Co-Founder & CEO at Loan Labs
Brew Johnson
Co-founder & CEO of Loan Labs. I built PeerStreet, the first digital marketplace for real estate debt, which I grew to over $100M revenue, funded nearly $5 billion in loans, and was backed by a16z and guys like Michael Burry. I have a weird background as a real estate attorney, tech executive, and investor. Now applying AI to disrupt mortgage finance
Questions & Answers
What sets you apart from others in your industry?
I've been told my experience makes me a 1 of 1 for this opportunity. For 20+ years I’ve been obsessed with real estate and mortgage finance—starting as a real estate attorney, then investing in distressed assets during the financial crisis, making hard money loans, and later founding PeerStreet, the first digital marketplace for investing in real estate debt. At PeerStreet, we built a cutting edge tech platform, funded ~$5B in loans, processed tens of thousands of deals, and moved billions of dollars through the platform with backing from investors like Michael Burry and Andreessen Horowitz. Earlier, I helped build and sell VirtualTourist to TripAdvisor/Expedia and scaled niche travel platforms, gaining deep experience in product, growth, and scaling. Bottom line, I'm not sure anyone has thought about the idea maze like I have or has an equivalent skill set to execute on a vision at the intersection of tech, real estate, and finance.
What inspired you to start your business?
At PeerStreet, we proved technology could bring liquidity and transparency to an opaque market, but I also learned hard-earned lessons about where the system still breaks down—how intermediaries and outdated service providers extract value and slow everything down. That experience inspired me to start Loan Labs. I believe AI is the missing catalyst to finish what we started: eliminating inefficiencies, reducing friction, and reshaping mortgage finance so lenders, borrowers, and investors all benefit.
Why are you excited about your company/product?
If we had this product when we started PeerStreet, we would have been 10x bigger, with a fraction of the people, in half of the time. And we were best in class from a tech perspective. The industry is going to be shocked by what we build.
