There is a tremendous amount of private equity capital backing many of the leading broker platform providers today. As we recently announced, Inside Real Estate closed a transaction that led to Lovell Minnick Partners joining their investor group. Today, the company announced that real estate executive, Steve Ozonian will represent Lovell Minnick on the IRE (Inside Real Estate) Board of Directors. “We’re thrilled to welcome Steve to our board,” said Ned Stringham, CEO of Inside Real Estate. “Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and relationships having successfully led companies through many facets of the real estate industry. His experience and perspective will be invaluable as Inside Real Estate expands its reach, partnering with the most prominent brokerage and franchise brands in real estate today.”
Ozonian is regularly featured by RIS Media and Swanepoel (and previously Inman News) as one of the most influential executives in real estate. Ozonian has a long history of driving innovation at the intersection of real estate and technology. After serving as a senior executive at Coldwell Banker Real Estate and Chairman and CEO of Prudential Real Estate & Relocation, Ozonian went on to serve as the CEO of REALTOR.com, one of the leading real estate consumer portals in the United States. After his tenure at REALTOR.com, Ozonian also served as the CEO of RealEstate.com and is currently the lead independent director of Lending Tree and CEO of Williston Financial with its Chairman, Pat Stone. Ozonian also sits on the Board of Attom Data Solutions, another Lovell Minnick portfolio company.
Private equity backing is a key step in the development of a company. Typically, start-ups are formed by investment from friends and family. That round is followed by Venture Capital investors. Inside Real Estate received its venture funding from 42 Ventures. The venture partners for Inside Real Estate were instrumental in bringing on their first Private Equity investor in NexPhase Capital. NexPhase sold their holding in Inside Real Estate last month to Lovell Minnick Partners.
The key to having the Ozonian representing Lovell Minnick on the IRE Board of Directors will be to guide the continued growth if the company with their current products, expand the offering with new products, and acquire businesses that align with the needs of IRE broker customers. IRE has been active in acquisitions, having acquired a number of great endpoint solutions like CirclePIX and BrokerSumo that are weaved into the kvCORE system. Ozonian knows the industry, understands the demand for broker and agent software, and delivers a deep experience in private equity investment.
Exciting things should be in the future for Inside Real Estate. WAV Group believes that there will be a lot of consolidation of broker technology platforms over the next 5 years and we believe that companies like Inside Real Estate and others that have solid financial investment banks behind them will be well-positioned to maintain a leadership position.
