In this podcast 🗣️, we dive deep into the current state of smart home 🏠 technology with Consumer Reports journalist Daniel Wroclawski, who brings 10 years of experience covering the smart home industry 🤖.

Dan shares candid insights 💡 about why our homes aren't as smart as we'd expect in 2024 despite rapid advances in other tech sectors.

What we discussed;
✅ Smart appliances and their questionable "smart" features.
✅ The fragmented state of smart home technology.
✅ Why integration between devices remains a major challenge.
✅ The promise (and delays) of the Matter standard.
✅ Most popular smart home technologies.
✅ Cybersecurity concerns and trade-offs.
✅ Practical advice for consumers considering smart home investments.

Whether you're a smart home enthusiast or just considering your first purchase, this conversation offers valuable insights into the current limitations, future possibilities, and practical considerations of smart home technology.

Follow Dan:
@TheSmartHomeGuy / @DanWC across social platforms
Consumer Reports: consumerreports.org

#35 Why are Smart Homes so Dumb?

How did a UK 🇬🇧 electronics vendor successfully expand globally 🌏, competing against industry giants, and grow 🔺 exports to over 40% of their business?

In this podcast episode, John Davies, former Managing Director of TDSi, reveals some of the strategies that transformed a regional Access Control 🚪 vendor into an international player. 🚀

🔑 Key insights include:
✅ How to compete against better-funded competitors from China and the US
✅ Building successful partnerships in Asian markets 🤝
✅ Smart cost management that helped weather the 2008 financial crisis 💰
✅ The secret to winning major contracts against industry giants like Honeywell
✅ Innovative approaches to product development and manufacturing 🏭

⭐ Bonus: Hear John's candid advice for entrepreneurs starting electronics businesses today!

Don't miss this deep dive into real-world business growth strategies for physical security companies.

#36 How a UK Electronics Vendor Grew Export Sales to Over 40%!

Are AI agents about to transform how our buildings work? In this conversation with smart building expert Elisa Rönkä, we explore how agentic AI could revolutionize the PropTech ecosystem.

This isn't just another AI hype video — it's a practical discussion about how the smart building industry might navigate a huge transformation in technology. We discuss:

* Why agentic AI is fundamentally different from tools like ChatGPT.
* How 70% of SaaS applications could be disrupted by AI agents.
* The end of dashboards as we know them.
* Why implementation costs could plummet, accelerating smart building adoption.
* The coming "agent-human hybrid" workflows that will transform building operations.

#37 Software Ate The World... What Will AI Agents Devour?

The UK Carbon Capture Gamble: Is It Worth £22 Billion? 💰🏭

In this eye-opening podcast episode, we dive deep with Nick Hun into the UK's massive bet on carbon capture technology! 🔍 Is the UK government putting all its eggs in one unproven basket? 🧺

🔥 What you'll discover:
* Why carbon capture might be the "new fusion" - a promising but perpetually distant solution ⚡
* Only 2% of carbon capture plants have performed as promised! 📉
* Alternative energy solutions the UK could be investing in instead 💡
* How the race to net zero could impact UK energy prices and manufacturing 🏭
* The critical skills gap threatening our green technology future 👷‍♀️

Nick brings decades of industry insight to the conversation, comparing the UK's push for net zero with more pragmatic approaches around the world. Whether you're in building tech, energy policy, or just concerned about your future energy bills, this conversation is essential viewing! ⚠️

👉 Don't miss Nick's final message of cautious optimism about the amazing engineering happening in the UK at the grassroots level!

#38 The UK's £22 Billion Carbon Capture Gamble!

In episode 40 of Sh*t You Wish Your Building Did, we dive deep into the unvarnished realities of running a PropTech startup with Michael Grant, founder of Metrikus and co-creator of Smart Buildings Boot Camp.

Michael shares hard-earned insights from 6 years in the trenches, covering everything from fundraising in 2025 to why partnerships in real estate are so much harder than other industries.

What You'll Learn:
Why PropTech sales cycles can stretch 12+ months and how to shorten them
The shift in VC funding since the 2021-2022 "bubble" burst
Why hardware can kill deals, and software-only solutions win
The reality behind recent PropTech acquisitions 
Strategic advice for founders at different stages
Why customer champions are everything in this industry

Resources Mentioned:
Smart Buildings Boot Camp https://smartbuildingbootcamp.com/
Subscribe to Memoori for more PropTech insights https://memoori.com/subscription/

#39 The Reality of PropTech Startups!

Devon Newton shares how Stiles Property Management escaped the "Efficiency Paralysis Cycle" and generated measurable savings across their portfolio.

The "Efficiency Paralysis Cycle" - Why Most Buildings Never See ROI:
* Low visibility into building performance
* Lack of CRE tech expertise
* Unproven ROI projections
* Budget constraints that keep savings stuck

Hard Numbers, Real Results:
* $300,000 CapEx savings on distributed antenna systems
* $52,000+ annual energy savings potential across 5 specific optimizations
* $95,000 in additional savings opportunities identified at their second property

Devon manages 116 properties across the Southeast USA for Stiles, a portfolio that's 95% third-party owned, meaning every dollar saved directly impacts client relationships and renewals. This isn't theory. These are real projects, real savings, real ROI!

#40 How Stiles Property Management Found $400K+ in Hidden Building Savings

What do you do when your entire campus is already running, tenants are happy, and lease rates are high, but your building systems are exposed? You can't just rip everything out and start over. You can't disrupt operations.

Tearle Whitson, VP of Operational Technology at MetroNational and Rob Murchison, CEO of Intelligent Buildings, join us to discuss how MetroNational fix network vulnerabilities across a 12 million sq ft campus.

This conversation is for you if
* You manage OT systems in commercial real estate.
* You're responsible for facilities, operations, or building technology.
* You've been told to "do smart buildings" but your systems aren't converged or secured.

This isn't theory. It's real implementation, real savings, real ROI!

#41 Exposed to Secured - MetroNational's Cybersecurity Story!

Steve Nguyen, VP of Product & Marketing at BuildingIQ talks about AI engines and why they are the future of intelligent buildings, and beyond.

AI Inference Engines: A Hidden Understanding of Buildings and Beyond

BuildingIQ helps building owners and operators worldwide lower energy use, increase building operations efficiency and tenant comfort.