Real estate crowdfunding platform CrowdStreet announced on Wednesday it has appointed Donna Wells to its advisory board. The appointment comes just days after sponsor J.Jeffers & Co. raised $10 million on CrowdStreet in just 80 minutes. In total, $14 million was raised in a day ($16.7 million in total offers were submitted).
Donna Wells at SRK Headshot Day in Menlo Park
According to CrowdStreet, Wells was previously founding CMO for two category-defining FinTech innovators: Mint.com and MyCFO Wealth Management. Most recently, she was President and CEO of Mindflash Technologies. She brings her experience with four Fortune 500 companies: American Express, Charles Schwab, Intuit and Expedia, where she reportedly led US marketing for the then third largest e-commerce marketplace on the internet. Speaking about her new role at CrowdStreet, Wells stated:
“The financial services industry is rapidly democratizing. We’re seeing it in the equity and lending markets and it’s time for Commercial Real Estate, as the third largest asset class, to also become more efficient, transparent and accessible. I believe that CrowdStreet is going to be the driver of that change –- making it possible for accredited investors to better diversify their portfolios with highly curated CRE investments or funds. I’m looking forward to helping the company realize its full potential as the leading online real estate investing marketplace.”
CrowdStreet CEO, Tore Steen, went on to add:
“It’s critical to our company’s ambitious mission and vision that we have access to the top strategic minds in our industry. Donna’s experience is unmatched and we know her involvement will help propel CrowdStreet to market leadership in CRE and within the FinTech space, more broadly. Her track record in successful product design and marketing to high net worth women and Millennials will be particularly relevant as we continue our drive to make institutional-quality CRE offerings available to a wider group of US investors.”