Withdrawn
1Sharpe Acquisition Corp.
- Registration2021-03-12 Filed S1
- Withdrawn2022-01-14 Merger Withdrawn
- Raised
- $225M
- CIK
- 1849470
- SPAC Ticker
- UNOOU
- Focus
- PropTech, FinTech, Technology
SPAC Team
Leadership
Gregor Watson has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors since our inception. Mr. Watson is a real estate technology visionary and serial entrepreneur. From his beginnings as a real estate entrepreneur, Mr. Watson has forged a track record of investing, and building businesses, ahead of the curve. He was a pioneer of single family rentals and the technology needed to make the asset class possible. Mr. Watson is a member of 1Sharpe Capital’s Investment and Operating Committees. Prior to co-founding 1Sharpe Capital, Mr. Watson co-founded Roofstock, Inc., an online marketplace for single-family rental homes backed by Khosla Ventures and Bain Capital, where he continues to serve as the Chairman. Mr. Watson is a Co-Founder of Lessen, Inc., a tech-enabled marketplace for services to institutional property owners, Zibo, Inc., a landlord-centric digital bank, and Juice, a financial platform for digital content creators. He was the founder of 643 Capital Management LLC, a real estate private equity firm that has acquired, renovated and managed thousands of homes across the United States under its operating brand, StreetLane Homes. He also co-founded Dwell Finance LLC, a lender to investors of single family homes, which originated over $500 million in loans and was sold to B2R, a unit of Blackstone. Mr. Watson spent the early part of his career investing in property throughout California. Mr. Watson is a graduate of Regis University in Denver with a BA. Mr. Watson’s significant investment and management experience makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
Rob Bloemker has served as our Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and a member of the Board of Directors since our inception. Mr. Bloemker has over two decades of investment experience spanning real estate and public markets. Mr. Bloemker leads 1Sharpe Capital’s Investment Committee and is a member of its Operating Committee. Before co-founding 1Sharpe Capital, Mr. Bloemker spent nearly 30 years investing in bonds, loans, and real estate. Most recently he was a Portfolio Manager at Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. within their mortgage hedge fund. Prior to Cerberus, Mr. Bloemker co-founded Dwell Finance LLC, a lender to investors of single-family homes, which originated over $500 million in loans, and was sold to B2R, a unit of Blackstone, as well as Five Ten Capital LLC where he raised, invested, and successfully liquidated three private equity funds that acquired, renovated, and managed thousands of single family rental homes across the United States. He spent 12 years at Putnam Investments LLC where he was Head of Fixed Income overseeing more than $60 billion in assets and co-founded the firm’s absolute return and hedge fund strategies. Prior to that, Mr. Bloemker held senior roles within fixed income at Lehman Brothers Inc. and Salomon Brothers, Inc. He is a Co-Founder of Zibo, Inc., a landlord-centric digital bank. Mr. Bloemker received his BSBA from Washington University, in St. Louis. Mr. Bloemker’s significant investment and management experience makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
Charles E. Haldeman Jr. will serve as the chairman of our Board of Directors upon the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Haldeman currently serves on the board of trustees of JBG Smith Properties (NYSE: JBGS), a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Bethesda, Maryland. From July 2009 to June 2012, Mr. Haldeman served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, a public government-sponsored enterprise that operates in the U.S. secondary mortgage market. Mr. Haldeman joined the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation from Putnam Investments LLC, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer from November 2003 to June 2008 and Chairman from June 2008 to June 2009. Mr. Haldeman served as the Non-Executive Chairman of KCG Holdings (NYSE: KCG) from November 2013 until July 2017. Since 2012, Mr. Haldeman has served as a member of the Board of Directors of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), including as the Non-Executive Chairman since April 2015 and as a member of the Financial Policy and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. Mr. Haldeman also served as the director of DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE: DST) from November 2014 until April 2018. Mr. Haldeman received his Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College, Summa Cum Laude, a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with high distinction as a Baker Scholar, and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Mr. Haldeman’s significant management experience, in particular his experience overseeing the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s strategy, operating plans and financial goals makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
