Jilliene Helman, founder of RealtyMogul, discusses the success of real estate crowdfunding, reaching $1 billion in investments, educating new customers, unique landscape of real estate investing, and the importance of individual investors. The conversation explores strategic decisions, challenges in serving retail vs institutional investors, recent acquisitions in the industry, and the impact of AI in real estate investment. They also touch upon the Crowd Street Nightingale fiasco, entrepreneur advice, future of AI, rent control impact, and city investment preferences.

Jilliene Helman, CEO of Realty Mogul, discusses the origins of real estate crowdfunding post-JOBS Act, challenges in scaling the platform, impacts of COVID-19 on investments, and future trends. Insights on fixed vs. floating rate debt, sustainable business models, and advice for entrepreneurs.

Ten years ago, Jilliene Helman was working in Union Bank’s wealth management group. She couldn’t help but notice that the bank’s wealthiest clients earned their fortunes in real estate. When our government passed the 2012 JOBS Act (intended to encourage funding of small businesses by easing securities regulations), Jilliene saw an opportunity. So she quit the bank. And created RealtyMogul. Her new way of investing in real estate has caught on. To put it mildly. Her firm has done over 300 deals, with a real estate value of $4 Billion. And lets everyday people access institutional-quality investments. Investors can participate in a deal at a time or invest in one of their REIT pooled vehicles with a diversified group of deals. Clearly, she’s onto something. Top investors Canaan Partners and Sorenson Capital have backed her vision. In this 20-minute conversation, Jilliene reveals how she’s built her 70-person team to shake up the real estate investment field.