# Yaakov Zar

> Yaakov Zar is the founder and CEO of Lev, a New York company rebuilding how commercial real estate gets financed. He started Lev in 2019 after watching a $4 million loan crawl through six months of email, faxes and paperwork - and decided a $200-billion-a-year industry running on 1990s process deserved better software. Lev began as a tech-enabled brokerage connecting borrowers to nearly 10,000 lenders, raised more than $200 million, then pivoted into an AI-powered CRM and agentic workflow platform for brokers, lenders and sponsors. Before Lev, Zar co-founded Dispatch, a workforce platform sold to Vista Equity Partners in 2018.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Lev
- **Organizations:** Lev, Dispatch, Vista Equity Partners (acquirer of Dispatch)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BSBA, Entrepreneurship, Boston University
- **Known for:** Founded and scaled Lev into one of the nation's fastest-growing commercial mortgage brokerages, raising more than $200 million., Co-founded Dispatch and led it to a 2018 acquisition by Vista Equity Partners., Built a lender network connecting borrowers to nearly 10,000 lenders.

## Career timeline

- **2009-2012** — Studies entrepreneurship at Boston University; builds a real estate app in college that sparks his interest in tech.
- **2013** — Co-founds Dispatch, a workforce management platform for enterprise home-service businesses; serves as Chief of Strategy leading product and sales.
- **2018** — Dispatch is acquired by Vista Equity Partners.
- **2019** — Founds Lev in September, a tech-enabled commercial real estate finance brokerage combining human advisors with AI.
- **2020** — Lev's 'Brain by Lev' connects borrowers with nearly 10,000 lenders; team of about 15 in SoHo.
- **2021** — Raises $10M seed (JLL Spark, LoopNet/Trulia founders) and a $30M round at a ~$130M valuation.
- **2022** — Announces $170M in new funding, including a $70M Series B (Parker89, Cross River Digital Ventures) plus $100M in debt financing.
- **2024** — Extends the platform to brokers; launches an AI-powered, data-driven CRM for CRE sponsors and brokers.
- **2026** — Positions Lev as an agentic AI workflow platform for lenders, brokers and investors; speaks widely on AI in real estate.

## Achievements

- Founded and scaled Lev into one of the nation's fastest-growing commercial mortgage brokerages, raising more than $200 million.
- Co-founded Dispatch and led it to a 2018 acquisition by Vista Equity Partners.
- Built a lender network connecting borrowers to nearly 10,000 lenders.
- Launched the CRE industry's first data-driven, AI-powered CRM for sponsors and brokers.
- Named to New York Real Estate Journal's 2024 'Ones to Watch: Innovators in CRE.'
- Member of the Forbes Technology Council.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Featured on Commercial Observer's podcast discussing how CRE is implementing agentic AI workflows.
- **2025-11** — Interviewed on 'What It Takes to Modernize Commercial Real Estate Finance,' detailing Lev's pivot from brokerage to software.
- **2024-09** — Lev extends its AI platform and CRM to brokers across the industry.

## Links

- Website: https://lev.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/yjzar
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/levcapital
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEr3AUtv-0w
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/Lev-Capital-272451016103237/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/yaakov-zar
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-07