Jacob Seid will serve as a member of our Board of Directors upon the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Seid is a Member of Stonebridge Advisors A Series of Stonebridge Beta LLC. As a venture capital investor, Mr. Seid has invested extensively in companies across PropTech, FinTech and enterprise software. Previously, he was the President of Auction.com LLC (now known by the two brands Ten-X.com and Auction.com) where he built one of the largest online marketplaces across commercial and residential real estate transactions. Prior to Auction.com, he was a Managing Director at Lightspeed Venture Partners, a leading Silicon Valley venture firm. Prior to Lightspeed, Mr. Seid was with Cisco Systems Inc.’s (Ticker: CSCO) cable business unit. He was part of the team that pioneered commercialization of the now broadly used DOCSIS standard. Mr. Seid holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering and a MEng in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2009. Mr. Seid’s significant management experience makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
Suzanne Klahr, Esq. will serve as a member of our Board of Directors upon the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Ms. Klahr founded www.BUILD.org in 1999 and served as its CEO from 1999 to 2018 taking the idea from concept to a national organization, helping underserved students and communities and working at the intersection of entrepreneurship, government and technology. In 2019, Ms. Klahr founded Mayacamas Partners, a unique consultancy that propels clients to achieve audacious goals in strategy, communication, impact and diversity. Mayacamas works with a select group of diverse clients from grass-roots organizations to multi-billion dollar public companies to unlock innovation, inspiration, and impact. This work includes helping CEOs and management teams identify which ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles are crucial to their organization, working with teams to understand the importance of these matters, and articulating the fundamental approach and process to see their goals come to fruition. Ms. Klahr is a pioneer in the field of social entrepreneurship and has taught at both Stanford and Harvard Law Schools. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law teaching both law and business school students. Ms. Klahr was inducted into the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) in 2014 and has served as a Trustee of the Skadden Fellowship Foundation and a board member at Businesses United in Investing Lending and Development (BUILD). She is a member of the Board of Advisors of Trellis: Legal Intelligence and Boundless Venture Studio. Ms. Klahr graduated with a dual degree from Brown University and has a JD from Stanford Law School. Ms. Klahr’s significant management experience and academic background make her well qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
Richard J Boyle, Jr. will serve as a member of our Board of Directors upon the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Boyle is a longtime operations executive turned venture capitalist who invests in real estate tech, artificial intelligence, robotics and marketplaces. Mr. Boyle is a general partner of Canaan Partners XI, LLC and Canaan Partners XII, LLC. He was the President, Chairman and CEO of LoopNet, Inc., the leading online marketplace for the commercial real estate industry. He led LoopNet through a successful IPO in 2006 and an eventual $860 million sale to CoStar Group Inc. Earlier, Mr. Boyle was the Senior Vice President of Products & Technology at Risk Management Solutions, Inc. and, immediately prior to joining Canaan, an operating partner with Khosla Ventures Associates III, LLC and Khosla Ventures Associates IV, LLC. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Mr. Boyle’s significant management experience makes him well qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors.
Advisors
Fred Tuomi, our advisor, served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Invitation Homes Inc, one of the nation’s largest single-family rental company, from 2017 until his retirement in 2019. Prior to its merger with Invitation Homes Inc., Mr. Tuomi served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Starwood Waypoint Homes from 2016 until 2017. Prior to its merger with Starwood Waypoint Homes, he served as Co-President and Chief Operating Officer of Colony American Homes, Inc. from 2013 until 2016. Mr. Tuomi was the Executive Vice President and President—Property Management for Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), one of the nation’s largest multi-family REITs, from 1994 until his retirement in 2013. He led the development of Equity Residential’s property management group through years of rapid growth and expansion, while helping to pioneer its leading operational platform. Throughout his career, he has served on numerous real estate industry boards and executive committees, including the National Rental Home Council, National Multi-Housing Council, California Housing Council, California Apartment Association, Atlanta Apartment Association and the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. Mr. Tuomi has also served as a director and on the Audit and Compensation Committees of Tejon Ranch Co., a public diversified real estate development and agribusiness company. He currently serves as a Venture Partner with Real Estate Technology Ventures, and as a Director for various PropTech companies including SmartRent.com, Inc., TurboTenant Inc, and Lessen, Inc. Mr. Tuomi serves on the Board of Managers and Executive Committee of MultiGreen Properties, LLC, a multifamily company focused on the development of attainable and sustainable communities. He also serves as an advisor to various real estate investors and SFR management platforms and serves a board member for Cure Violence Global, which is dedicated to reducing violence through innovative intervention programs and ranks number 9 among the World Top 200 Best Social Good Organizations by NGO Advisor.
