What Didn't Work: Aalto

<p>This is the first episode of a new series: What Didn&#39;t Work. I&#39;m diving into the real estate companies and ideas that just didn&#39;t work out, unpack exactly why, and reveal the key lessons learned -- directly from the entrepreneurs involved.</p><p>My first guest (who inspired this idea) is <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicknarodny" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Nick Narodny</a>, CEO and founder of Aalto, which just didn&#39;t work out. With over $50M raised from top tier VC firms, Aalto was a private listing marketplace and then pivoted to a &quot;digital agent&quot; once Clear Cooperation shut down their business. In the end, neither idea worked.</p><p>Nick opened up about exactly what didn&#39;t work, why, and what he learned through the process. From navigating buyer emotions in real estate to product market fit suction to the three hurdles of fear, these are hard-fought learnings that I think everyone in the space should know!</p><p>I&#39;m doing this for two reasons. First, I want to reduce the stigma around talking about failure. Nick didn&#39;t fail. He tried and learned, and that should be celebrated. Second, I want to capture and publish these valuable learnings, which are really worth their weight in gold for other would-be proptech entrepreneurs in the space.</p><p>Not everything is great all of the time. Sometimes things don&#39;t work out. Let&#39;s explore why, and get smarter together. Thanks for your vulnerability and openness, Nick. </p>