We are your housing innovation partner.
We are committed to improving the financial feasibility of housing development through creative entitlement strategies, product-market innovation, and the proactive integration of cost-saving construction technology.
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“Michael is remarkably creative in the face of constraints: he grasps the complexity of multifamily development, without being weighed down by it.”
-Alexa Arena, Global Head of Real Estate Development, Google
Description of Services
Black Oak assembled a vertical development team and prepared a series of multifamily product feasibility analyses to help Google develop a new business plan and entitlement strategy for multifamily development in four mixed-use residential districts in Silicon Valley. Our scope includes analyzing the risk and rewards of deploying new construction technologies.
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“Michael provided us with the right balance of pragmatism and innovation. He helped my team weigh the trade-offs between different corporate policy responses to the housing crisis.”
-Mike Signer, Head of Policy, North America, Airbnb
Description of Services
Michael produced an internal White Paper on the roots of the U.S. housing affordability crisis. Building on this, he designed several pilot programs unique to Airbnb’s platform and collaborated with the Data Sciences team to develop scalable ‘Housing Affordability Reports’ for major US metros that will be released over time to help educate policy makers on how Airbnb interacts with housing markets.
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“Michael helps us think two steps ahead."
-Tim Thimmaiah, CEO & Co-Founder, Type Five
Description of Services
Michael is advising the co-founders of Type Five, a software-enabled ADU design-build-deliver startup. This includes drafting state legislation that will allow HCD to develop a testing methodology for Type Five’s parametric design software, Formwork. If successful, Formwork will be able to produce ‘pre-approved’ plan sets, radically educing the time and cost required to build ADUs.
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“Michael helps me stay focused on achieving strategic goals while also finding practical solutions to tactical challenges.”
-Chad Bowker, CEO & Co-Founder, Capsule
Description of Services
Michael is providing ongoing executive coaching to Chad Bowker, the CEO of Capsule, a leading componentized construction company. To this end, Michael has drawn upon his past experience as a founder to help Chad navigate Capsule’s recent capital raise, as well as helping him develop a long-term customer pipeline through better story-telling.
