📘 Proppy, Blockchain & Billion-Dollar Rollups — Hype or Real Threat to Local Title?
Welcome back to The Title Abstract, the podcast about the people, tools, and trends shaping the future of title.
In this episode, Justin Williams (Razzi), Rob Zwink (CTO & Co-Founder, Razzi), and John Dyer (Nova Title, incoming OLTA President) sit down with Mike Simon (Founder & CEO, Agent Brief) to unpack one of the buzziest headlines in title & real estate tech:
Proppy wants to raise $100M to buy title companies and “rebuild” the industry with blockchain + AI.
Is it realistic? Is it good for independents? Or just another Silicon Valley “we’ll fix your old industry” pitch?
🎙 In this episode:
💰 Proppy’s $100M Rollup Plan
What it means to raise $100M to acquire title agencies
Why rollup + tech stories sound great in a pitch deck but are brutally hard in reality
How this compares to what TRG and Acrisure are already doing in title
⛓ Blockchain, Counties & the Reality of Title Tech
Rob’s experience as former CTO & Co-Founder of blockchain startup SafeChain
Why digitizing / tokenizing real estate isn’t just a tech problem—it’s a 3,000 county problem
The gap between “this should be on the blockchain” and “this actually works with real recorders”
🏢 Rollups vs. Local Relationships
Why national platforms often struggle to maintain local market share after acquisitions
John’s candid take on being approached by big money buyers (and what he’d really say)
How consolidating back offices can help—or hurt—customer experience and flexibility
📊 Back Office Efficiency vs. Front of House Growth
Mike’s view on where AI is over-indexed: operations, not revenue
The missed opportunity: tools that actually help title sales reps and front-line relationships
Why title is still a relationship business first, tech business second
📈 Underwriters, Balance Sheets & Why They’re Not Doing This
Why national underwriters aren’t leading the rollup game despite their resources
The downside of loading up on offices, staff, and legacy systems
How dividend-driven, steady models clash with high-risk rollup strategies
💡 Key Takeaway
Tech, blockchain, and AI will change title—but not by snapping fingers or “disrupting the dinosaurs.”
True long-term wins will come from blending smart back-office tech with even smarter front-of-house relationships and respecting how local this business really is.
If you found this episode valuable, share it with a friend, colleague, or underwriter and help more people plug into where title is really headed.
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