Our Mission

Tore Steen

• @toresteen
• linkedin.com/in/toresteen

Tore is a business leader in the internet and software industries with deep expertise in strategy, business development, sales, and marketing for both publicly traded and private enterprises.

Prior to CrowdStreet, Tore was instrumental in leading the product, sales, marketing, and business development efforts for Janrain, taking them from early stage rapid growth phases to becoming the recognized leader in the social identity space with a full user management platform and global enterprise customers. He has held senior leadership roles as the Vice President of Business and Corporate Development at WebTrends and Director of Business Development at EarthLink.

Tore earned a Master of Business Administration from Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Notre Dame.

Darren Powderly

• @dpowderly
• linkedin.com/in/darrenpowderly

Darren has transacted hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of commercial real estate investments and software throughout his 20-year career. Darren is a driven leader who loves building relationships based on mutual success. In addition to advising clients on commercial real estate solutions, Darren has personally owned commercial real estate, syndicated investment groups and developed both value-add and ground-up properties. Darren is an active member of ULI, CCIM, ICSC and serves as a regional board member at US Bank.

Prior to founding CrowdStreet, Darren served as President of Compass Commercial, a leading Pacific Northwest full-service commercial real estate company. Darren launched his career in software at Oracle/ATG in San Francisco where he managed 17 sales people throughout the Western region while performing as an individual top-producer. An entrepreneur at heart, Darren started his first profitable business at 19 years old in Boulder, CO.

Darren is a graduate of the Leeds Business School at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a CCIM designee, a recognized expert in investment real estate.

Robert Stiles

• linkedin.com/in/robert-stiles-aa806b1/

Robert draws on a depth of broad experience to solve strategic, financial and operational issues and help companies succeed.

He joins CrowdStreet with over 25 years of accounting and finance experience, including over 10 years of expertise in the real estate industry. Robert will lead CrowdStreet’s financial operations, legal and compliance efforts to help accelerate the company’s next phase of growth. He previously served as CFO at LendingHome, one of the largest residential fix-and-flip digital marketplaces, as well as at Mr. Cooper (f/k/a Nationstar Mortgage) and Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. 

He holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BA in Accounting from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Londa Quisling

• linkedin.com/in/londaquisling/

Londa is an accomplished engineering and product technology executive who has served in various roles with high-tech companies for more than 20 years.

Most recently she was the Chief Product Officer at Treehouse, which provides online technical education and apprenticeship programs. At Treehouse, Londa led all aspects of product strategy, development, and delivery of products & services. She has also served as the VP of Engineering & Product Development at NAVEX Global and Ethics Point, as well as the VP of Product Development at Iterasi. 

Londa holds a BS in Applied Mathematics from the Engineering School at the University of Colorado Boulder.

John Havens

• linkedin.com/in/john-d-havens-9b37664/

John is an accomplished financial services professional with deep experience in real estate finance and development, institutional and alternative investment capital raising, corporate finance, and capital markets. 

He joins CrowdStreet from BNY Mellon, where his roles included leading a global corporate banking team as well as managing sales and client relationship teams for a global equity asset management boutique.  Havens has also held leadership positions at GM, Chase Manhattan, PNC and Boston Financial. 

John holds an A.B. in Economics from Princeton.

Gaylyn Sher-Jan

• linkedin.com/in/gaylyn-sher-jan-4781b9

Gaylyn Sher-Jan has over 25 years of experience in Human Resources and Organization Development. Her experience spans small to large enterprises across a wide variety of industries including high tech, manufacturing, financial services, utilities, healthcare, and nonprofit. Her international experience includes work in Spain and in Ireland as an expatriate.

Previously Gaylyn was the Chief People Officer at Insitu, where she oversaw IT, Facilities, Flight Services, and HR, as well as managed an OpEx budget of $42m. Prior to that role, she was the first HR leader as Chief People Officer of the startup Zoomcare. In support of her expertise, Gaylyn brings a suite of time tested and impactful tools; she is certified in the Hogan, Myers-Briggs, DiSC, PDI, Center for Creative Leadership, the Hogan Leadership Assessment and Profiles Assessment tools.

