Most vendors say their product “has AI.” Peter Schravemade, who runs REACH Australia and New Zealand, says that tells you almost nothing. In episode two of On the Record with Craig Rowe, Peter breaks down how he vets the technology that comes across his desk — including the rise of “wrappers,” polished front-ends built on tools like ChatGPT and sold to agents as proprietary innovation.
He walks through what real due diligence looks like: asking whether an AI claim is actually new, tracing how REACH operates as the investment arm of Second Century Ventures, and unpacking why MCP servers are quickly becoming the new standard for connected software. The conversation also covers how Australia’s heavier regulatory environment shapes which proptech survives there — and why that makes Australian tech unusually durable when it reaches other markets.
Peter closes with his own go-to-market playbook, built from scaling BoxBrownie globally: when to go top-down through major franchises, when grassroots wins, and why most companies need both. If you’re the one fielding vendor pitches for your brokerage, this episode gives you better questions to ask.
