Victor Cuevas, the managing director and founder of Griffin Crowd & Capital, is no stranger to pivoting with the times – even the most strange and unusual of them.
Griffin Crowd & Capital is a platform that helps investors select and procure real estate investment opportunities, and started his first business in the industry in the mid-1990s. During the 2007 financial recession, the business closed, and Cuevas pivoted to whatever he felt was next.
In his case, that was the commercial purchasing industry. He started – and currently owns – mortgage banks, where he facilitates mortgage loans to hopeful homeowners, as well as commercial loans. But he didn’t want to stop there.
“I wanted to be more than a ‘mortgage guy’,” he said. “So I decided to pivot my expertise in commercial funding into something else.”
And from that seed, Griffin Crowd & Capital was born in 2019. The rest, as they say, is history.
Changing the Investment Game
Griffin Crowd & Capital isn’t your average commercial investing fund facilitator. The fund serves as an easy-to-find, single-stop platform that makes choosing an investment a seamless process for anyone interested in investing in real estate.
“We’re really trying to disrupt the real estate investing industry,” said Cuevas. “We’ve brought together experts and professionals to not only do this but also create an experience and a resource that benefits and appeals to a wide variety of investors.”
That variety isn’t just consigned to the United States, Cuevas added. International investors from Asia and Latin America are also welcome to invest through the platform.
“We want to connect people with the investments that they’re interested in and that will serve them,” he said. “This is one way we’re doing it that no one in the industry is, and it’s exciting to set ourselves apart in this way.”
While Griffin Crowd & Capital is focused on procuring high-end multifamily units, commercial real estate, and ground-up development for multifamily properties, their main focus is on investor experiences. Selecting investments can be a challenging, time-intensive process, said Cuevas, and his aim through Griffin Crowd & Capital is to ensure that process is pared down into something manageable – and maybe even fun.
“Making the investment process something intuitive and engaging is essential to our work,” he said. “We want people to enjoy working with us to find the best opportunities to use their finances for good.”
Investors interested in investing with Griffin Crowd & Capital sign up for an account on their online platform and indicate which investment opportunities posted on the website they may be interested in buying into. From there, the Griffin Crowd & Capital team begins evaluating investors to determine if they’re accredited investors.
“We do our best to provide investors with all the variables concerning each project, and we also do our best to make sure we’re fully partnering with investors every step of the way,” said Cuevas. “Some investors may prefer a more hands-off process, and that’s okay, but we want to offer the support they need and want to make good choices.”
“The New GoFundMe”
When you think of crowdfunding, it’s rare to think of anything pertaining to real estate and mortgages. But Griffin Crowd & Capital has set out to do just that by also creating an online platform that empowers people to apply for and receive commercial real estate loans.
The firm connects borrowers and lenders seeking all loan types, including bridge loans, term loans, and long-term loans. Since the JOBS Act of 2012, there has been an explosion in the number of crowdfunding options available to real estate investors, but Griffin Crowd & Capital sets itself apart by offering investment opportunities, both in and outside of the United States.
“Borrowers using a crowdfunding portal have an advantage because they can get funds from a wider pool of investors,” said Cuevas. “While they typically have to accept a higher interest rate in order to get additional funds, the access to those additional investors is typically worth it.”
Another notable advantage of this kind of financing is that loans from any crowdfunding portals have the advantage of being interest-only. This allows the borrower to preserve cash flow from property even if the interest rate is a bit higher.
Because crowdfunding portals can fill many different niches in the lending market, purchasers can find the right loan for their funding scenario and find the right crowdfunding partner accordingly. This is a fast-growing market, Cuevas said, and it’s something he’s excited to see Griffin Crowd & Capital invest in.
“Our mission is to become the new GoFundMe, but for real estate,” he said. “We’re very excited to pioneer a push into this new industry, and I can’t wait to see how we grow from here.”
About Victor Cuevas
Victor Cuevas is an industry professional with over 30 years of mortgage finance experience, including extensive knowledge in both residential and commercial properties. He is a successful serial entrepreneur with a multitude of accomplished companies and ventures. Among them, Victor built a mortgage empire, spanning 36 offices in several western and central states. He currently serves as the founder of Griffin Crowd & Capital, the next chapter in an already illustrious career. For more information, visit https://www.griffincrowdcapital.com/
