Founder Note

Hey friends, Sometimes this newsletter is more letter and less news. Usually I'm feeding you my thoughts and reactions to today's trends. But today I

> “The fragmentation is a very real issue. I don't see it necessarily resolving anytime soon, just because of a lot of these other trends in the marke

> “I've been giving presentations on why commissioning agents should be using data analytics and commissioning since 2013. It's completely unsatisfyin

I first met David Blanch [https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-blanch-4170514b/] through an introduction from Jon Clarke, Head of Smart Building Technol

> “You've got control systems in the building and interesting applications up in the cloud. And then there's something in the middle and it's really g

Hey friends, Have you ever discovered a podcast and then binged on the whole archive? That feeling where you just can’t get enough? I know the Nexus

> “You're never going to fix the decarbonization challenges we have today with just data and adjusting active systems. You also have to fix the envelo

Hey friends, If you caught our series on the top six themes of 2021 [https://www.nexuslabs.online/workforce-issues-are-everywhere-nexus-newsletter-10

> “What we need is a carbon reduction plan for every existing building on the planet. And we can do that immediately." —Christopher Naismith Wel

When I was growing up, I loved road trips. Jumping in my mom’s navy blue minivan meant we were going to one of two places I loved to be: my grandparents’ house or a soccer tournament.

> “Humans are great sensors, but we're not very good at dashboarding anything. Having this IAQ data can become a change management tool and it could r

Hey gamechangers! Welcome to The Lens, a monthly-ish recurring series where I unpack the strategy and context behind the news in as few bullet points

“Stop talking, start doing. The tools are in place. The vendors exist. The folks that understand how to bring this stuff to life exist."

Hey friends, Last year, we talked A LOT about climate tech for buildings. Today, let’s weave all of those pieces together into one cohesive, succinct

> “I like to say 'Use what your mama gave you.' Your building is already a battery. Every building is a battery." —Deepa Lounsbury Welcome to Ne

📚 An educational, non-biased, and technically-sound experience exploring the past, present, and future of the smart buildings industry. 🙌 A fun and

Hey friends, Have you noticed that when our industry talks about ESG, they’re usually talking about energy efficiency improvements? 🙋‍♂️ I’m guilty

Hey friends, Here’s where we headed and where we've been: 1. ​“Green” → ESG (and the carbon flywheel) [__GHOST_URL__/green-esg-and-the-carbon-f

Hey everyone, We've got something a little different for you today. In celebration of the end of 2021, we've pulled the top 3 episodes of the Nexus P

Hey friends, As you have probably seen in the last few newsletters, for the last six weeks of the year, we’re exploring my top trends, lessons learne

> “Real estate companies are not going to go bankrupt because they're inefficient. It's actually just a blip on the bottom line compared to much bigge

This is one of the most important pieces of content we’ve ever produced. Why? Well, first, this isn’t your average white paper. Our generous sponsor,

Here’s where we headed between now and 2022: 1. ​“Green” → ESG (and the carbon flywheel) [__GHOST_URL__/green-esg-and-the-carbon-flywheel-nexus-

> “My position is that in this space, when you're really getting systemic you need to be connecting all three (Buildings, Utilities, and Policymakers)

Hey there gamechangers, happy Wednesday! Welcome to the final Member Digest of 2021… a collection of recent highlights you shouldn’t miss. These dig

Hey friends, There are four weeks left in 2021! For the last six Nexus Newsletters, we’re exploring my top trends, lessons learned, and lightbulb mom

> “We needed an incredible sophistication at the building level, but we also need to do this in a way that is not just reliable, but also makes sense

Hey friends, There are five weeks left in 2021! For the last six Nexus Newsletters, we’re exploring my top trends, lessons learned, and lightbulb mom

> “Step one (of 3) on reducing embodied carbon emissions is to start thinking about if we have to build a building at all. So if we just stopped build

Hey friends, There are six weeks left in 2021! For these last six Nexus Newsletters, let’s explore my top trends, lessons learned, and lightbulb mome

> “You can build anything on top and change things rapidly. Because of the platform business model, there's an ecosystem, so things are continuously e

Do you ever find yourself having the same conversation over and over again? One that keeps coming up for me: Why is an overlay software platform need

> “Those that adapt and recognize what's coming will continue to live on and those who want to keep their Blockbuster stores open with videos on the s

Hey friends, After a fun week in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Realcomm | IBcon conference, I'm feeling very energized! Here are three of my highlights

Once per month, we host industry-shifting conversations in front of a live audience. These sessions are education-driven, they cut through the marketi

