How Automation is Rebuilding Real Estate with Will Mitchell
In this episode of the Matthews™ Podcast, host Matthew Wallace is joined by Will Mitchell, CEO and co-founder of Rabbet, for a deep dive into construction finance, one of the most overlooked friction points in commercial real estate.
While billions of dollars move through the construction ecosystem every year, much of the industry still relies on spreadsheets, PDFs, and manual processes to manage draws, budgets, and lender reporting. Mitchell believes that the gap between capital and clarity is not just inefficient, it’s holding the industry back. Drawing on firsthand experience as a developer and entrepreneur, Mitchell shares how Rabbet is helping lenders and developers move toward a more connected, transparent, and data-driven workflow.
From the Built Environment to Building Technology
Mitchell’s career didn’t begin in software. It starts with a fascination with the built environment and a strong belief that real estate should operate more logically than it often does in practice.
After working across development projects and entrepreneurial ventures, Mitchell experienced the same pain points again and again—slow draw processes, fragmented information, and a lack of real-time visibility for both lenders and borrowers.
Mitchell explains:
You’d have one version of the truth for the developer, another for the lender, and everything lived in email threads and Excel files. That’s not a system. That’s survival mode.
Those experiences ultimately laid the foundation for Rabbet, a platform designed to centralize construction data, streamline draw management, and create shared visibility across stakeholders.
The Early Innnings of Modernization
Despite significant innovation across proptech, construction finance remains stubbornly manual. According to Mitchell, that resistance isn’t due to lack of intelligence or capital. It’s due to risk aversion and workflow inertia.
Construction lending is high-stakes. Mistakes are costly. As a result, institutions are slow to change unless the upside is undeniable.
Mitchell notes:
People don’t adopt new technology because it’s marginally better. They adopt it when it’s marginally better, when it saves time, reduces risk, and makes their day-to-day easier.
That philosophy shaped how Rabbet approaches product development. The goal isn’t to add another tool to the stack, but to replace inefficient processes entirely.
Building Tech That Actually Gets Adopted
Driving adoption in a legacy industry requires more than innovation. Technology must earn trust before it can scale.
Mitchell explains that successful construction finance software must do three things well:
- Integrate seamlessly into existing workflows
- Provide immediate, tangible value
- Respect the expertise of the people using it
Rabbet focuses on structured data rather than document overload, enabling lenders and developers to work from a shared source of truth instead of chasing updates across inboces.
Mitchell says:
Technology shouldn’t make people feel replaced. It should make them better at what they already do.
Key Takeaways for CRE Professionals
- Construction finance modernization is still in its early stages
- Adoption depends on trust, clarity, and measurable value
- Technology must support decision-makers, not replace them
- Sustainable change happens incrementally, not overnight
A Measured Path Forward
As capital markets continue to evolve, the infrastructure supporting construction finance evolves in tandem. Mitchell’s perspective underscores a broader truth in commercial real estate: meaningful progress comes from respect for fundamentals, patience with adoption, and a focus on solving real problems.
