Before we start, can you tell us more about Andrea Maffi…
I started my career in the real estate business as an agent specialized in investments evaluation and marketing support. I’ve also funded through the international RE/MAX brand, a group of real estate agencies, with over 60 consultants. I have always been passionate about new technologies related to the real estate world and in 2017 I approached the world of Fintech and Prop Tech.
Trusters was born with a whatsapp message…we are curious to hear your story.
In 2016 the real estate market in Milan was already in turmoil, and for some years I had been buying some small real estate properties to renovate and put up for sale. At that time the prices were particularly interesting and once I found a property’s owner particularly motivated to sell a large apartment that I could have split it into 2 brand new units. I didn’t have enough liquidity so I decided to present my project to my Bank and ask for a loan. The answer found me unprepared; the bank manager gave me a sharp NO because in his opinion, real estate investments are not interesting. Taken by despair, I began to wonder how to not miss that opportunity and I began to write to friends and various contacts in the address book via whatsapp if they wanted to participate with me by giving them an appointment in my office on a Friday evening. I was amazed by the answer. More than 50 people showed interest in better understanding of what I had to offer and an idea came to me, “people are very interested in investing in real estate!”.
Is the Trusters platform designed on blockchain? What are the benefits?
A concept that has always been fundamental for me is transparency. This creates trust; it is essential that every data communicated is true and incorruptible.
We have built a blockchain register to be able to make clear the most important data of our collections, verifiable at any time and by every member of Trusters.
How does Trusters work in simple words?
Trusters is a real estate lending crowdfunding platform that makes real estate investments simple by giving anyone the opportunity to obtain attractive returns through a loan. On the other hand, to provide real estate companies a financial alternative for their re-development projects.
Describe Trusters with data and percentages.
Trusters made its debut on 18/12/2018 with the first project. To date has financed 237 real estate projects, raising over €36 million and returning 146 projects for over €19 million, with an average rate of 9,50% as yearly interest.
What is the minimum investment and how much do you earn?
Trusters is extremely accessible and easy, you can start financing and participate in a project with €250,00 only.
How do you ensure safety on investment?
Over time, we built up a strict selection system for re-companies, our team has a strong background in the real estate business and this has made the difference. To date, we have 45 companies that have always repaid their loans on time.
What’s TrustersPro?
Over time we have created a selected group of investors registered on our platform. We wanted to reward the most loyal and constant members by giving them some benefits. They will have in every deal they invest, a higher interest rate compared to the other members. In addition, Trusters Pro members can invest in exclusive deals called Lounge.
CrowdFundMe, one of the leading Italian equity crowdfunding platforms, believed in you. This means that you have enormous potential…
Crowdfundme is a leading platform in Italy in raising capital for start-ups, but it did not have a real estate department. Together, Trusters and Crowdfundme, have raised over €150 million from +15,000 investors and together we have the widest range of alternative investment products, such as: Equity crowdfunding, Lending crowdfunding and Mini bonds.
Next step?
One of the next goals for Trusters will be to attract investors outside Italy. The recent European legislation will allow crowdfunding platforms to use a single license to also solicit investors from other countries.
I think that crowdfunding is still at the beginning of its development. Over time it will be able to evolve into an increasingly refined and complex form, also including technologies related to the world of cryptocurrencies and in particular to NFT.
I hope that crowdfunding continues to be inspired by the reason it was born, “to help economies to grow and develop in order to restore widespread well-being”.