This week, we interviewed Giri Devanur from reAlpha.

Let’s go!

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Giri Devanur and I’m a tech entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of reAlpha, a cutting-edge technology company with a plan to empower everyone to invest in the $1.2 trillion short-term rental market. I served as the President and CEO of Ameri100 Inc., since its inception in November 2013. In 4 years, I scaled Ameri from $0 to $50M in revenue and completed the IPO on Nasdaq in under 4 years. I was also awarded the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017 and authored a book titled “Nothing to Nasdaq”.

I am a programmer at heart and inspire people to solve complex business and technology challenges. I have more than 25 years of experience in the information technology industry. In 2010, I founded WinHire Inc., an innovative company that builds software products through technology and human capital management experts and combines them with professional services. I also co-founded Ivega Corporation in 1997, an international niche IT consulting company with special focus on financial services. Ivega merged with TCG in 2004, creating a 1,000+ person focused differentiator in the IT consulting space.

I have an M.S. in Technology Management from Columbia University and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Mysore, India. I also attended Executive Education programs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Law School.

What problem does your product/service solve?

reAlpha is like the Robinhood of investing in Airbnb properties. What we have found is that short-term rental (STR) properties make +70% returns compared to long term rentals, making real estate investing lucrative again. reAlpha solves 4 core problems faced by 99% of Americans who aspire to invest in real estate:

  1. No one has 25% down payment money (imagine organizing 100K for a $400K property.
  2. Individuals don’t have access to the wholesale real estate market (only the big guys do)
  3. No one wants to manage the pains of a short-term rental property.
  4. No one wants to manage the extremely complex mortgage process.

To solve these problems, reAlpha sources and scores properties from the wholesale market using a proprietary AI-driven algorithm called reAlphaBRAIN. We then predict the viability of each property for Airbnb, as well as the projected long-term value. On our marketplace app (managed by a broker dealer) we then allow investors to become fractional owners in specific properties, providing meaningful wealth generation opportunities through short-term passive income via Airbnb as well as equity-driven capital appreciation. We also want people to experience the true pride of ownership, so they get access to go and stay at their properties too!

What are you most excited about right now?

We’re thrilled to offer Main Street investors access to become a shareholder in our company through our Reg A+ filing. We could’ve raised the money from VCs or private equity, but it was important to us to allow anyone to join our community as a shareholder. So, we are raising $75 Million which will enable us to go up to $750M in AUM. Once we build this initial portfolio, we will be opening up the reAlpha app, where people can then invest in individual properties.

Our proprietary algorithms, partnership network, and stellar leadership team make reAlpha a force in the emerging Airbnb market. Now with this additional financing, we are ready to scale our operations to create more investment opportunities and to create positive outcomes for the communities in which we operate. We have a great deal of traction in democratizing the massive $1.2 Trillion short-term rental market and investment process.

Short-term rentals are no longer purely transactional and occupancy driven. We are reimagining the entire guest experience end-to-end. The reAlphaHouse is the ultimate on-demand rental property. We implement various technologies, including smart locks, voice-activated electronics, home automation systems and innovative furnishings, to create an unparalleled guest experience.

What’s next for you?

Since reAlpha is a digital marketplace that enables its members to simplify wealth creation through investments in short-term rental properties while delivering an exceptional guest experience, our goal is to build a community with a million people. We have plans to acquire 15,000 properties in the next 5 years and empower 60,000 retail members to form investment syndicates for those properties. We are motivated to attract all types of people and serve different communities.

What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

I am passionate about education, as I come from a family of teachers. I would love to help a large number of inner-city kids with educational tools and opportunities to help achieve their dreams.

reAlpha is dedicated to bring our mission of simplified wealth creation to everyone. When we say everyone, we mean everyone. That’s why we are rolling out a flagship partnership that will give ownership and employment to our communities. We are setting aside 2% of our funding raise to be dedicated to the reImagine Fund. This will create up to $30M in real estate for underrepresented populations as well as enable reAlpha’s workforce opportunity program.

Meet The RE Tech EntrepreneurThanks to Giri for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.

We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop us a line (Community @ geekestate dot com).