In this episode, Hall welcomes Igor Khmel, Founder and CEO of Brik.exchange.

Brik.exchange is a platform where you can trade stablecoins. BRIK is liquidity protocol for real estate that they are working on. They want to implement the power of the DeFi market and stable coins to automate the biggest asset class in the world – real estate. They have got multifamily properties confirmed for $15m, and are in the process of onboarding other $20m properties.

Brik.exchange has secured relationships with 5 leading real estate data providers, including CoreLogic. Two leading Wall Street investment banks expressed interest to provide them with 3% leverage financing as soon as they reach the $100m portfolio. They plan to reach a $1bn+ portfolio of real estate within 3 years and are looking for real estate partners and financial institutions to work with. 

Igor created and launched the Innovation Lab for Sberbank, the biggest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe. He hired and managed a team of 15 engineers and managers to create new innovative solutions for the bank and the bank’s ecosystem. He got the idea when he met with alumni from the Capital One Lab at Stanford and used that Lab and their best practices as a model.

Among 20+ pilots, he developed card retargeting, an innovative banking product that uses real-time bidding technology to target online merchants when customers buy something offline. To realize this, he led the acquisition of a company that enabled this technology for Sberbank and led the integration. He initiated the sale of a 50% stake in this company to the leading Russian telecom, enabling joint use of data and technology by Sberbank and the telecom. They closed the deal based on 2x valuation – doubling the company’s valuation in a single year.

Igor shares what led him to start working in the industry. He also discusses the growth rate of the sector, and some of the challenges he has faced.

You can visit Brik.exchange at www.f6s.com/daoreit.

Igor can be contacted via email at team@brik.exchange, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ikhmel, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/igorkhmel.  

For a full transcript, click here.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

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Disclaimer:
Hall T Martin is the director of Investor Connect, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the education of investors for early-stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for the basis of investment decisions.