Will Gurney

Director of Marketing @fundrise

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@AJmcvy2 @TartanArmyGroup @Sahlens

[Benjamin Miller @BenMillerise]

In 2011, I pitched a top securities attorney in New York on democratizing investing. After hearing me list all of the ways I believed retail investors were disadvantaged by the financial system, he just looked at me and said:

“Why would you bother with the little guy?”

Today, 15 later, we’re listing the @fundrise Innovation Fund on the NYSE under the ticker $VCX.

The financial system has a structural problem that most people can feel but few can name. The most valuable private technology companies are worth hundreds of billions, even over a trillion dollars, and they’ve never gone public. The wealth creation that used to flow through public markets—enabling everyone to participate—now happens behind a wall that excludes everyday investors.

AI compounds the urgency. The companies building the most transformative technology in a generation are growing at rates we’ve never seen before, and the gap between who owns that growth and who benefits from it widens every quarter.

We started working on the Fundrise Innovation Fund in 2021 to test whether a public venture capital fund could work. Over 100,000 investors now own a portfolio concentrated in the leading private AI and technology companies, making VCX one of the largest funds of its kind to ever list on a major exchange. No accredited investor requirement. Now available in any brokerage account.

When that attorney asked me why I’d bother with the little guy, I told him: because they’re getting screwed! But I believe today marks another step in building a better financial system for the individual investor.

Onward

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

Buffalo has some of the country's snowiest winters, its beloved Bills have yet to win a Super Bowl and the economy has yet to fully rebound. Yet former residents keep returning, buying up high-end homes and giving the luxury market a jolt. https://t.co/aj0oTXIiVq

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@JonCarden @unusual_whales All credit to @JoshAllenQB

[Squawk Box @SquawkCNBC]

“There's likely to be a boom and a bubble,” says Fundrise CEO @BenMillerise on the growth of AI. “We looked at all of the past waves of technology, PC mobile, internet cloud, and it looks like AI is likely to be about a $15 trillion market by the early 2030s.”

[Benjamin Miller @BenMillerise]

The big idea behind the @fundrise Innovation Fund is to democratize access to the top private tech companies (e.g., A.I. is largely happening in the private market).

Criticism we have heard so far are:

1) Venture Capital requires special access and pattern recognition.
2) VC is too high risk and illiquid for normal investors.
3) Private companies get extraordinary “value add” from their VC investors

Let’s take each in turn.

[Benjamin Miller @BenMillerise]

We’re excited to announce that the @Fundrise Innovation Fund has led a strategic fundraising round into Inspectify, a vertically-integrated property inspection software platform and leading solution provider for inspection services.

https://t.co/Dfwz2qGNYN

[Jon Carden @JonCarden]

Shout out to @craigmelvin for the unexpected @fundrise shout-out on the @TODAYshow this morning!

https://t.co/LakXUZ58Ln (3:20)

cc: @BenMillerise

[Benjamin Miller @BenMillerise]

"Landlords are contending simultaneously with a cyclical market downturn and with secular changes in the way people work, live and shop. The sudden surge in interest rates caused property values to fall, while the rise of remote work and e-commerce are reducing demand for office and retail space.

Investors and economists say these two forces haven’t come together on this scale since the 1970s, when a recession followed surging oil prices and a stock-market rout while new technologies enabled jobs to move out of major cities. This time, the pandemic is largely responsible for accelerating the commercial property upheaval."

by @KonradPutzier

https://t.co/bSHT8hfCtU

[Diana Olick @DianaOlick]

How to get in on the booming single-family #rental market without buying a house @CNBC https://t.co/umwuHCa3wp

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@JonCarden @BillGates @JoeBiden

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@firstwefeast @OGCameraguyBill did the @BuffaloSabres not pick up your call?!?

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@MeghanChayka @andrewgordonmac

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@maybebullish

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@MusebyClio @netflix @noCinShaffer 👏👏👏

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@elonmusk @dottieg716

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@JuiceboxCA @Nike @NPDMattPowell thoughts?

[Kobe Bryant @kobebryant]

And so it’s come to this. Kids everywhere are retiring from sports. This is unacceptable. Parents, coaches and leagues need to change or get out of the way. Let kids find joy in sports before it’s too late. #DontRetireKid @AspenInstSports https://t.co/IBNjBEczOk

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@JonCarden Don’t you dare do it

[Will Gurney @HelloIamWill]

@roundhill NHL FaceOff 2001