This edition of the Nexus Newsletter is brought to you by SkySpark and Jaros, Baum & Bolles.

Hey friends,

As I said in my newsletter reviewing 2022, I’m filled with gratitude for each of your contributions to helping us move the industry forward so far.

But we’re not stopping there. We’re not going to simply rinse and repeat in 2023. In this newsletter, let me tell you where Nexus Labs is headed next.

First, we must acknowledge what I believe is the giant elephant in the room: ME.

While I was nerding out on decarbonization and horizontal architectures in 2022, there were so many topics under the smart buildings umbrella that got neglected. A solo creator can’t possibly scratch the surface of all the innovation, champions, and change happening in the digitization and decarbonization of real estate.

While I was nerding out on venture capital and launching the Nexus Labs Syndicate, there were also so many facets of building a small business that got neglected.

I know that the only way Nexus Labs will continue to push the industry forward is to no longer be synonymous with James Dice. I may have started this thing, but now I’m holding it back. It’s time for me to get out of the way. Get ready for some big changes in 2023!

In 2023, I’m going to get out of the way in 3 ways:

• Building a team
• Building great partnerships
• Building a roster of independent creators

Let’s unpack each of those.

Building a Team

When I returned from my honeymoon last fall, I decided it was time to take Nexus Labs to the next level. It’s time to build a team.

When I mapped out our future team, there was only one person I wanted to start with: Rosy Khalife, Nexus Labs’ new Chief Operating Officer. Rosy and I met at a conference in 2021 and it was immediately clear that her skill set would compliment mine perfectly.

Rosy is a serial entrepreneur and was most recently the Chief Marketing Officer at Attune (formerly Senseware), where she led growth and partnerships. Prior to joining Attune, she was entrepreneur in residence at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and founded and led the popular direct-to-consumer company Surprise Ride to acquisition by Fat Brain Toys. Rosy has appeared on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank and has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, and named top 40 under 40 by Washington Business Journal.

Rosy is passionate about mentoring minority entrepreneurs. She frequently speaks at conferences and panels about her unlikely journey to entrepreneurship that all started with her and her family winning the U.S. Green Card Lottery.

“As a longtime Nexus Pro member I’ve been awestruck by the growth and impact Nexus has had on the smart building industry. It’s filling a much-needed gap in the market. I’m excited to partner with James on Nexus 2.0 and build on this great momentum to reach new heights. I see an incredible opportunity to create a positive impact by accelerating the transition to digital and decarbonized buildings. I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of the Nexus community. Feel free to connect on LinkedIn and I'll see you at this month’s Pro member gathering!”

—Rosy Khalife, COO of Nexus Labs

Rosy will be focused on Nexus Labs’ sales, marketing, operations, and partnerships. I’m extremely grateful and excited to have her on board!

Building Great Partnerships

Rosy and I strive to grow Nexus Labs into a new type of media and education company—part independent and journalistic storytelling, part thought-leadership and changemaking, part community builder and connector.

The next step in executing that vision is robust, consistent, and strategic engagement with the technology vendors that are transforming the buildings industry, one deployment at a time.

The Nexus Labs Partner Program, which launches this month, is an exclusive annual membership where top smart buildings vendors can separate themselves from the noise, while contributing to and providing input on Nexus Labs’ editorial process.

If you’re a technology vendor with an innovative product, significant traction, and alignment with Nexus Labs’ vision (as outlined in Nexus Lore), reach out to us at partners@nexuslabs.online.

Building a Roster of Independent Creators

Finally, our third way to “get James outta the way” is to diversify the creators that publish content on the Nexus Labs platform.

This transition has already begun. First, we launched our quarterly M&A podcast series with Joseph Aamidor and Jeanne Casey. Then, we launched our quarterly CRE Market Talks podcast series with Mandi Wedin and Joe Gaspardone. In December, we kicked off a blog series on the intersection of access control and smart buildings with Lee Odess.

