What is your professional background and why did you choose a career in real estate?
The credit business got me into real estate. I started my career very solidly at the traditional bank Schweizerische Kreditanstalt, learning the business from scratch, which proved to be very beneficial. And despite being relatively young during the housing crisis in the 90’ies, I was charged to establish new standards and processes to avoid similar issues going forward, which advanced my career considerably. Subsequently, I started my own business and have been involved in various start-up ventures since, while also getting engaged in other areas of interest, such as art, culture and culinary.

What led you to found Avobis?
My entrepreneurial instinct and the vision that there was a lot of potential in the real estate and mortgage business drove me. In addition, I could not imagine a career in the narrow corset of a big bank. Already back then, I was determined to build a real estate eco-system based on data and with the customer at the center – that’s how it started 25 years ago.

Avobis has grown to a considerable size and also used M&A to grow. What kind of companies did you buy and why?
In general, I believe in the principle of 1 + 1 = 3. Partnering with the best in the industry is often most effective. At Avobis, we have always been looking for businesses that complemented our capacities, benefitted the customer, and challenged our way of working. In addition, being the right fit – also culturally – is key.

In 2021 we complemented our portfolio acquiring VERIT Immobilien, Rimaplan and Centerio. Today, Avobis is an integrated real estate service provider across all of Switzerland. It’s the one-stop shop rooted in tradition but based on smart analytics.

Recently, our venture Property Captain won gold in the Innovation category at Best of Swiss Web 2022, revolutionizing the home finding and buying process with a matching algorithm based on artificial intelligence.

“I am convinced that the Constructive Venture Fund will not only provide very attractive returns but will revolutionize the real estate sector in Europe.”

You were the initiator of the Constructive Venture Fund (CVF). What is the idea behind it?
When I came up with the idea for the Constructive Venture Fund, I was basically intrigued by the fact that the largest asset class worldwide was in real estate. However, the real estate industry is rather traditional and lags in terms of innovation, also due to considerably low R&D budgets. We know, however, that innovative ideas create market leaders. And are convinced that megatrends such as urbanization, social change, new technologies or climate change will trigger immense growth opportunities.

At Avobis, we know all industry players and understand client needs along the entire value chain. So, we join forces with the strongest partners, such as Verve Ventures in the venture capital space, to leverage the enormous potential within the real estate and construction industry.

With CVF, we will accelerate the development of the real estate ecosystem as an innovation enabler, and ideally also anticipate trends early on. Initially, we established CVF with a few strategic partners active in the construction and real estate industry, aiming to build a seed and early-stage venture capital portfolio around the topic of real estate. After two years we have proven that our concept work, and we are now expanding strategically. I am convinced that CVF will not only provide very attractive returns but will revolutionize the real estate sector in Europe.

What startups does CVF finance?
We have an exciting portfolio across the entire real estate ecosystem, start-ups that have the potential to disrupt the industry. CVF, which is managed out of Switzerland but covers all of Europe, focusses on proptech, contech and fintech startups. It contains smart buildings & IOT, big data & analytics, innovative energy solutions or advanced building material as well as real estate financing or digital credit processes.

How can CVF’s investors help these startups?
Investors provide funding to get these startups off the ground; as we are building an entire ecosystem, I believe that knowledge transfer will become increasingly important as well. The network will drive cross-fertilization and encourage a productive exchange amongst high-caliber experts, for example with members of Avobis’ Innovation Board.

Since its inception, CVF has invested in 13 startups and already achieved an exit. What comes next?
Initially, we screened over 5’000 potential ventures, analyzed 500 in depth that met our criteria and then decided to finance 13 startups in the first round. In the meantime, we are well-positioned to become one of the top 3 PropTech funds in Europe.

What kind of investors should consider investing in CVF?
We have established a network of strategic top-tier co-investors. In the next phase, we are looking for third-party passive investors, institutional investors, and family offices – with a strong interest and ideally foothold in the real estate ecosystem.

What about companies and organizations that do not want to invest in a fund, but are interested in innovation and how these startups could help their business?
We are aiming to build a broad and effective real estate ecosystem across Europe that requires both, monetary as well as intellectual investments, knowledge transfer, collective innovation power and effective collaboration. As we are connecting the dots and leverage networks, CVF will become unique in Europe and as a platform extremely exciting for everyone involved.