Ryan M. Gilbert, our advisor , has been the President, Chief Executive officer and director of FTAC Parnassus since December 2020 and the President, Chief Executive Officer and director of FTAC Olympus (NASDAQ: FTOC). Mr. Gilbert brings over 20 years of global financial services expertise as an entrepreneur, angel investor, venture investor, and advisor spanning payments, remittances, credit, insurance, and compliance. Since February 2016, Mr. Gilbert has been a General Partner at Propel Venture Partners, a venture capital fund backed by BBVA Group. He currently represents Propel Venture Partners on the boards of directors of Guideline, Inc., Enrollease, Inc., Steady Platform, Inc., Charlie Finance Co. and Grabango Co. Since July 2015, he has served as an independent director of bKash Limited, Bangladesh’s largest remittance and mobile banking platform. He has also served as a director of River City Bank, a $2.5 billion community bank based in Sacramento, CA, since October 2012, and as a director of The Reserve Trust Company, a non-depository Colorado chartered Trust Company, since May 2020. Before joining Propel Venture Partners, Mr. Gilbert served as Chief Executive Officer of BillFloat, Inc. (dba SmartBiz Loans), a consumer finance service company that he co-founded in September 2009. He continues to serve as SmartBiz Loans’ Executive Chairman. He was previously the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of real estate payments company PropertyBridge (acquired by MoneyGram International in 2007). Mr. Gilbert graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is a member of the State Bar of California. Mr. Gilbert currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp.
Anjali Mecklai, our advisor , is the COO and CCO of 1Sharpe Capital and is a member of the Operating and Valuation Committee. Prior to 1Sharpe Capital, Ms. Mecklai held various leadership positions at LendingHome and OneWest Bank across finance, treasury, capital markets and operations. Ms. Mecklai started her career in New York at Deloitte and subsequently Deutsche Bank’s structured finance practices. Ms. Mecklai is a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles.
Phoebe Schreiber, our advisor , has over fifteen years of investment and operating experience, with deep experience investing in and managing single family rental homes. Ms. Schreiber is a consultant to leading single family rental investors. She co-founded and was Chief Investment Officer at Streetlane Homes LLC, a national single family rental platform with thousands of homes, and subsequently launched Roofstock, Inc.’s institutional portfolio management platform after its acquisition of Streetlane Homes. Ms. Schreiber was previously the Chief Operating Officer of 643 Capital Management Inc., where she led its single family rental investing strategy and underwriting and operations for its lending platform. She also led operations and developed proprietary underwriting and operating systems for Dwell Finance LLC, which originated over $500 million of loans and was sold to B2R, a subsidiary of Blackstone. Prior to joining 643 Capital Management Inc., Ms. Schreiber was a Director at McKinley Capital Partners where she led acquisitions and operations for its distressed housing and debt platforms. Earlier in her career, Ms. Schreiber covered the gaming and lodging sector at Ascend Capital, LLC, a long/short hedge fund, and worked in ad operations at Google, Inc. Ms. Schreiber earned a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and is a CFA charter holder.
William Rueter, our advisor , is a director at 1Sharpe Capital with primary responsibilities related to the firm’s real estate private equity investments and broader research agenda. He is also active in vetting venture and incubation opportunities. Before 1Sharpe Capital, Mr. Rueter co-founded Harbor Inc., a SaaS marketing automation company targeting financial advisors and insurance brokers, and founded Nemo LLC, an investment partnership targeting multi-family assets in mid-Atlantic markets. Mr. Rueter was previously an investor at Advent International targeting private equity investments in business and financial services companies. He began his career at UBS Investment Bank. William has served on the board of Lumina Solar since 2018. He holds a B.A. from Harvard College and a Master’s from the University of Oxford.
Feng Wang, our advisor , is a director at 1Sharpe Capital and oversees the firm’s debt capital markets and securitization initiatives while aiding the firm’s various PropTech and Fintech related initiatives. Prior to 1Sharpe Capital, Mr. Wang was a founding executive and co-head of capital markets and risk at LendingHome, a technology enabled, nationwise originator of investor property loans and served on the Investment Committee of its private funds. Prior to LendingHome, Mr. Wang was Vice President of the mortgage investment team at Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. Mr. Wang started his career at BlackRock. Feng graduated from Cornell University with a degree in economics and mathematics.