How CrowdStreet is democratizing real estate investments while modifying portfolios

CrowdStreet aims to democratize commercial real estate investing through its platform that puts real opportunities in the hands of accredited investors

Budgeting, saving, and investing are a few simple guidelines to follow when it comes to living your best financial life. And with the technology available today, consumers have more ways than ever to do all three.

In recent years, fintech startups have helped bring more investment opportunities to the average person via platforms with simple interfaces and by lowering or eliminating many fees traditionally associated with trading.

Nevertheless, commercial real estate (CRE) investing has remained in a more elusive and exclusive class of investments until now.

“Going back in history, commercial real estate investing has basically been a — quote, unquote — country club activity. If you weren’t in the right circles with real estate developers, you didn’t get the opportunity. You just didn’t have access to it.”

— Brent Hieggelke, CrowdStreet’s Chief Marketing Officer

The idea for CrowdStreet arose from the Great Recession when the company’s Founders — Tore Steen and Darren Powderly — realized the value of diversifying investments outside of the stock market. And with the creation of the JOBS Act, the duo envisioned a new way to invest and raise funds in the commercial real estate world.

“The JOBS Act basically made it legal for developers to solicit investment in their offerings, which is what gave birth to CrowdStreet,” Hieggelke said. “There was this ability to create a marketplace where we can match offerings with investors who might be interested in those offerings.”

Since CrowdStreet launched in 2014, the company has posted over 360 projects on its Marketplace and has raised more than $800 million from thousands of investors, he said.

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