Gaylyn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in MIS and started her career as a system analyst with Hewlett-Packard prior to being recruited into HR. She has served as an Executive Council Board Member with TechAmerica and on the Board of Directors for Share and the Board of Directors for Boys and Girls Aid.

Ian Formigle

• @IanFormigle
• linkedin.com/pub/ian-formigle/5/330/a98

Ian is a real estate professional and serial entrepreneur with over 19 years experience in real estate private equity, startups and equity and options trading. He has extensive experience in acquisitions, capital formation, directing teams, structuring deals, syndication, asset management, financial markets and investor relations.

Prior to joining CrowdStreet, Ian was VP of Business Development for ScanlanKemperBard Companies, where he managed the firm’s alternative investment platform and served as an acquisitions officer on a team that completed $460 million of commercial real estate acquisitions during his tenure. Previously, Ian cofounded and served as CEO of Clarus Property Ventures, a real estate private equity firm that focused on multifamily acquisitions in southern and midwestern states. Ian began his career as an equity options market maker and member of the Pacific Exchange.

Ian holds a BA in Economics and a BA in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and is a FINRA registered representative with Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Steve Drew

• @_Steve_Drew
• linkedin.com/in/steve-drew/

Steve is a seasoned product leader who has spent the last 20 years leading product teams to define, develop and launch multiple innovative SaaS, cloud and desktop software solutions. He is experienced in overseeing the full life cycle of product development, marketing and business development at large enterprises and early stage start-ups. Steve brings a strong reputation for collaborative cross-functional leadership delivering innovative solutions that drive financial and operational success.

Prior to CrowdStreet, Steve was VP of Marketing and Business Development at Paydici, a financial services start-up. Previously, Steve was Director of Product Management in the Construction and Real Estate Division at Sage where he led a three year project to develop and launch Sage Timberline Enterprise, following successfully leading the launch of Peachtree Quantum in the Small Business Accounting Division. Steve also led product management and product development teams at Radiant Systems and BlueCube Software.

Steve earned a Master of Business Administration from Emory University and a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing and management from the University of Wisconsin.

Tony Lai

• linkedin.com/in/tony-lai-3b45251/

As VP of Customer Success for CrowdStreet, Tony oversees a dedicated team of consultants focused on ensuring the long-term success, growth and efficiency of all CrowdStreet customers. This includes managing customer loyalty and relationships, professional services, and customer care/support. Tony brings over 13 years of experience in the alternative Investments industry and over 19 years focused on professional services and enterprise technology.

Prior to CrowdStreet, Tony was the VP of Customer Success at Backstop Solutions Group (Chicago, IL) and served as Senior VP, Client Services at Cogency Software (Burlingame, CA). Tony joined Backstop when the company acquired Cogency in 2015. Tony started his career in New York City and served as Director of the Project Management Office at Appian Bridge Corp, a startup proprietary software and consulting firm.

Tony holds a BA from Colgate University in upstate NY.

Brent Hieggelke

• @bhieggelke
• linkedin.com/in/brenthieggelke

Brent is a high-growth tech marketing executive focused on start-up and early category innovators and disrupters. He is a seasoned evangelist, and public speaker across a wide-range of topics.

He is a former CMO of several leading SaaS companies such as Urban Airship (mobile), Brandlive (video), Webtrends (data and analytics) and Touch Clarity (AI, machine learning), which sold to Omniture. In 2009, Brent co-founded a real estate start-up, Second Porch, which built the first sharing vacation rental site and ultimately exited to HomeAway, now Expedia. Brent has keynoted and led panels at global events like SXSW, Mobile World Congress, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week, Adtech, and hundreds of other conferences. Brent has been featured or quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Advertising Age, and hundreds of other publications.

Brent holds a BA in Economics with honors from the University of Chicago.

Tore Steen

• @toresteen
• linkedin.com/in/toresteen

Tore is a business leader in the internet and software industries with deep expertise in strategy, business development, sales, and marketing for both publicly traded and private enterprises.

