[Startup story] Stock.estate | Rubik Garage Accelerator 2022 Batch

[Startup story] Stock.estate | Rubik Garage Accelerator 2022 Batch

August 11, 2022

Stock.estate is one of the 22 startups selected in the Rubik Garage accelerator 2022 Batch, from over 120 international applicants. Discover its story below. 

First of all, we would like to know who’s behind the keyboard.

Hello! Behind the keyboard, today is the communication fairy of Stock.estate. I am Miruna and I am doing communication strategies and digital communication for Stock.estate.

Tell us more about Stock.estate. What problem do you solve? Who’s your audience?

The main goal of Stock.estate is to democratize real estate and make it accessible for anyone. How do we achieve this?

Stock.estate is a new real estate crowdfunding platform that will radically reshape the way we are used to investing in real estate. Stock.estate uses an innovative business model that uses crowdfunding to make real estate accessible and approachable for all. With a focus on quality over quantity, only the best real estate projects will be listed on stock.estate while offering tangible guarantees for investors.

What motivated you to create this startup? What’s your „why”?

We started with a strong passion for real estate, and somehow this passion developed into Stock.estate. We wanted to transform real estate into something more accessible to the little investors, so we put every piece together into a single puzzle. This is why we made this crowdfunding platform, so anyone can invest in real estate starting with just €100.

How is your startup different from competitors?

Stock.estate tackles the barriers to real estate investing through a platform based on a crowdfunding model. 

First of all, Stock.estate selects the best properties to invest in while doing rigorous due diligence to ensure that only the highest quality investment opportunities are presented to investors. You can invest in attractive real estate projects starting from just €100. The model is based on loans where investors grant a loan to the developer to complete a real estate development and the developer returns the capital at the end of the project and the interest – which is usually between 12% and 15% per year on EUR – periodically, usually on a monthly basis.

And another thing that makes us different on the market is the fact that Stock.estate provides a platform that fully integrates the digital aspect of all processes related to the investments; you don’t need to show up physically to invest in a property.

Do you have a team supporting you in your mission?

The true brains behind Stock.estate are Vicentiu Vlad, Co-founder & CEO, and Alexandru Constantin, Co-founder & CTO. But we have also in our team a Legal advisor – Oana Dragomir, Marius Grigorică – CIO, and 5 more accomplices who support us through this journey. And of course, Miruna, who is sitting behind the keyboard right now.

What are the biggest rewards of being a startup founder?

I think one of the most important jobs of the founder is to create a culture in which each of your employees is having a life-enriching, perhaps even life-transforming, experience. This boosts morale, supports creativity, ensures retention, and increases productivity. It’s also better for the world.  

And besides all these things, founding a startup is an incredible way of getting to know oneself. Your strengths, your weaknesses–they are staring you in the face all day, every day when you are creating a company. And, if you are willing to look at yourself honestly–with both self-acceptance and also an indefatigable drive to grow–then this is a true reward.

On the contrary, what are the biggest challenges?

Being able to effectively manage our time as a team is crucial. Sometimes it is easy to become distracted and set our focus in the wrong areas. Planning is vital, as it will keep us on track and focused on our company goals.

What made you apply to our accelerator Rubik Garage?

Operating a startup can be challenging. That’s why we thought that an accelerator like Rubik Garage could help us. When you work within an accelerator, you get support from mentors. And, besides emotional support, they can provide direction, experience and knowledge. Plus, you have the support of other founders in the accelerator program with you.

What are your top 3 learnings of the acceleration program?

We learned how to make a better pitch for our business, how to create a better structure for our user persona and what is the process of a sales funnel.

What do you like in the Rubikorns Startup Community?

We liked to discover a new community of entrepreneurs, and we were pleased to see the engagement in this community and the fact that everybody is willing to help you.

What are your plans for Stock.estate for the next 6-12 months?

Our plan is to develop our secondary market and finish at least one round of investment for one of the real estate projects available on our platform.

What message do you have for other startup founders?

Make yourself available on large platforms. Keep yourself relevant by producing value in the form of content. Give your audiences, assuming you’ve built them, a call to action to reach out to you. It is important to always stay in touch with those who believed from the first moment in your business.

What is your special power?

We have a full perspective – the ability to see what has been done in the past, draw on its lessons, and propel quickly forward to make our vision a reality. 

We encourage you to support Stock.estate and follow their journey on Linkedin and Facebook.

Stay tuned to discover the story behind the other startups from the Rubik Garage accelerator! #WeAreInThisTogether

Rubik Garage is an equity-free acceleration program aiming to support startups from CEE. We are helping early-stage startups get to their first paying customer, raise investment or go international.

The accelerator started with a Founders Bootcamp in Piatra Neamt. Four months of acceleration will culminate with a Demo Day in September, where startups get the chance to pitch their startup in front of investors. For the most motivated teams, the journey will continue in the next 6-12 months – our team will offer their full support to help them raise an investment round.

If you want to pre-apply for the next Rubik Garage edition, complete this form and be the first one to get the chance of starting their acceleration journey!