Industry veterans Amit Kulkarni and Russ Cofano have launched a new venture, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
Kulkarni and Cofano are the co-founders of Alloy Advisors, a real estate strategy firm aimed at helping brokerages, multiple listing services, associations, proptech companies, and portals reach the next level through product, organizational, and leadership development, brand building and positioning, go-to-market and product launches, and public relations strategy, among several other offerings.
Russ Cofano
“Alloy Advisors is about bringing clarity when the stakes are high,” Cofano said in a prepared statement. “We’ve sat in the rooms where high-stakes decisions are made, and we’ve made them ourselves. We know what works, what doesn’t, and how to help organizations move forward with confidence.”
Kulkarni and Cofano have more than 50 years of combined experience, with Kulkarni holding executive roles in marketing, branding and brokerage services at Avery Ness Realtors, Realtor.com, BrightMLS, Nestfully and True Ground Housing Partners.
Cofano has an equally impressive resume, which includes legal and real estate strategy, as well as C-suite positions at Missouri Realtors, Move, Inc., eXp World Holdings and Collabra Technologies.
In an emailed interview with Inman, Kulkarni and Cofano said Alloy originated from their deep passion for the industry and the people it serves.
Amit Kulkarni
“Real estate makes up nearly 20 percent of the economy and represents one of the biggest, most personal decisions in people’s lives. That comes with real responsibility,” Kulkarni said. “We’ve spent our careers building, leading, and modernizing companies across this business, and we started Alloy to help others do the same with care, accountability, and real results.
When it comes to their services and advisory approach, the duo said they’re focused on helping companies and leaders become more nimble — an invaluable attribute in an industry facing unprecedented change.
“Many leaders don’t know what to do next, and it’s not because they don’t care — it’s because the ground keeps shifting,” Kulkarni told Inman. “When that happens, people reach for familiar playbooks, often from consultants who haven’t actually done the work.”
“That just doesn’t work anymore; you can’t solve modern problems with legacy thinking,” he added. “The companies finding their footing now are testing, learning and adapting in real time.”
Kulkarni and Cofano said they understand the challenges their clients are facing, as both of them have “carried the targets, felt the pressure and delivered” at global brands like Move, Inc., Realtor.com and eXp World Holdings.
That experience, they said, is at the heart of their mission to create solutions with “speed and precision,” so their clients can stay ahead of the pack.
“In today’s dynamic environment, every client interaction is unique and we have found that most do not want to feel like we are applying some ‘playbook’ approach to their challenge,” Cofano said. “… We are most excited about the opportunity through Alloy to continue our respective leadership roles to an industry that more than ever is in need of truth-telling.”
“We care deeply about this industry and Alloy gives us the platform to say what we believe to be true without concern for the inherent politics that always seem to get in the way,” he added. “Our objective is simple: use our real-world experiences to deliver valuable insight and direction to companies so they can win in this new era of real estate.”
