Major players in Bend’s commercial real estate and entrepreneurial/high-tech sectors have created an online crowd-funding platform for real estate investment across the West.

“We’re like Match.com, but for real estate, without the awkward first 15 minutes of the date,” said Darren Powderly, co-founder of CrowdStreet Inc., and also partner and president of Compass Commercial Real Estate Services. “(CrowdStreet) connects investors with investment real estate opportunities in their community or other communities that they like.”

The company has jumped into crowd funding — raising money by attracting relatively small individual contributions from a large number of people. Total donations and revenue brought in through crowd funding rose from $530 million in 2009 to $2.8 billion last year, according to industry research firm Massolution.

“Everyone from Wall Street to Main Street is evaluating how equity crowd funding can be applied to their business,” Powderly said.

Crowd funding began as peer-to-peer lending, and transformed into websites like kickstarter.com, which allows people to donate to entrepreneurs in exchange for an early version of a product or other reward. It has since evolved into websites such as AngelList and CrowdStreet that connect investors with investment opportunities ranging from startup companies to real estate.

Congress opened up crowd funding for securities, such as an ownership interest or share of profits in a business, last year with passage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or Jobs Act, although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not finalized rules for how it will work.

But, as written today, the rules are unlikely to impact CrowdStreet, which for now plans to allow only accredited investors — individuals whose incomes exceed $200,000 annually, or whose net worth is more than $1 million — access to the investment opportunities.

CrowdStreet’s goal is to help accredited investors access a variety of real estate investments across the western United States with a capital minimum of $25,000, Powderly said.

“What we envision is that an investor can create their own custom real estate portfolio in increments as low as $25,000,” said Powderly. “If you had $100,000 to invest in commercial real estate, you could diversify that over four different properties. Those properties could all be located in Bend. Or, one could be in Bend, Portland, Denver and Phoenix so you get additional diversity.”

Powderly came up with the idea in April 2012 with Dino Vendetti, a venture capitalist and co-founder, investor and mentor for Founders-Pad, Bend’s entrepreneur-training program.

And after developing the idea in FoundersPad, Powderly officially started the company in December with Michael Taus, co-founder of both Code Benders, a software development and consulting company, and rent.com, which was bought by eBay. Vendetti has also taken the role of executive chairman of CrowdStreet.

The company, which is currently in beta-stage, plans to fully launch this summer.

Vendetti said CrowdStreet fills a gap in the current real-estate investment market created by banks, which are not lending.

“There’s definitely an opportunity in the real estate market for businesses like CrowdStreet,” Vendetti said. “It is certainly a cutting edge idea.”

Owners or others with an interest in a commercial property who need capital contract with CrowdStreet to list the potential property investment on the website.

Once CrowdStreet approves the property for listing, all investor members whose profiles, or preferences, match the property will receive email and social media notifications. Interested investors identify how much they are willing to put up.

When total investments match the capital target, the deal closes and the process goes offline.

Investors receive quarterly distribution checks from tenant rent, as well as a portion of the proceeds when the property is either sold or refinanced.

Unlike real estate investment trusts, typically large publicly traded companies that manage a large variety of properties, CrowdStreet allows investors to choose the properties and locations in which they want to invest, according to its website.

Powderly said CrowdStreet provides investors with all of the appropriate information and documentation in a secure online setting, sort of a virtual deal room, where the investors can determine on their own whether a project is worthy.

“All investing is risky, period,” Powderly said. “Investing in real estate is risky. The investment opportunities that an investor will find on the CrowdStreet platform are equally as risky.”

Because CrowdStreet only takes investments from accredited investors, he said, the business model is 100 percent legal.

Current SEC guidelines state that an online platform catering to these accredited investors, rather than the general public, doesn’t need to be regulated by the agency.

But he hopes the Jobs Act is finalized so guidelines are clear on how the CrowdStreet platform could potentially be offered to everybody.

“We’re unable to offer our platform to unaccredited investors due to the SEC, but it’s something we’re keeping our eye on as a future growth engine,” he said.