Norwood-based start-up, Akru, provides a platform for people to invest in commercial real estate and Cincinnati venture capitalist Jack Wyant is raising $2.5 million to invest in it.
“It has the potential to be a big company,” Wyant, who is also a member of Akru’s board, said of the company. “Akru is an enormous idea that could become a marquee startup success in Cincinnati. It’s just an explosive idea for which the time has come.”
Akru aims to make investing in commercial real estate available to the masses while making it easier for investors to cash out of their investments. It’s powered by blockchain technology. The idea is to break an investment in a building or project into pieces, enabling investors to put as little as $1,000 into a stake. Anytime after 90 days, they can sell their stake. If they keep it, they share in the proceeds if and when the property is sold.
Akrutastic enables other investors, primarily members of angel investor group Queen City Angels, to invest in Akru.
“Real estate remains an inefficient niche,” Masud told me. “Transactions are super slow. We enable liquidity in this extremely illiquid space. We’re all about democratizing real estate investing.”
Typical commercial real estate investments have high minimum investments, long holding periods, and are difficult and time-consuming to liquidate. Akru enables investors to put as little as $1,000 into a deal and sell it anytime after a 90-day period, Masud said. However, its investments are open only to accredited investors.
Akru has $380 million worth of properties in its pipeline now, 40 total employees, with 32 working offshore in technology.
Wyant is also managing director of Over-the-Rhine-based venture capital firm Blue Chip Venture Co.
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