You are involved in the most complex and demanding market on the planet! How did you get the releases to continue with this project? Or do not you have them yet? How do you plan to achieve it and what will you do if it's not possible to proceed with the rules?
By releases I assume you are asking about regulatory issues? If so, there are certain ways to make sure we do not overstep our bounds. We are a platform to connect homeowners and buyers, so very much a marketplace. Our collaboration with a San Francisco specialized real estate legal firm took months (since last year) to hash out what is necessary to make our business model work. That is also the reason why we are starting in the San Francisco Bay Area, as that's where we know the legal issues the best. The direction we are on, currently, is the easiest. If somehow it is not possible, we have a Plan B already that will have more paperwork involved but still solvable.
We are not arrogant enough to think we can tackle the entire real estate sector, but just a small subset. I'm sure you guys hear huge numbers being tossed around (people are quoting USD 210 trillion!) but it's impossible for a startup to tackle such a big market from the beginning. We're helping people who need liquidity but there's no current way right now without accumulating more debt. Our targets are the people who take out home equity loans and reverse mortgages, and help them find a more equitable way to unlock value in their properties. On the other side, allowing everyone to invest without having to be part of the affluent or being forced into funds that the managers decide where to invest.