In this Q&A, Lasse Regin Nielsen, CTO & Co-Founder of Tector, Nordic PropTech Awards 2026 winner, shares how data, long-term insight and hardware-enabled proptech are helping the real estate industry move from reactive fixes to proactive decision-making.

First of all: Congratulations on winning the Nordic PropTech Awards 2026 in the category Sustainable & Healthy Buildings! With the recognition of Tector’s impact from the expert jury, what role do you see proptech play in the real estate industry in 2026?

Proptech is finally doing what technology is meant to do: helping people turn complex projects, data, and processes into something they can rely on and act on with ease.

Real estate is under pressure from every angle: cost, risk, compliance, sustainability, insurance, and for a good reason: Construction is one of the biggest CO₂-emitting industries, and that level of impact comes with responsibility. Data and technology can be powerful enablers here, allowing teams to make better decisions without guesswork and to identify issues earlier rather than dealing with the consequences later.

The strongest solutions today aren’t trying to replace people. They’re making teams better, faster, and more confident, especially when it comes to understanding what’s happening inside buildings over time, not just at handover.

It’s also exciting to see how long-term data from proptech can help shape smarter regulations and raise the overall standard for how we design, build, and operate buildings, particularly when it comes to our responsibility towards the environment.

What should companies in the real estate sector be aware of when collaborating with proptech companies?

Two things: fit and focus.

Fit means the technology has to solve a real problem and create value in day-to-day project realities, not add complexity or extra work. If it doesn’t integrate naturally into how teams already operate, adoption will always be a struggle.
Focus is about being clear on why proptech is being adopted in the first place. Is it risk reduction, compliance, long-term asset protection, sustainability, or cost avoidance? When that purpose is clear and followed through, collaboration works far better.

The best partnerships we’ve seen are with focused, dedicated teams that are curious, open to learning, and genuinely motivated to do things better.

What are the biggest business challenges you have had to overcome?

One of the biggest challenges has been bridging the gap between technical capability and industry trust. In construction and real estate, credibility is earned slowly. You have to prove reliability, accuracy, and relevance repeatedly, and in real-world conditions.

The biggest highlight has been seeing data actually change behaviour: projects adjusting plans earlier, teams preventing damage instead of reacting to it, and stakeholders using insights to have better, more constructive conversations across disciplines. That’s when you know the technology is doing its job.

What would you wish that you knew prior to this point in your career?

I wish I’d known earlier how different it is to build a hardware-enabled SaaS company compared to pure software.

With hardware, you don’t just iterate in code. You have to design, build, test, and validate in the physical world, often under real-world conditions where mistakes are slower and more costly to fix. That changes how you think about development, timelines, and risk.

At the same time, I’ve learned how important strong testing and validation ecosystems are. Access to independent institutions, such as DTI in Denmark, has been essential in accelerating testing while building the credibility and trust that the construction industry requires.

We love inspiration! Is there a specific person, book, article, podcast – or something else – which has special meaning to you?

When it comes to listening, it is nice to hear stories from people in similar situations – building a startup is tough work! - I listen in on the podcast Iværksætterhistorier. For the readers, I recommend Zero to One and Accelerate

About

Lasse Regin Nielsen, CTO & Co-Founder of Tector, revolutionising the construction industry with the innovative moisture detection technology, which prevents mould and moisture damage in buildings. Lasse's extensive background includes pivotal roles as a Senior Data Science Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, where he drove transformative data science initiatives, and as CTO & Partner at Rent Guide, a platform that successfully helped Danes reclaim overpaid rent and was later acquired by Rent Hero.