Prior to CrowdStreet, Tore was instrumental in leading the product, sales, marketing, and business development efforts for Janrain, taking them from early stage rapid growth phases to becoming the recognized leader in the social identity space with a full user management platform and global enterprise customers. He has held senior leadership roles as the Vice President of Business and Corporate Development at WebTrends and Director of Business Development at EarthLink.

Tore earned a Master of Business Administration from Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Notre Dame.

Darren Powderly

• @dpowderly
• linkedin.com/in/darrenpowderly

Darren has transacted hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of commercial real estate investments and software throughout his 20-year career. Darren is a driven leader who loves building relationships based on mutual success. In addition to advising clients on commercial real estate solutions, Darren has personally owned commercial real estate, syndicated investment groups and developed both value-add and ground-up properties. Darren is an active member of ULI, CCIM, ICSC and serves as a regional board member at US Bank.

Prior to founding CrowdStreet, Darren served as President of Compass Commercial, a leading Pacific Northwest full-service commercial real estate company. Darren launched his career in software at Oracle/ATG in San Francisco where he managed 17 sales people throughout the Western region while performing as an individual top-producer. An entrepreneur at heart, Darren started his first profitable business at 19 years old in Boulder, CO.

Darren is a graduate of the Leeds Business School at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a CCIM designee, a recognized expert in investment real estate.

Dino Vendetti

• @dinovendetti
• linkedin.com/in/dinovendetti

Dino has spent his career as an entrepreneur, investor, and exec in leading technology companies and is focused on building and growing the tech eco-system in Bend Oregon. He recently founded Seven Peaks Ventures, is co-founder of the Founders Pad Accelerator in Bend OR, and Adjunct Professor of Computer Science and Entrepreneurship at OSU Cascades in Bend OR.

Prior to Seven Peaks Ventures, Dino was a General Partner with Formative Ventures, Bay Partners and Vulcan Ventures. Earlier in his career, he held senior executive positions at Qualcomm, Metawave, and Dain Rauscher. He began his career in engineering design and management roles at TRW and US West Cellular.

Active board seats and investments include: Vungle, Droplr, Manzama, CrowdStreet, Inbound Writer, and Capella.

Jeff Hinck

• linkedin.com/in/jeffhinck

Jeff has been a venture capitalist since 1997 and has focused on early-stage business technology companies throughout his career.

Jeff began his professional career at McKinsey & Company then started his venture career at Crescendo Ventures. He co-founded Vesbridge Partners with Rally Venture Partner Zenas Hutcheson and has been a General Partner with El Dorado Ventures since 2008. Jeff also ran Sistina Software as CEO and has twice been the President of the Minnesota Venture Capital Association (MVCA).

In his spare time, Jeff enjoys biking, boating and fine wine, preferably all in the same day.

Lawson DeVries

Lawson DeVries joined Grotech Ventures in 2005 and is a General Partner at the firm. He focuses primarily on investment opportunities in enterprise software, SaaS and internet companies. Lawson currently serves on the boards of Atavium, Ceros, CrowdStreet, DirectScale, Optoro, RedPoint Global, TaskEasy, Tethr and UrbanBound.

He was also the first investor in NexGen Storage and sat on the board until its acquisition by Fusion-io. Lawson has also worked closely with a number of other prior Grotech portfolio companies including LogRhythm (acquired by Thoma Bravo), Logi Analytics (acquired by Marlin Equity) BroadSoft (NASDAQ: BSFT; acquired by Cisco), Collective Intellect (acquired by Oracle) and Aztek Networks (acquired by GenBand).

Prior to joining Grotech Ventures, Lawson was in the Institutional Equity Sales division of the Buckingham Research Group, a boutique independent research firm. Previously he was in the Equity Research division at Deutsche Bank where he rolled out coverage on a new division of the Industrials sector that included Caterpillar, Deere and Co. and AGCO. Prior to this, Lawson was an Associate in Deutsche Bank’s Health Care group covering Managed Care stocks.

Donna Wells

• @donnawells
• linkedin.com/in/donnawells/

Donna Wells is a successful serial entrepreneur, an experienced Public and Private Board Director, and an innovator in the financial services, FinTech and cloud software industries. She is a Board Director at Betterment, the largest independent digital investment advisor, and Happy Money, a leading FinTech innovator. She is a Board Advisor at Mitek Systems (MITK) and was a Board Director at Boston Private Bank (BPFH).

