Bennat Berger is the co-founder and CEO for Novel Property Ventures, a top-tier property management firm based in New York City. Under Berger’s guidance, Novel has grown into a thriving, full-service organization. The firm capitalizes on the high demand and limited supply of NYC’s real estate market by cultivating a standout portfolio of residential and mixed-use properties. But Novel Property Ventures doesn’t just acquire listings — it revitalizes its assets to ensure that they always exceed expectations.
Bennat Berger knows that buildings alone don’t usher in success; people do. From day one, the entrepreneur has applied a thoughtful, person-first approach to Novel Property Ventures’ leadership and hiring efforts. As such, the Novel team is staffed with professionals who have extensive backgrounds in property management, finance, and development. All take a proactive, ethical approach to management, and all are dedicated to ensuring that Novel’s investors and residents are satisfied with their experience.
Novel Property Ventures isn’t Bennat Berger’s only entrepreneurial success. Berger is also the founding partner for Novel Private Equity, a PE firm that specializes in helping promising tech-centric startups scale to success. The investing firm’s interests are eclectic; to date, Novel Private Equity has invested in businesses related to entertainment, experiential retail, and supermarket tech.
Outside of his business efforts, Berger is a prolific writer on matters relating to the often-disruptive impact that innovative tech has on culture and business. His work has been featured in publications including Entrepreneur, Fortune, and TechCrunch.
When he isn’t providing business direction at Novel Property Ventures or penning industry analyses, Bennat Berger enjoys spending time with his friends and family in New York City.
At Novel Property Ventures, a Thoughtful Culture Ensures Achievement Despite Uncertainty
Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic prompted a mass migration out of our offices, corporate leaders have scrambled to find ways to preserve their company culture across digital channels. We’ve so long assumed that centralized spaces were necessary to ensure productivity and connectivity that, once those hubs were removed, many executives found themselves at a loss.
But Bennat Berger, the CEO and co-founder of Novel Property Ventures, was not one of them.
“None of our underlying cultural principles changed,” Berger asserts. “It didn’t matter if our team members were in the office or scattered across the city — we were a team. And that was a culture we curated from day one.”
As the CEO explains, his perspectives on corporate culture were well-set even before he founded his business. He knew that he wanted to build a positive environment that would facilitate constructive, kind, and communicative collaboration.
“Everything is shared,” Berger said. “When we close a high-profile deal, our entire team celebrates the victory. If a project falters or fails, we all come together to address the fallout. Most importantly, when we don’t succeed, no one points fingers or assigns blame.”
It’s fair to say that Berger’s pro-team approach has worked well for his firm. In the years since its founding, Novel Property Ventures has grown into a thriving full-service property management firm. The New-York-based business capitalizes on its home city’s high residential demand and limited housing supply by curating a diverse portfolio of residential and mixed-use properties. But its greatest strength, according to Berger, is its elite team.
“We have good people,” the entrepreneur says. “It’s in our best interest to take care of them, regardless of whether we’re in the office or apart.”
It’s worth noting that this people-based philosophy doesn’t just allow for greater adaptability during a crisis — it also cultivates greater business growth overall. One study conducted by management researchers at Berkeley in 2014 found that firms with stronger cultures tended to be more adaptable and demonstrate better performance than those with weaker ones.
Other research efforts further indicate that positive workplace environments facilitate better employee relationships, increase creativity, and empower workers to overcome professional challenges. Caring for colleagues, providing support and compassion, avoiding blame, and treating everyone in an organization with respect is the only way to maximize team performance and well-being.
The results of taking such a tack very nearly speak for themselves. As Bennat Berger shares of Novel Property Ventures’ team status, “The average employee at Novel has been with us for about five years. We rarely lose key team members, and we often promote from within. There is tremendous continuity amongst our team that, I feel, leads to a respectful work environment that is free of unnecessary politics.”
Now more than ever, teams must come together to help their businesses thrive through uncertain times. Covid-19 has hit everyone hard. But if leaders approach their workforce with compassion and kindness, they can, like Novel Property Ventures, pull through even stronger.
