CHICAGO - eTradeWire -- The Foundation for Innovation in Real Estate (FIRE) is excited to announce the official launch of The Catalyst: FIRE's Emerging Manager Tech Council — a curated community of nearly 100 leading early-stage owners and managers recognized as some of the most forward-thinking adopters of technology across the built world.

Designed to unite innovation and capital, The Catalyst brings together the next generation of real estate investors — those driving pilot programs, testing new technologies, and shaping the strategies that will define the industry's future.

Led by Matt Knight, Executive Director of FIRE, and Advisor Stephanie Gubiotti, Founder and CEO of Verra Communities, The Catalyst serves as the connective tissue between founders, operators, and capital allocators — translating innovation into action and aligning technology with long-term ownership, education, and impact.

What's Next: Community, Collaboration, and the FIRE Summit 2026

Members of The Catalyst: Emerging Manager Tech Council will gain access to a full calendar of curated events throughout 2026, including peer roundtables, hands-on demos, working sessions, and private pre-show tours that showcase the technologies reshaping the built world.

Building on FIRE's growing network of academic and industry partnerships, the Council will collaborate closely with the Intercollegiate PropTech Club — connecting students, researchers, and professionals to test ideas, share findings, and co-develop technology solutions that move the industry forward.

Members will also receive early invitations to the FIRE Summit in May 2026, FIRE's flagship annual event convening operators, investors, and innovators to share research, lessons learned, and real-world applications.

Exclusive community perks and shared resources will continue to roll out in early 2026, each designed to strengthen collaboration and celebrate the progress of members driving measurable industry impact.

As FIRE's ecosystem continues to expand, The Catalyst: Emerging Manager Tech Council will evolve into a donors-only community in 2026, reinforcing FIRE's commitment to transparency, research, and long-term sustainability.

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This evolution ensures that contributions directly support educational programming, student innovation, and data integrity initiatives such as The Intercollegiate PropTech Club and FIRE Research Labs.

The launch of The Catalyst: Emerging Manager Tech Council marks a defining moment for FIRE — and for the next generation of investors shaping the built world.

By equipping emerging managers with access, insight, and infrastructure to pilot and scale new technologies, FIRE is building the foundation for sustainable innovation — where capital, education, and creativity move in lockstep.

Through the combined leadership of Knight and Gubiotti, and the engagement of nearly 100 forward-thinking managers, The Catalyst is more than a council — it's a movement to accelerate innovation through collaboration, discipline, and shared purpose.

Additional details on FIRE's 2026 programming calendar, advisory partners, and pilot initiatives will be announced in Q1 2026.

Guided by Experience: Bridging Innovation, Investment, and Education

Together, Knight and Gubiotti bring a rare blend of venture, operational, and educational leadership to FIRE's mission.

Matt Knight — Connecting Innovation, Capital, and Talent

Knight is a PropTech investor focused on seed-stage investments in the U.S. He is the founder and owner of the world's largest angel group focused exclusively on technology in real estate — the PropTech Angel Group — and serves as Executive Director of the Foundation for Innovation in Real Estate (FIRE), whose mission is to catalyze high-impact innovation in the world's largest asset class.

Before founding FIRE, Knight was a partner at Sway Ventures and Shadow Ventures, two venture capital funds focused exclusively on construction and real estate technology. He was responsible for capital formation, deal sourcing, and underwriting. Knight frequently speaks and writes about emerging trends and false narratives in PropTech through his widely read industry newsletter, Vertical.

In parallel, Knight is leading a series of academic collaborations through FIRE, including the creation of the Intercollegiate PropTech Club — an all-new initiative that connects students across leading universities to collaborate, research, and innovate around the future of the built world.

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The program will serve as a shared platform for students from diverse disciplines — real estate, computer science, design, and finance — to work directly with FIRE mentors, Catalyst members, and PropTech founders, turning academic ideas into executable pilots and startups.

Stephanie Gubiotti — Translating Innovation into Execution

Gubiotti, Advisor to The Catalyst: Emerging Manager Tech Council and Founder and CEO of Verra Communities, brings over two decades of experience across real estate operations, technology transformation, and investment strategy.

Before founding Verra Communities, she held executive and leadership roles with several notable real estate investment and management firms, where she oversaw large-scale operational transformations, led technology adoption initiatives, and drove portfolio performance across multifamily and mixed-use communities.

At Verra Communities, Gubiotti is building a next-generation real estate investment and management firm focused on long-term ownership, operational excellence, and community stewardship. The company's vision centers on aligning disciplined investment strategy with a human-centered approach to property operations — investing not only in assets, but in the people and places that define them.

She also serves as Chair of Emerging Leaders for RETTC (Real Estate Technology & Transformation Center) and advises several early-stage technology firms, with a focus on female-founded PropTech companies.

Together, Knight and Gubiotti represent both sides of the innovation equation — capital and operations, vision and execution, technology and adoption — driving the mission of The Catalyst forward with aligned purpose

Support the Mission

FIRE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations directly fund educational programs, student innovation, and research advancing technology in the built world.

To learn more or make a tax-deductible contribution, visit www.InnovateRE.org/donate or contact donors@InnovateRE.org.

Press Contact:

info@InnovateRE.org