Metrospaces Inc (MSPC)

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Since launching five years ago, Shokworks has developed products for clients that include Telefonica, Fox Sports, Real Madrid, Kinesis Money, Dupont Chemicals, FC Barcelona, Telemundo, and the United Kingdom government.

Shokworks takes a niche approach to the companies it works with—it offers both capital and digital prowess.

Often, as in the case with Metrospaces, Laplana will take an ownership stake in the company, depending on its size. Shokworks then provides all back-end programming.

“We do tend to work in that capacity where we basically provide a full-scale digital transformation, and in exchange, we receive equity or stock ownership on the delta,” Laplana says. For instance, Shokworks owns 10 percent of MetroHouse and Metrocrowd, and helped transform Metrospaces from a more traditional property-based company to align with the burgeoning proptech movement.

“We’ll be also assisting with management, we’ll get board seats, and we’re part of the executive committee,” Laplana says. “We’ll be deciding what companies to roll up in the future and kind of adapt into our ecosystem.”

When seeking a partner, the CEO looks for anyone who is meaningfully disrupting the real estate industry.