# Niles Lichtenstein

> Niles Lichtenstein is the CEO and Co-Founder of Nestment, a San Francisco-based platform helping first-time homebuyers purchase property through co-buying and expert coaching. Shaped by watching his immigrant mother rent rooms in their Berkeley home to stay afloat after his father's death, Lichtenstein spent a decade quietly co-buying properties with friends and family before formalizing the model into Nestment in 2021. The company has since raised $3.5M in pre-seed funding and facilitated over $200M in real estate transactions, with 74% of buyers being first-timers and 62% identifying as BIPOC or immigrants. Before Nestment, he founded The History Project (later Enwoven), a digital storytelling platform backed by The New York Times Company that powered Ambassador Richard Holbrooke's history into an HBO documentary.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at Nestment
- **Organizations:** Nestment, Enwoven, Reset Fitness SF, The History Project, Summer Search, Salon Box, Voice of Witness, studioHEIMAT, Matter., Alchemist Accelerator, Techstars
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** A.B., Harvard University, High School Diploma, Berkeley High School
- **Known for:** Raised $3.5M pre-seed for Nestment from top-tier investors including Concrete Rose Capital and VamosVentures, Facilitated over $200M in real estate transactions through Nestment, 74% of Nestment buyers are first-time homebuyers; 62% identify as BIPOC or immigrants

## Career timeline

- **1997** — Father passed away; mother refinanced their Berkeley home and rented rooms to UC Berkeley students to keep the family financially stable. Niles, age ~13, helped with the refinancing process.
- **2000s** — Worked in mobile advertising and media technology, including at Ansible Mobile (clients: Microsoft, Intel) and Velti, where he became the youngest VP.
- **2012** — Made a profitable exit from prior venture; began testing co-ownership models by co-buying properties informally with friends and family.
- **2014** — Joined the board of Summer Search.
- **2015** — Founded The History Project, a digital storytelling platform (described as a 'modern time capsule'), backed by $2M from The New York Times Company, Matter, and Altpoint Ventures. Featured in 7x7 magazine's 'Hot 20.'
- **2017** — Co-founded Enwoven, a Creative Lifecycle Management company evolving out of The History Project.
- **2021** — Co-founded Nestment with Mark DeMitchell and Rob Zimmerman to formalize and scale the co-buying model for residential real estate. Also co-founded Reset Fitness SF, a private personal training gym focused on holistic wellness.
- **2023-02** — Nestment raised $3.5M in pre-seed funding led by Protofund and IDEA Fund Partners, with participation from Concrete Rose Capital, VamosVentures, and angels from Airbnb and The MBA Fund. Launched into public beta.
- **2024** — Nestment launched NestGen, a first-of-its-kind homebuying accelerator program in partnership with Prosperity Now, offering down payment assistance to select participants.
- **2026-03** — Nestment launched Nestment for Employers, a subscription benefit allowing companies to offer homebuying coaching and tools to employees.

## Achievements

- Raised $3.5M pre-seed for Nestment from top-tier investors including Concrete Rose Capital and VamosVentures
- Facilitated over $200M in real estate transactions through Nestment
- 74% of Nestment buyers are first-time homebuyers; 62% identify as BIPOC or immigrants
- Nestment buyers close 3 months faster than the national average and are 8 years younger than typical first-time buyers
- Founded The History Project, which powered Ambassador Richard Holbrooke's life history into the HBO documentary 'The Diplomat'
- Musician Jewel used The History Project for her autobiography
- Raised $2M for The History Project from The New York Times Company, Matter, and Altpoint Ventures
- Named to 7x7 magazine's 'Hot 20' in 2015
- Was the youngest VP at mobile marketing firm Velti
- Launched NestGen accelerator helping first-time buyers become homeowners in six weeks
- Launched Nestment for Employers, bringing homebuying coaching as a workplace benefit

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Nestment launched Nestment for Employers, a subscription benefit program allowing companies to offer homebuying coaching to employees.
- **2024-09** — NestGen accelerator kicked off with 100 approved participants aiming to buy their first home in six weeks.
- **2024-07** — Featured in Signals Fintech Founders interview discussing Nestment's vision for the future of co-ownership.
- **2023-02** — Nestment raised $3.5M pre-seed and launched into public beta.

## Links

- Website: https://nestment.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nileslichtenstein
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/nxlichtenstein
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenilesproject/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/nestment

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/niles-lichtenstein
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-13