We're not stopping there. If you're a smart buildings expert and you think you have it in you to help us create diverse, consistent, independent, and high-quality educational content, we want to partner with you. Submit your application here.

We can’t wait to build with you this year!

—James Dice, Founder and CEO of Nexus Labs

P.S. Send Rosy a big welcome on her LinkedIn post here!

️️☁️ A message from our sponsor, SkySpark ☁️

SkySpark is a comprehensive software platform for connecting, storing, analyzing and visualizing data from smart devices and equipment systems. SkySpark’s automated analytics, KPIs, Energy and GhG Apps, turn your data into actionable intelligence providing improved performance, reduced downtime, and operational savings.

Head over to SkyFoundry.com for insightful white papers, case studies, and blog posts, as well as a link to sign up for a free demo.

✖ At the Nexus

Here’s everything worth sharing from Nexus HQ this week:

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★ PODCAST: 🎧 #132: Refrigerants: the Cinderella of the Decarbonization Movement–Episode 132 is a conversation with Tristam Coffin, Co-Founder of Effecterra.

We started, as usual with Tristam’s background which includes heavy experience in the grocery vertical. But our main focus here is on sustainable refrigerants. We’ve spent a long time covering how the buildings industry needs to decarbonize by electrifying heating systems using heat pumps, but we and the industry as a whole have overlooked the elephant in the room: the GWP of refrigerants themselves and how they contribute to climate change and every organization’s progress toward net zero. Or, as Tristam said, refrigerants are like Cinderella: they haven’t been invited to the decarbonization ball.

Well, this episode is about why they should be perhaps first on the invite list.

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★ MEMBERS-ONLY EVENTS THIS MONTH:

• Subject Matter Expert Workshop:  Pro Member and Industry Analyst at Verdantix, Joy Trinquet, was our expert on an Introduction to The IWMS Tech Category.
• New Member Orientation: Nexus Founder, James Dice, will host an introduction to the Nexus Labs Community and how you access and take advantage of all the resources that come with your Pro Membership. This is for new members or those who've not taken advantage of all the resources at the Nexus Community. January 17 @ 9am MT
• Member Gathering: TBA January 25 @ 9am MT

​Join Nexus Pro now to get the invites and access to the recordings.

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★ ON LINKEDIN: Another personal post to start the new year...

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★ JOBS: Are you hiring? Searching for a job in smart buildings?—Check out the Nexus Labs Jobs Board.

🔥🔥🔥 Hot Job in Smart Buildings

👉Facilio is searching for an Enterprise Account Executive. Facilio is rapidly expanding in business, they're looking to add enterprise SaaS & smart buildings obsessed, ever curious, and fun talent to join their existing teams!

👉Gridium is looking for a US-based Technical Product Manager to manage their data services and design new product offerings as they expand geographically. They are also seeking a full-time Sales Executive based in California for their energy efficiency project development offering, Gridium Alpha.

️️🏢 A message from our sponsor, Jaros, Baum & Bolles 🏢

Building intelligence engineering allows OT and IT systems to seamlessly and securely integrate with each other and onto common platforms. Creating a successful building intelligence strategy entails translating the owner’s goals to outcomes, use cases, intelligent building technologies, and enhanced MEP systems.

To learn more about what JB&B is calling “MEP 3.0” and the value of building intelligence design, as well as the difference between smart and intelligent buildings, listen to JB&B’s Division Lead’s conversation with the global certification company WiredScore.

👋 That's all for this week. See you next Tuesday!

Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways Nexus Labs can help you:

1. Take our shortcut to learning the Smart Buildings industry here (300 students and counting)

2. Join our community of smart buildings nerds and gamechangers here (400 members and counting)

3. (NEW) Join the Nexus Labs Syndicate for opportunities to invest in the best smart buildings startups that cross my desk each month.

4. (NEW) Our Partner Hub is launching soon. This is an opportunity to be featured on our website, get original content, and tap into the Nexus community. Email us at partners@nexuslabs.online