Donna was previously CEO of Mindflash Technologies, a private enterprise software company which she grew from product launch to market leadership. The company was named a Top 50 Small Company to Work For by Fortune. Before leading Mindflash, she was CMO for Mint.com from this breakthrough FinTech product’s launch to the company’s acquisition for 50X revenue two years later. Prior to Mint, Donna had a 20-year career in strategic B2C, B2B and product marketing with American Express and Charles Schwab and led marketing for two Fortune 500 companies: Intuit and Expedia.

Ms. Wells’ teams’ work have won multiple Webby’s and recognition as a Tech Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in Davos. She has been named a Top 25 Women in Tech to Watch by Accenture and a Marketing Executive of the Year Finalist by The Wall Street Journal. She is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and Stanford Women on Boards. In 2018, Ms. Wells was named a finalist for the Women in IT/ Information Age Business Role Model of the Year Award. She holds an MBA from Stanford and a BS in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Tom Byrne

• linkedin.com/in/thomaspbyrne/

Thomas Byrne is real estate technology evangelist and active business advisor, thought leading, startup mentor and investor within the real estate technology sector. Byrne was previously an Entrepreneur In Residence at Trinity Ventures. For 10 years, Byrne built and managed LoopNet, Inc. until its successful sale in 2012 for $900 million. As President and Chief Operating Officer of LoopNet, Byrne was responsible for LoopNet’s P&L and lead day-to-day strategy, acquisition review and integration, business operations, marketing, sales, client & account management, engineering product development and business development. Byrne helped steward the company thru numerous key milestones including profitability, achieving EBITDA margins of 50%, successful IPO, acquiring and successfully integrating 8 acquisitions, raising $50 million PIPE investment, and the eventual sale to Costar.

Prior to joining LoopNet, Byrne served as Group Vice President of NextCard’s Secured Card business unit responsible for the business unit’s P&L and for all functional groups including strategy, marketing, client services, portfolio management and finance. Byrne successfully led the NextCard business unit to cashflow breakeven and profitability. Prior to NextCard, Byrne held management positions at McKinsey & Company and Prudential Investments working in various investment capacities, including the Prudential Real Estate Group, in both commercial real estate and mortgage loan workout groups.

Byrne holds a MBA from the Harvard Business School and has a B.S. of Electrical Engineering, with highest honors, from Georgia Tech.

Lewis Feldman

• linkedin.com/in/lewisgfeldman/

CEO and Founder, Heritage Capital Ventures LLC, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate at the Anderson Graduate School of Business, where he lectures on real estate capital markets matters and online syndication. Over the past 35 years, including during his tenure as founder of AmLaw 100 Goodwin Procter LLP’s California offices and its online real estate securities practice, Lew Feldman has helped raise and deploy more than $100 billion in debt and equity for real estate, infrastructure and financial technology.

Christopher Keber

• linkedin.com/in/christopher-keber-421398104/

Christopher Keber joined McCourt Global in 2017 as Head of Investments & Strategy, to lead the firm’s investment strategy, and focus on the growth and sustainability of MG’s global business.

Previously, Chris was Senior Managing Director of Hines Interests L.P, a private firm with $100 billion of assets under management, for nearly five years. In this role, he was responsible for worldwide capital formation and fund-raising, investor relations and managing many enterprise-level special situations.

Prior to Hines, Chris led Starwood Capital Group’s global capital raising and investor relations, during which Starwood raised billions of dollars for new investment vehicles and co-investments for energy and real estate from global investors. Before that, he worked in New York at Credit Suisse in its Real Estate Private Funds Group.

Beyond his professional activities, Chris is deeply committed to charitable projects. He volunteered for two years on the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia, where he served as a teacher, and later Principal, of a 300-student elementary school.

Chris holds an MBA in Real Estate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he currently serves on the school’s Board of Visitors, as well as a BA in International Relations from Georgetown University. He also studied at the U.K.’s Edinburgh University, where he was a member of its basketball team.