Clelia Warburg Peters wants women to know that in their careers, what they want is there for the taking.
Peters is a managing partner for Era Ventures, a New York City-based investment firm that focuses on proptech and contech startups. The company announced its inaugural, $88 million fund on Sept. 18.
Here, Peters talks with Construction Dive about the current state of venture capital, how contech fits into that broader landscape and the best approach for growing diversity in technology and construction.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
CONSTRUCTION DIVE: What does the overall venture capital space look like right now?
CLELIA WARBURG PETERS: I think we are probably at the tail end of a pretty meaningful correction coming out of the 2022 period.
I've been investing in this broader category for more than 10 years, and I think for a lot of the first seven or eight years, we were in a true bull market in the venture space. That meant that it was almost like, if you were a company with a pulse, you could probably raise money. And that was certainly not just true for proptech. That was true across the board in venture.
Then we had this really meaningful market correction in 2022, starting with the public markets and kind of flowing backwards. That's had a lot of impacts.
Where does this environment leave construction technology now?
I still think construction tech is an area of a lot of interest for a lot of not just specialist venture capitalists, but generalist VCs as well.
What I am hopeful about is that the correction in the broader venture market is going to mean that many of the companies that are built now are actually built with more thoughtfulness and discipline, and that there's a little more rigor applied to investing decisions on the part of investors, but also, frankly, growth decisions on the part of founders and CEOs, that it's not a growth-at-all-costs environment.
With that said, I think that there's a lot that generalist investors in particular don't understand about the sometimes-complex dynamics of the construction industry.
If you're a generalist investor, you read about how construction, which is a huge driver of the economy, is also “less efficient” than it was 30 years ago. And you say, “Wow, there's going to be lots of opportunity to just apply tech willy-nilly across this whole sector.”
You do that at your own peril, without understanding some of the very complex layers, relationships and systems that exist in the industry writ large today, which I think will continue to take a fair amount of time to change.
Construction and technology are both industries that are mostly populated by men. In your experience, what has it been like rising in your career in these fields?
My experience has been overwhelmingly positive. Personally, I feel like I have been supported by a lot of people, including a lot of mentors and friends who were, in most cases, male. But I think it is really important to acknowledge that that is not everyone's experience.
This is an industry that I think historically has been — maybe it's wrong to say it's not that welcoming, because I think a lot of people in this industry do welcome more diversity in the industry — but just not very well structured to actually support that diversity.
I think that there is a distinction between feeling open to diversity and being welcoming of diversity when it shows up on your doorstep, which I think is a lot of what happened to me.
I was able to often get myself into the room, and then once I was in the room, I felt like people were really helpful and supportive to me in the room. But I think what we need to continue to think about is, what are the ways that this industry is structured in a way that isn't supportive of people even getting into the room in the first place. Who are we trying to pull into the room?
I think this goes well beyond thinking about things like maternity leave or job pathways.
Also, what are the attributes that we assign to people that we think look successful, particularly in these industries, which have both been a macho industry for a long time?
What I will say is that real estate and construction are really relationship-driven industries, and I do think women often excel in relationship-driven industries.
How can people improve diversity in the industry and in their workplaces?
I'm so supportive of the different programs that exist to bring different voices into the room, and some of the more structured actions that are being taken. But I think that this happens in the more subtle interactions.
If you have a junior engineer on your project who's a woman and maybe her style is not to speak up as aggressively, taking the beat to actually see what that person thinks, as opposed to just assuming that they don't have an opinion, that makes a big difference.
Additionally, thinking about the ways that people show up, the way their work is valued or measured.
Maybe, if you're someone with younger children, you actually want to be home in the early evenings, but maybe you're then willing to work later afterwards. Being open to some really small stuff can make a really big difference.
What advice would you give to women coming up the pipeline in tech or construction?
It is basically all here for the taking.
The counterpoint to what I'm saying, on the side of the people who are in positions of authority, is actually having the confidence to feel like, “No, I belong in this room. I have something to offer, even if my style is a little different, or if I look different.” Show up with confidence, positivity, excitement about what's happening, and be clear about your needs and your style.
That also makes a huge difference in terms of moving things forward.
I feel like I didn’t ask for that much permission in my career. I just forged forward doing things to the beat of my own drum.
