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PHOTO: Ryan Williams founded Cadre in 2014 with the goal of using technology to open up real estate investment opportunities to a wider array of investors.
New York (CNN Business)Ryan Williams is on a mission to revolutionize the stodgy real estate industry.
Williams, the 31-year-old CEO and co-founder of fintech startup Cadre, has won the backing of high-profile investors like Mark Cuban, George Soros, Peter Thiel and Jared Kushner. He’s been on the cover of Forbes and built Cadre into a company worth nearly $1 billion.
But as an African American executive trying to disrupt real estate, Williams has also faced his fair share of skepticism.
“Real estate is a Jurassic industry. It’s antiquated,” Williams told CNN Business from the sidelines of the SALT Conference in Las Vegas earlier this month.
The Cadre CEO said he’s aware of the fact that he looks different from many of his peers, noting that both the tech and real estate industries suffer from an “outsized lack of diversity.”
Williams, who grew up in a working-class household in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, views his background as an opportunity to reset preconceived notions.
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