A Commendable Milestone

18 April, 2020

Gennady Barsky (born November 16, 1978) is an American entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. He co-founded JetSmarter alongside Sergey Petrossov. He shares how he helped launch the company in 2013.

He created a database of MLS listings, inventing the first fintech platform, though no one called it that. Its name was California Home Search and it was an online real estate portal. He next created one of the first online mortgage portal, which eventually became Rates.com in 1999. The project was funded by top VC firms for $4.5 million, and Barsky raised another $12 million within six months. The company was acquired by Norwest Venture Partners, a division of Wells Fargo Bank, in 2000.

Beyond technology, Barsky discovered he had the “Midas touch” when it came to spotting luxury properties that could be developed and resold for far more than the original investment.