Crowd Street’s David Govshtein and Anna-Marie Allander Lieb recently joined Nic Millikan, host of the Allocate Podcast, to discuss how Crowd Street evolved from a 2012 tech startup into a FINRA-registered securities broker and the leading platform for accredited investors seeking access to private market investment opportunities, including commercial real estate.
The conversation covered Crowd Street’s origins, its growth to more than 300,000 members, and how its $25,000 minimum has opened the door for a new generation of accredited investors to build self-directed portfolios in the private markets.
The episode comes as Crowd Street prepares to expand beyond real estate into alternative asset classes like private credit and private equity. Govshtein and Lieb discussed the firm’s evolving strategy, its new leadership, and what’s ahead.
David Govshtein serves as the Managing Director at Crowd Street, leading the team responsible for online capital formation and investor relations. Since joining Crowd Street in 2018, David has held various roles, including Managing Director of Capital Markets and Associate in Sales Development. His leadership has facilitated numerous successful equity raises, such as the acquisition of 2 Executive Drive in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, in collaboration with Rhino Capital Advisors.
Anna-Marie Allander Lieb is an Executive Managing Director at Crowd Street, where she has been since 2016, bringing over 15 years of experience in commercial real estate finance and capital raising. As a key member of the Offering Review Committee, she plays a crucial role in optimizing investment structures for our members while ensuring regulatory compliance. Prior to her role at Crowd Street, Anna-Marie worked at PNC, where she specialized in underwriting and structuring innovative tax credit equity and debt financing solutions for Historic Tax Credit, and Low Income Housing Tax Credit investments. Anna-Marie started her real estate career in Boston where she was a member of the CBRE New England Capital Markets Team. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness. For the full episode and transcript, check out the Allocate Podcast at Substack.
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Nic Millikan: Let's talk about the origins of Crowd Street. What was the problem you were initially trying to solve?
David Govshtein: The birth of Crowd Street came after the passing of the JOBS Act in 2012, which allowed individual accredited investors to invest in commercial real estate offerings for the first time. Before that, if you wanted exposure to real estate opportunities similar to those institutions were accessing, your financial advisor would likely stick you in a publicly traded REIT, which correlates much more with the stock market than private real estate.
The first offering we launched was in 2014 — a senior housing project in the Midwest — as a proof of concept. Fast forward, we’ve deployed nearly $4.5 billion of equity across around 800 individual transactions. Investors can directly invest with sponsors, with minimums as low as $25,000. We offer a wide variety of product types and geographies: multifamily, industrial, retail, self-storage, hospitality, and more. We have about 300,000 members, and we’re now expanding beyond commercial real estate into private credit, private equity, and other alternatives.
Nic Millikan: And how has the investor base evolved alongside the platform?
Anna-Marie Lieb: When we started in 2014–2015, investing $25,000 through an online platform was a novel idea. Our early adopters were largely commercial real estate and fintech professionals, many of whom treated it like a hobby. We’ve since invested heavily in educational content and platform experience.
Now we see a broader base: healthcare professionals, lawyers, insurance, entrepreneurs. About 70% of our investors are repeat investors. A typical portfolio has eight or more investments; some have up to 200.
Nic Millikan: There’s increasing competition in this space. What sets Crowd Street apart?
Anna-Marie Lieb: We’ve been doing this for over 10 years. Our back-end technology has processed up to 80,000 investment positions for private placements, managing everything from accreditation to K-1 issuance. We’ve raised almost $4.5 billion through our 300,000 members. We estimate they collectively hold $63 billion, about 60% of which belongs to qualified purchasers. So, our technology and distribution network are major differentiators. I’ll hand it over to David to speak more about our sponsors.
David Govshtein: On the sponsor side, we emphasize experienced sponsors — those with a track record in their product type and geography. We have a detailed screening process, for both sponsors and individual deals. That helps us focus on opportunities that align with today’s environment. And when a sponsor has invested across multiple cycles, executed on their business plans, and shown they can create value in today’s environment, we maintain those relationships.
Nic Millikan: You’ve mentioned that only five percent of deals make it onto the platform. What does your screening process look like?
David Govshtein: Every sponsor submits an application covering their track record and due diligence materials. We review financial models, offering documents, and evaluate the deal through our committee.
I tell sponsors we focus on four main factors when we evaluate an opportunity: (1) sponsorship quality, (2) the market — we favor both innovation hubs like Boston and DC, and high-growth Sun Belt markets, (3) risk-adjusted returns, and (4) a strong narrative — why this deal now?
Nic Millikan: You offer fund investments and individual deals, two very different options. What does that mean for your members and their portfolio construction?
Anna-Marie Lieb: Historically, most of our offerings are single assets — probably an 80/20 or 90/10 split. When we offer funds, trust in the sponsor is paramount. Investors are getting access to potential diversification, but they need to trust the people behind the deals. Another important consideration is tax filing, if the fund spans multiple states.
Generally, single assets give more transparency — investors know the asset, sponsor, and market — but they’re less diversified. Funds give you access to a wider geography and a broader pool of assets.
Nic Millikan: Let’s double-click on the $25,000 minimum. How does that fit into the democratization trend?
David Govshtein: It’s a great question. If you go to an individual sponsor, they often require $250K to $1 million minimums. There are millions of accredited investors, but that’s not a realistic entry point for most of them.
At Crowd Street, we offer access to investment opportunities for $25K. That’s helped unlock this asset class for a broader base of accredited investors.
Nic Millikan: With new leadership, what’s Crowd Street’s vision for the future?
Anna-Marie Lieb: We’re super excited to have John Imbrigliat as CEO. He has decades of experience in alternatives and tech and helped grow iCapital, where he was an early hire.
His vision builds on our legacy but aims to create a category-of-one offering for private markets, combining education, access, and seamless experience into one platform. We're laying the groundwork to expand into areas like private credit and registered fund offerings.
Nic Millikan: Speaking of private credit — what’s driving that expansion?
David Govshtein: Private credit is a natural extension for us. We've already offered some debt funds on the platform, and investors consistently ask for more alternatives. We’re now equipped, with the right leadership and partners, to build that out.
Anna-Marie Lieb: We run surveys for our members, and two-thirds of them told us they want access to other asset classes. We have a robust core investment team in place, and we’re bringing in new voices to do this right. We want to bring the same rigor and transparency that’s defined our real estate platform, and we’re empowering our members to make informed decisions with educational resources.
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Disclosures: Private real estate is, by nature, generally less volatile than the stock market. This lack of volatility does not necessarily translate to private real estate not fluctuating in or losing value. Further, the value of private real estate investments will fluctuate, and the value of real estate often lags behind general market conditions.
Tax aspects of such investments can be complex and may differ depending on the property or offering and on individual tax circumstances. Neither Crowd Street or its affiliates offer tax or legal advice. Investors are strongly encouraged to seek advice from qualified tax professionals and/or legal experts regarding the tax consequences based on their particular circumstances.