Drew Nagda
Distressed real estate developer, investor, technologist. Pasadena, California.
SinglePlatform / Rap Genius / Techstars / 300+ homes
I spent six years in New York City tech, joining things early. I was an early employee at SinglePlatform, the restaurant data startup that sold to Constant Contact for $100 million, and an early team member and executive editor at Rap Genius as it became Genius. At Lean Startup Machine I ran corporate partnerships and took the program from zero to $700K. I went through Techstars in 2013, building a career around sales, partnerships, and community.
I'm the founder of Nagda Homes, a vertically integrated real estate company that has bought, rebuilt, and sold more than 300 homes across Southern California. We started with one distressed property in 2016, working out of Thalia's dad's spare bedroom in the Inland Empire. Today every stage of a deal happens in-house: acquisition, construction, design, sales, and property management. Our focus is heavy value add, ADU development, and fire-damage restoration. I work hand in hand with Thalia, a licensed agent and property manager, so the people who buy or rent from us get the same care we put into the build.
I've also done special projects for Rancho Humilde, the independent label that helped bring corridos tumbados to the mainstream.
I'm an On Deck fellow and an angel investor. I recently co-hosted the Latino Entrepreneur Summit.
I was born and raised in Ocala, Florida, and studied business at Indiana University, where I started my first company, B-Town Tutors, a campus tutoring service. Today I live in Pasadena with Thalia and Ezra, who made me a dad in 2024. Family and loyalty over everything. Todo es posible.
How Nagda Homes works
- Acquisition
- Direct from the owner. Fire-damaged, probate, and the houses nobody else will touch. No listings, no bidding wars. We close fast, as-is.
- Construction
- Our own crews. Heavy value add, ADU development, fire-damage restoration. No general contractor markup, no waiting in someone else's queue.
- Design
- Designed with intention. Every home is planned in-house, room by room, for the family who will live in it.
- Sales
- Real estate sales in-house. The team that rebuilt the home is the team that sells it. Licensed, no handoffs.
- Property management
- In-house. We treat tenants like customers, because they are. Happy tenants stay, and staying is what compounds.
Before and after, real projects. Watch with sound
World Cup Eats
Ezra and I host World Cup Eats, a father-son food series. The plan was simple: eat at a Los Angeles restaurant for every country in the 2026 World Cup. It started as a fun way to experience the tournament in our own backyard. Four months later it had become an education in culture and cuisine for my son. Ezra gets excited to try new foods, experiments with everything on the table, and doesn't need an iPad at a restaurant. He's too busy being there.
Every episode is a pin on the map. Tap a flag to open one.
Places
Ocala, FL
born and raised
Small-town Florida. The work ethic starts here.
Bloomington, IN
2006 to 2010
Indiana University. Started B-Town Tutors, a campus tutoring company. Go Hoosiers.
NYC and Brooklyn
2010 to 2016
SinglePlatform, Rap Genius, Lean Startup Machine, Techstars, On Deck.
Upland, CA
2016 to 2023
Scaling the real estate business from one distressed property.
Pasadena, CA
2023 to now
Home, with Thalia and Ezra.
Questions people ask
- Who is Drew Nagda?
- Drew Nagda is a distressed real estate developer, investor, and technologist based in Pasadena, California. He is the founder of Nagda Homes, which has bought, rebuilt, and sold more than 300 homes across Southern California since 2016.
- What is Nagda Homes?
- Nagda Homes is a vertically integrated real estate company in Southern California focused on heavy value add, ADU development, and fire-damage restoration. It buys distressed homes directly from owners, rebuilds them with in-house construction crews, designs them, and sells or manages them. Every stage of a deal happens in-house: acquisition, construction, design, sales, and property management.
- What did Drew Nagda do before real estate?
- Drew Nagda spent six years in New York City tech. He was an early employee at SinglePlatform, which sold to Constant Contact for $100 million, and an early team member and executive editor at Rap Genius. He ran corporate partnerships at Lean Startup Machine, went through Techstars in 2013, has done special projects for Rancho Humilde, and is an On Deck fellow.
Work together
If you have a distressed property in Southern California, a deal worth a look, or a company you're building, I'd like to hear about it. Email drew@drewnagda.com. You can also find me on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.