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Blockchain can change the real estate industry, says Mohsin Masud, CEO of AKRU, an innovative blockchain-based platform for fractionalized real estate investing. “I’m just a real estate guy who found out about blockchain and thought it could make a difference in the industry,” he explains.
Rooted in real estate from an early age through his family’s business, Mohsin is also president of RKM Investments, a Private Equity Fund with a focus on commercial real estate investments in the Midwest. Mohsin learned firsthand that “the entire real estate transaction process is riddled with problems, whether its acquisition, asset ownership lifecycle, compliance, investor management, property management, and disposal.”
The first misunderstanding that Mohsin must dispel when dealing with clients is that blockchain is synonymous with crypto. “When explaining blockchain, you’ve got to simplify and simplify and break it down so that a 5th grader can understand it,” he says.
As a recent guest on the BlockSolid podcast with host Yael Tamar, Mohsin spoke about AKRU as being a two-sided platform. The AKRU site is dedicated to democratizing the investment experience by offering investors a low investment threshold in large commercial real estate deals. Those deals, many of which are in the pipeline and expected to come online by the end of the year, are all underwritten by AKRU.
When it comes to asset owners, Mohsin believes that information must be shared. “Any asset owner who has a real deal is used to sharing information on a regular basis,” he says. “Transparency is key and the dependability is what [AKRU] brings in.”
Now in a 4-month fundraising round, Mohsin is philosophical about bringing in investors. “When we’re picking investors, it’s all about the strategic value of the investor,” he explains. Mohsin was his company’s first investor.
To hear more of Mohsin’s conversation with Yael, click here.