> “I know people have different views on what digital twins is all about. I think that if digital twins are fundamentally an integration challenge the

Hey friends, A few weeks back, we talked about avoiding carbon washing [https://www.nexuslabs.online/how-to-avoid-carbon-washing-nexus-newsletter-95/

Welcome to another Member Digest… a collection of recent highlights you shouldn’t miss. These digests are designed to save you time and allow you to

> “You hear so many arguments defending the status quo.” —Andrew Rodgers Welcome to Nexus, a newsletter and podcast for smart people applying smart b

Hey friends, During each week of our 6-week Foundations course, we host a live workshop where we explore the key concepts of each of our six modules.

> “APIs are like toothbrushes: everybody's got one but nobody wants to use anyone else's." —Michael Grant Welcome to Nexus, a newsletter and pod

> “We were lucky enough that early on we built a team that included facilities management, physical security, sustainability, and IT. And we said

> “Diversity, equity, and inclusion isn't something that can be an add on. It's not a new part of your business. It should be integrated into your bus

> “You need no more evidence than the fact that McKinsey estimates that its largest practice within three years will be sustainability to know that th

Welcome to The Lens, a monthly-ish recurring series where I unpack the strategy and context behind the news in as few bullet points as possible. For past editions, check out Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, and Vol. 5. For Volume 6, let's talk about occupancy data.

> “The system was originally built to adjust supply, to meet demand. Everything about it was built that way, the market design, the physical infrastru

> “There's this line in Hamilton, 'Let's have a drink, the four of us. Tomorrow there'll be more of us.' And when I started out in green buildi

What's the most important type of data for creating smarter buildings? I'd argue that for every type of building except data centers, it's occupancy data. Why? Here's a non-conclusive list of reasons: It helps building owners (and tenant businesses) understand how their customers are using the space, from office workers to retail customers to school students. It helps optimize the Three S's that are vital to controlling building systems and getting to full autonomy: Setpoints, Schedules, and Sequences of Operations. It helps solve for the optimal balance between the competing goals of better IAQ and lower energy use. It can help improve occupants' experience and find the right space to suit their current needs.

What's the most important type of data for creating smarter buildings?I'd argue that for every type of building except data centers, it's occupancy data.Why? Here's a non-conclusive list of reasons:

In the smart buildings industry, what brings us together is technology-driven innovation to create better experiences for human beings. We started Ne

> "When the iPhone came in, the web was already there. With building systems, it's the other way around. You had a lot of technology in buildings, the

> “I am hopeful. I feel like we're coming together around this issue in a way that I've never experienced in the past. This is something that's within

Quick announcement before we begin: Last call to join Nexus Foundations Cohort 3 [https://www.nexuslabs.online/courses/] along with 40+ other changema

Hey there gamechangers! Welcome to another Member Digest… a collection of recent highlights you shouldn’t miss. Speaking of members, there are over 3

> “There's never really been an API for buildings. And this is an impediment to every single corporation, every startup, every investor, the whole ind

Hey friends, Quick announcement before we get to this week's goodies: Tomorrow is our third Live Broadcast! As a reminder, each month we're bringing

> “The grid is starting to look a lot like the internet. These IOT devices are distributed, digital, user owned and operated nodes. They can buy from

Hey friends, We have lots to share "At the Nexus" below, so let's keep this section short and sweet this week! Did you know our Nexus Pro members ha

Hey friends, Back in April, I interviewed [__GHOST_URL__/-046-wiredscore/] WiredScore founder and CEO Arie Barendrecht about how to evaluate a buildi

> “The issue with energy efficiency is that while it may be civilization's largest collective problem, for any individual business it's like their 12t

Hey gamechangers! Welcome to The Lens, a monthly-ish recurring series where I unpack the strategy and context behind the news in as few bullet points

Hey friends, I've been feeling like a broken record lately with how often I've been uttering the engineer's favorite phrase: "it depends". So much a

> “I see of lot of people buying apps before they bought the smart phone. So our smart building strategy is to first build the smartphone foundation."

> “You built a building 25 years ago, and the stuff you put in there, it’s still there.” -Keith Berkoben of Google "For consumer facing technology,

How can software help decarbonize existing buildings?

