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62 tech startup with grand ambitions to transform property management and, ultimately, the whole single-family rental industry. In October 2016, Mynd closed a Series A round with Canaan Partners, raising $5.5 million. e company is funded through 2017, but the founders plan to raise their next round before the end of the year. e Mynd office is located downtown in Oakland, California. It has the vibe of a typical Silicon Valley startup—twentysomethings in jeans and hoodies bent over their computers, hard at work, but there's a ping-pong table near the entrance. Neither of the co-CEOs dresses formally for work. "We're trying to create a culture that's more akin to a technology company," Brien explained. "We're also trying to bring in lots of different people, not just people who have real estate and property-management experience. [...] We're trying to create a culture where people speak up and share their ideas," because the status quo is not always the best way of doing things, he said. Wiel said Mynd is "an opportunity to really make a dent in the universe," and the founders see themselves expanding far beyond their current 30 or so employees. Wiel's five-year prediction is bold: "We'll be in many markets across the country. We will be, at that point, having a dramatically different offering than owners of residential properties can get anywhere else. And we'll be a very large and very successful company, known as the company in residential property management." Currently Mynd's core product is in private beta, meaning their software is still being developed and is not yet available to the public at large. Twelve customers, with roughly 150 rental units under management, are participating in the private beta. Mynd's official launch is pegged for March 1, 2017. FROM KICKER TO CEO Neither the average startup founder nor the average real estate investor is a retired pro football player. Doug Brien is both, and he seems unfazed by it. Brien grew up in the Bay Area, where Mynd is now based. Originally, his sport of choice was soccer, but in high school, Brien said, "[I] got talked into being the kicker for the football team my senior year and ended up being pretty good at it." e blasé phrasing is typical of how Brien recounts his achievements, which exceed the norm—even in high-powered Silicon Valley. Joining the high-school team "was a pretty big turning point," Brien said, because it secured a scholarship to the University of California at Berkeley. "I figured the opportunity to attend Cal, whether I ended up playing football or not, was too good to turn down." He majored in political economics, with a minor in conservation resource studies. Brien was the lucky college walk-on—or talented walk-on, others might say—who made it onto the field. "I sat on the bench for two years, and basically learned," he explained. Once Brien made the starting position, he said, "I worked really hard at it, and kind of turned it into a craft that I studied. [I] worked on both the physical game, learning techniques and how to be better, but also the mental side of the game." Brien said business seems like a breeze after the stress of winning or losing in the stadium. "e stakes aren't as high, the pressure isn't as high, in business," Brien told DS News. First in college and then in the NFL, Brien put a lot of effort into coping with the pressure. "I learned to meditate, I found mental coaches," like the ones professional golfers have. Brien reflected, "It's one thing to tell someone, 'Focus, don't get distracted by all the externalities.' Well, actually doing that is a very different thing. [So] you practice. ere are actually drills and different types of exercises you can do. Every single day, I had an hour a day set aside that I did mental training." e CEO of a public company, which Brien was at Starwood Waypoint, faces high-pressure situations as well—earnings calls, important speeches, and board meetings among them. But, Brien pointed out, "It's not so binary. As a kicker, it's like, it's either good or it's not. It's three points, or it's zero. ere's no two or one. Whereas in [business situations] you can kind of do okay and wish you did better. It's rarely do or die." Brien's real estate investment career overlapped with his tenure as a pro placekicker. "It's a pretty tumultuous existence, being an NFL placekicker. I mean, you're only as good as your last kick. I never knew how long it was going to last. I was making good money, and I wanted to look at making investments that would produce cash flow for me later in life, and real estate is a good way to do that." A family friend helped him get into the business. "As I invested more, I wanted to educate The Mynd office is located downtown in Oakland, California. It has the vibe of a typical Silicon Valley startup—twentysomethings in jeans and hoodies bent over their computers, hard at work.

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