongoing access to our Circle community with model templates, case studies, and all session recordings.
Over the past decade he has co-founded General Assembly, a pioneer in education and career transformation specializing in today’s most on-demand skills, as well as Common, a multifamily operating company focused on innovative housing typologies like coliving.
Paul is also a partner at PTB, a real estate investment banking boutique, and focuses on the intersection of capital markets, media, and alternative real estate. He has funded over $1B of real estate projects and platforms, and acquired and asset-managed over 8 million square feet of office, industrial, and multifamily assets in the US.
You'll learn how to
Evaluate new business models with a repeatable framework
Understand how Brad and Paul break down any category: margin structure, utilization curves, OpCo/PropCo economics, return hurdles, risk premiums, and scalability constraints.
Assess growth potential and scalability
What signals that an asset class can go institutional, versus staying a niche, local, or hobbyist category.
Identify downside risks and underwriting traps
How to analyze volatility, sensitivity risks, FX exposure, membership churn, seasonality, power costs, construction risk, and operator-level fragility.
Price the business model
Learn what drives yield in each category: RevPAR vs ADR, ARPU and membership economics, green fees and F&B margins, power density pricing, land cost ratios, TI exposure, and operating intensity scoring.
Analyze which opportunities fit a strategy
How investors match asset-class fundamentals to capital base, risk profile, team and ops capacity, geographic focus, and LP preferences.
Study real case studies, wins and losses
Break down why certain operators scale and others fail, and what today's realistic pricing and returns look like.
Format and access
Live, interactive session
A two-hour live session on Zoom with Brad Hargreaves and Paul Stanton.
A recording for everyone
The session is recorded and shared with all registered participants, even if you can't attend live.
Slides and materials
Slides, case studies, underwriting examples, and pricing templates.
Post-workshop access via Circle
Ongoing access to our Circle community with model templates, case studies, and all session recordings.
Hear from our alumni
"Brad and Paul opened my eyes to how real estate deals get put together, where incentives lie, and how we might create business cases for proptech and climate tech. Great stuff!"
"A perfect introduction to the most important real estate concepts, distilled down in the perfect way to absorb and retain. Paul and Brad clearly thought a lot about how to actually educate, not just data-dump the group."
"Excellent course that guides you through a fictional case study with detailed explanation of every single step for all personas at every stage of a real estate deal. I highly recommend enrolling."
"Huge thank you for an amazing five weeks. The 'Selling into Real Estate Owners' course content is a goldmine for anyone building or selling in PropTech, and the weekly cohort discussions are a rare chance to learn directly from peers."
"A collection of engaging and collaborative sessions on how to launch and structure a venture into real estate. Paul and Brad put on a great class with an even better collection of participants."
Frequently asked questions
Will participants receive materials?
Yes. Slides, case studies, underwriting examples, and pricing templates.
Will recordings be available?
Absolutely. All registered attendees receive recordings even if you can't attend live.
Do I need prior background?
No. This workshop is built to help emerging sponsors, investors, and experienced operators build fluency in evaluating new categories with sophistication and rigor.
As featured in
Evaluating Emerging Real Estate Business Concepts
Live on Wednesday, September 9, 12:00-2:00pm ET. $99.
Register for this workshopRecordings are sent to all registered attendees, whether or not you attend live.