CADRE

Ryan Williams — a young Black founder from Baton Rouge, Louisiana — was working in real estate at Goldman Sachs and Blackstone when he noticed that the best commercial real estate deals were exclusively available to institutions and billionaires. In 2014, he co-founded Cadre with Joshua and Jared Kushner to democratize access.

The platform uses data analytics and machine learning to evaluate deals, and allows individual accredited investors to invest alongside institutional capital in curated commercial real estate projects.

Online real estate investment platform that gives accredited investors access to institutional-quality commercial real estate deals. Traditionally, investing in a $100 million apartment complex required being an institution or a ultra-high-net-worth individual.

Cadre lowers the minimum to $25,000-$50,000 by pooling individual investments and using technology to source, underwrite, and manage deals. Revenue comes from asset management fees (typically 1.5% annually) and performance fees on profitable exits.

Cadre Direct Access Fund (diversified commercial real estate fund), Individual Deal Investments (invest in specific properties starting at $25K), Secondary Market (trade positions before exit), Cadre Cash (high-yield cash management), and Cadre's proprietary analytics platform that scores deals using machine learning.

Expanding product offerings beyond equity investments. Cadre has added a secondary market (allowing investors to sell their positions before the property is sold), debt investments, and a broader range of property types.

The platform's data analytics — which score deals based on hundreds of variables — improve with each transaction. Targeting the enormous wealth management channel (financial advisors allocating client assets to alternatives) is the next growth vector.

The Kushner connection created both opportunities and headaches. Jared Kushner's involvement in the Trump administration drew intense political scrutiny to Cadre, even though Kushner divested his stake.

The accredited investor requirement limits the addressable market. Real estate investing is illiquid — investors may wait 5-10 years for returns, creating patience issues.

The 2020-2023 commercial real estate downturn, particularly in office, hurt portfolio performance and dampened investor enthusiasm.

Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Ford Foundation, and Goldman Sachs were investors in Cadre.