NYA FOUNDER SPOTLIGHT ‒ NILES LICHTENSTEIN, NESTMENT CEO & CO-FOUNDER

Niles Lichtenstein, CEO and Founder of Nestment, is helping solve the housing crisis that impacts millions of people today by creating access to homeownership for first-time home buyers.  In this interview, Niles discusses how he connected personally with NYA Members and how New York Angels created warm introductions to help build their client list of 50+ organizations.  Niles also shares how Nestment focuses on the problem it is solving not the AI technology it uses and why its important to create meaningful societal impact through entrepreneurship.

How did you first meet New York Angels?

I met New York Angels through one of the angels, Josh Powe. He had been an investor previously and started saying, “Hey, would you like to bring in more capital?” I am always thoughtful about the type of capital we bring in, and when he described the network that New York Angels was, especially with what we are building at Nestment, it felt like it would be a good fit.

What were you looking for in investors when you were fundraising, and why did you choose to work with New York Angels?

This is my third startup, and I have had all different types of investors, from typical VCs to strategic corporate venture arms like The New York Times and IPG. What I have determined is that I really love investors, especially at the early stage, who have also been operators. People who really understand the ins and outs of building a business can think about things differently.

One of the things we constantly think about is what success looks like as we grow. Do we need to take on more capital? As we hit sustainable profitability, and especially in a world of Gen AI where we do not necessarily need to scale up massive engineering resources, what is the right path forward? Angel groups are a great place to think through those questions.

The other thing we were looking for was the ability to tap into the knowledge and wisdom of crowds and experiences. Josh, as a successful entrepreneur and jack of many trades, is somebody we have always tapped into. There is also this expansion of networks that happens when you have multiple angels involved, and we have found that to be incredibly important to our success.

What was the fundraising process like for you overall?

We are in proptech, and when we first raised from New York Angels, it was a difficult time for the category. Interest rates were going up, and proptech was not necessarily being viewed as favorably as other sectors. A lot of companies in the space had frankly died.

But what we showed was that if you take a somewhat contrarian view, this was actually the exact right time to invest. The notion of homeownership is so vital and so critical to the American Dream. There are trillions of dollars currently going toward rent that historically would have gone toward ownership. The question becomes: how do you unlock that?

We were not positioning ourselves as an AI-first company, even though we use a tremendous amount of AI and autonomous agents in what we are building. We knew it might be a harder road to pave, but over time people started to understand just how large the opportunity really is.

What we are building is not a silver bullet solution. We are rethinking and reimagining a system that could solve a trillion-dollar, nonpartisan issue.

Getting validation from New York Angels was incredibly important because it created additional validation from our existing investors and other people we admired in the space.

What have you learned from New York Angels members?

We have learned a tremendous amount from different members. We joke that Benny Lorenzo always has the most pointed questions, and we really appreciate that because he pushes us to think deeply about where we are going and keeps us honest about building a profitable, scalable business.

We have also had great strategic conversations with Seth Masters about how we think about the business long term. And there are many others throughout the network, whether it is Richard Fay, Robert Hedlund, or others who have taken the time to connect with us.

What has been especially powerful is that many New York Angels members also have younger people in their lives who could benefit from what we are building. Because of that, they can immediately understand how Nestment can create meaningful real-world impact in their own communities.

What have you enjoyed most about working with New York Angels?

I tend to thrive off personal connections, and I really appreciate the openness of the New York Angels members to reach out and connect on a personal level. We will have people send notes saying, “Hey, did you see this program?” or “Did you see this article?” Sometimes founders get flooded with emails that are not useful, but every email we have received from New York Angels members has actually been extremely useful and has led to real outcomes.

A great example is Alyssa Tam, who sent over a note about a program happening in Boston. I reached out to my contacts there, and the next thing you know, we were building a partnership with the City of Boston. Having more eyes and ears looking out for us has been incredibly valuable.

New York Angels members have also helped us tremendously with introductions as we launch Nestment as an employer benefit. We are essentially a free, low-lift benefit that delivers incredible value, and that model has allowed us to scale rapidly. Over the past three and a half months, we have signed about 52 employers representing more than 2 million employees. We are launching a new employer every week as we onboard organizations ranging from school districts and universities like Vanderbilt to companies like Airbnb and Anthropic.

We could only do that because New York Angels members helped create warm introductions. When you are building something new, you have to get in the room. Members would say, “Hey, I know the head of HR here,” or “I know the C-level executive there,” and once we got into those rooms, we had an over 80% win rate.

What advice would you give other founders who are looking to fundraise?

One of the most important things is understanding that fundraising is ultimately about storytelling and conviction. There are always going to be reasons why investors might hesitate, whether it is the macro environment, interest rates, market conditions, or trends. You need to be able to articulate why this is exactly the right time for your company to exist.

I also think founders should be thoughtful about the type of investors they bring on. The best investors are not just capital providers. They are partners who can help strategically, make introductions, challenge your thinking, and support you over the long term.

What advice would you give early-stage investors who are looking to invest in companies like yours?

I think the biggest thing is to really understand the problem that a company is solving and why it matters. For us, we are tackling a problem tied to homeownership, affordability, and wealth creation. These are massive societal issues that impact millions of people.

The other thing is looking at founders and understanding whether they have the conviction and resilience to navigate difficult environments. Startups are never linear. Markets change, narratives change, and fundraising environments change. You need founders who can continue executing through uncertainty.

What has driven your company’s success?

A huge part of our success has been focus. We have been extremely disciplined about understanding the problem we are solving and making sure that every part of the business aligns with that mission.

Another major factor has been efficiency. Because of advances in AI and automation, we have been able to build and scale in ways that historically would have required much larger teams and significantly more capital.

We have also focused heavily on partnerships and distribution. Launching through employers has created a scalable way for us to reach people where housing affordability and financial stress are already major issues.

What is something interesting about you that you would like to share with founders or other investors?

One thing that has always been important to me is supporting small businesses and local communities. I think entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful forces for creating innovation, opportunity, and economic growth. A lot of my personal philosophy comes from believing that businesses can solve meaningful societal problems while still building sustainable companies.

I also genuinely enjoy connecting with people. Some of the best opportunities, partnerships, and ideas come from relationships and conversations.

What motivates you?

What motivates me is the opportunity to solve a real problem that impacts millions of people. Homeownership is deeply tied to stability, generational wealth, and opportunity, and right now too many people feel locked out of that system. If we can help create more accessible pathways to ownership, that has an enormous ripple effect across communities and future generations.

At the same time, I am motivated by building. I love entrepreneurship, I love solving hard problems, and I love bringing together talented people to create something meaningful. That combination of impact and innovation is what keeps me energized every day.