The Crazy Idea Behind a High Tech Norfolk Real Estate Company
In 2019, RealBricks CEO Chris Gerardi had one of those lightbulb moments: “Why can’t I invest in real estate the way I can invest in stocks?”
After all, no one expects the average person to become a majority shareholder in a company. The buy-in and risk is divided among many. And often, someone else is tasked with managing the purchase and sale of those stocks, not you.
But real estate investment properties were different. If you wanted to buy one, you’d be taking on everything yourself: coming up with the money, doing the research, managing the property, and, most importantly, carrying all the risk.
It was a game that most people just couldn’t play.
What Gerardi envisioned was a way for individuals to invest in shares of a property, instead of buying the entire thing themselves; a way for everyday people to gain equity in real estate.
Which makes sense. But the idea of fractional shares of real estate was just… well, unheard of.
“I think that the vast majority of people thought that I was out of my mind, and probably to this day still think I’m crazy,” he laughs.
Regulation Moves Like a Wagon. Technology Moves Like a Ferrari
About six months after coming up with the idea for RealBricks, Chris shared his vision with the late Ahmed Khaleel, a computer engineer and Wall Street trader, to help shape the technical and trading aspects of his real estate investment concept.
“It wasn’t an area that I knew much about, and really was just trying to come up with a technology-based solution for it, which turned out to be a lot larger of a project than I ever anticipated it would be,” said Gerardi.
Trying to come up with a practical way to turn the idea into a thriving platform, rooted in the power of fractional real estate investing, was a challenge to say the least. As was figuring out a way to allow those people to trade assets down the road. Never mind the hurdles of navigating extremely complex regulations, all the while watching technology ten times faster than legal frameworks.
“Regulation is like a wagon, the technology is like a Ferrari. They move at different rates, and if you try to put wagon wheels on a Ferrari, like things fly around and break,” he says.
He also chose to avoid venture capital early on to maintain control over his vision, relying instead on a network of wealthy investors to cover build-out and regulatory costs.
Which was not the easy path to take.
“To get the wheels on, I initially had to raise about $2 million. I think we ended up raising $3.5 million. Many of my investors are not in Nebraska, but their money comes through my company, and so that’s actually a benefit for this state,” he says.
He estimates that RealBricks has grown its funding to around $12 million.
Innovation Doesn’t Have a Zip Code
The assumption would be that a cutting edge, innovative company like RealBricks would set up shop in a sexy zip code, like Silicon Valley, Austin, or the emerging Silicon Slopes that sits at the foothills of Utah’s Wasatch Front.
To this day, RealBricks maintains its HQ in Norfolk. And it works for Gerardi because it helps him stay focused and grounded to what he’s trying to optimize and grow.
“I grew up in Western Nebraska. Nebraska is near and dear to me,” he says. To him, Norfolk represents a stable economy, a place that works for his family, and an environment where he doesn’t feel compelled to chase the next shiny thing.
“Sometimes when you get caught up in tech hubs. I think it’s probably easier to kind of go off into the weeds. And sometimes when you go off to the weeds, you never find your way back,” he says.
Reflecting on his journey, Gerardi wishes he had better understood the time and cost requirements of regulatory compliance when he began building RealBricks. But right now, he’s more focused on his ultimate goal: to remove barriers so that all people can have an equitable stake in real estate as a wealth-building tool.
“Everybody should have the ability to have an equitable stake in the world around them,” he says.
A Big Idea Doesn’t Have to Start in a Big City
Realbricks is one example of an invigorating and innovative business that can build and grow in a community like Norfolk.
Do you have your own unique idea? Norfolk Now can connect you with resources specifically to help startups connect with space, resources and local talent, including Intersect Coworking & Incubator and the Norfolk Area Business Resource Network, which provides free and confidential business advice and mentorship,
Contact us today to learn more about Norfolk Now’s entrepreneurial support programs!