"There's this real opportunity, with the technology available today, to hear directly from tenants on what they want." —Jacinda Lofland

A client once asked me to explain the competitive landscape for energy management and efficiency software. I decided to frame the conversation from t

Hey friends, A client once asked me to explain the competitive landscape for energy management and efficiency software. I decided to frame the conve

> “If you get utility rate payers to act together like a symphony and reduce their energy a little bit at these key times, that net effect is actually

"Thanks for Nexus and helping me elevate my game and gain a broader perspective on the issues we face and the solutions that may be coming, keep it up

> “So you start seeing this cross pollination, worlds colliding, the traditional digital workplace applications with the traditional smart building so

Hey friends, Last week was the most delightfully social week of work I've had since the pandemic began. I had dinner with a Nexus Foundations alum.

Hey there gamechangers, happy Friday. Welcome to another digest… a collection of highlights from June 2021 that you shouldn’t miss. This is designed

> “We take that value creation reframe and we look at it through two ROI lenses. The traditional finance lens, which is return on investment, to under

Hey friends, I've received a ton of great feedback on last week's podcast episode with Sabine Lam of Google. If you haven't given it a listen, defini

> "You feel like you're tackling an impossible problem because you're looking at such a broad set of solutions or in our case, now we're looking at su

Hey gamechangers, Welcome to The Lens, a recurring series where I unpack the strategy and context behind the news in as few bullet points as possible

Hey friends, Let's start this week with a quick announcement before we move onto the goodies: 👉 A week from today, we're delivering our first 1-day

> “So you live or die by the data at the end of the day, not the sticker on the front door.” —Ruairí Barnwell Welcome to Nexus, a newsletter and podca

Hey friends, This might seem like it’s off-topic for us, but bear with me: are you familiar with the celebrity gossip magazine TMZ? If so, do you kno

> “So that's how we got here... we were focused on enabling this massive energy retrofit opportunity or enabling people to implement this zero costs d

> “The point of Nirvana  is to have a self-tuning, self-commissioning building that is completely adapting itself (based on) the outside conditions an

Hey friends, Exciting announcement: June marks the beginning of the (free) Nexus Live Broadcast series. Once per month, we’ll be bringing the deep, i

When I was growing up, I loved road trips. Jumping in my mom’s navy blue minivan meant we were going to one of two places I loved to be: my grandparents’ house or a soccer tournament.Early in my career, I found a third flavor of road trip I grew to love: 1-on-1 time with one of my mentors. “Windshield time” meant we were hitting the road to visit a building or campus in Arkansas or Kansas City or rural Illinois.To my surprise, I learned to love these trips just as much as family trips from childhood. Why? Because the windshield time between St. Louis and our destination meant I got to ask any question I wanted.My mentors, who were normally jumping from meeting to meeting all day, were suddenly captive… for hours.

Hey friends, happy Friday! Welcome to another digest… a collection of highlights from May 2021 that you shouldn’t miss. This is designed to save you

> “The sun is setting on building management systems as we know it and change is coming through building operating systems and packaged equipment cont

Hey friends, Let's start this week's newsletter with a public service announcement: If you've overridden your building's ventilation control sequenc

> The digital readiness score is our way of quickly highlighting whether the building is ready (for new technology). We’re looking at network commun

Hey friends, As a follow-up to recent newsletters Where are the API-first companies? [https://www.nexuslabs.online/where-are-the-api-first-companies/

Hey friends, You can understand a lot about today’s API-second [https://www.nexuslabs.online/where-are-the-api-first-companies/] smart building softw

> “The fact that other industries were being solved with an API, it really made sense to create this single layer that takes on all the historic compl

> “What’s incredible to me about (API-first companies) is that each represents something that a company would have had to build on its own previously,

> “I used to chase kilowatt hours and now I'm chasing renewable energy.” —Rob Brimblecombe Welcome to Nexus, a newsletter and podcast for smart peopl

Hey friends, Our recent podcast episode [__GHOST_URL__/-046-wiredscore/] with the WiredScore team aired just before they launched SmartScore, their s

Hey friends, happy Friday! Welcome to another digest… a collection of highlights from April 2021 that you shouldn’t miss. This is designed to save yo

> “I talk about market transformation forces. I think Volttron has that potential, not necessarily that everyone's going to adopt Volttron, but the fa

> “First, I would argue that we don’t have smart buildings… We’re in the first or second inning of that journey.” —Jim Whalen Good morning! Welcome

> “I don't have a single one-liner, 25-words-or-less elevator pitch about what a smart building is. Every building is going to be different. What va

> “It's this once-in-a-lifetime moment where this flight to quality (office buildings) will happen and there's going to be a huge disparity between wi

> “Future readiness… this isn't about guessing that 5G is the future on this particular frequency, and I'm going to put that in my building and put al