This Startup Wants To Give You $25K Cash When Buying a Home (feat. Rishard Rameez)

Jul 20, 2025

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Welcome to yet another episode of the Build In Public Podcast! 🎉

Today I'm super excited to have my friend Rishard Rameez, CEO and co-founder of Zown, joining us for what might be one of the most mind-blowing business model conversations I've ever had on this podcast.

Rishard built Zown after a viral Reddit rage post about paying $70,000 in real estate commissions went absolutely nuclear - hitting the front page with 600+ comments and a million views. Instead of *just* complaining, he decided to flip the entire real estate industry on its head.

Here's the crazy part: Instead of YOU paying massive commissions when buying a home, Zown gives YOU a big fat check at closing.

Yes, you read that right - they PAY you to buy a home through them. When I first heard this, I made him explain it three times because it sounded too good to be true.

In this episode, Rishard breaks down the brilliant math behind how they turn bloated real estate commissions into down payments for buyers, cutting 2-3 years off the path to homeownership.

We dive deep into their production line approach to real estate, how they unbundled the traditional realtor role, and why they're expanding from from Canada to the US.

What we covered:
✅ From the viral Reddit post to $300M+ in transaction volume
✅ How Zown gives buyers $15K+ checks instead of bills
✅ Unbundling realtors: education vs showing vs negotiation
✅ Why 40x wealth gap exists between homeowners and renters
✅ Fundraising a radical idea and moving to Silicon Valley
✅ The production line approach to real estate transactions
✅ Why you're literally paying someone else's mortgage when renting

This is business model innovation at its finest - taking an industry everyone complains about and completely reimagining how it should work.

If you've ever been frustrated by real estate commissions or felt priced out of homeownership, this episode will blow your mind.

Relevant links:
My Twitter: https://x.com/thisiskp_
Rishard's Twitter: https://x.com/rameez_rishard
Zown: https://zownhomes.com/
The Original Reddit Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFinanceCanada/comments/trx40r/do_we_really_need_real_estate_agents/

Past guests include Gary Vaynerchuk (CEO of Vayner Media), Sahil Lavingia (CEO of Gumroad), Alexis Ohanian (co-founder of Reddit), Sheel Mohnot (Better Tomorrow Ventures), and more.