Ian Formigle: “Overnight” Success — The 7-year Process Leading to Crowdstreet Placing $1B of Equity in 2021.

On this episode, Kevin chats with Ian Formigle, Chief Investment Officer of CrowdStreet, about building one of the nation's preeminent crowdfunding platforms from a 2013 startup to over 30 people, nearly 500 deals, and $1.3B invested in multifamily, build-to-rent single family, industrial, hotel, office, and retail. With over 50,000 investors on the platform, the average deal at $40MM, and average investment at $50k, CrowdStreet invests capital across the entire risk spectrum from joint venture equity to preferred equity, mezzanine debt, and senior loans. As the single team member charged with making go/no-go investment decisions for the platform, Ian brings astute insights with an incredible grasp on the texture and nuance of commercial real estate investing at a national scale. The conversation covers how multifamily and industrial remain strong, the implications of monetary policy for cap rate compression, managing risk today by betting on long-term markets and underwriting to post-pandemic normalcy while assessing basis and costs to "clear the chasm," why build-to-rent is here to stay, and how overweight allocation to commercial real estate as an asset class will provide tailwinds for incumbent investors. Ian discusses knowing demand exists and markets are growing when starting a company, building teams that fill weaknesses and cover company needs with others' skills, how crowdfunding promotes greater capital efficiency, being tenacious without fearing failure, and how tenacity inspires teams.