addy’s Next Chapter: Breaking Barriers, Scaling Innovation & Becoming an Exempt Market Dealer

This is a BIG moment for addy.

After years of building, iterating, and pushing boundaries, we’re thrilled to announce that as of March 24, 2025 addy Dealer Corp. is now officially registered as an Exempt Market Dealer (EMD) in British Columbia and all passport jurisdictions.

This isn’t just another milestone—it’s a turning point. It cements our role in democratizing real estate investing and reinforces our commitment to breaking down barriers for everyday Canadians.

Getting here wasn’t easy. Innovation and regulation don’t always align. We’ve spent years in discussion with the BC Securities Commission (BCSC), exploring different paths to compliance while ensuring that our core mission remained intact. Like Uber and other transformative startups, we had to challenge existing frameworks and move fast to create a new paradigm.

For most of history, real estate investing was reserved for the wealthy. Investing small amounts in institutional-quality real estate simply wasn’t possible—until addy. And now, as a registered EMD, we’re poised to take our mission even further.

We didn’t take the conventional route to get here. 

Here’s how we did it.

The Journey: From Idea to Industry Transformation

Chapter 1: From Exclusive to Inclusive: Solving Problems for Real Estate Issuers

When we launched addy in 2018, we had one simple but powerful vision: real estate investing should be for everyone—not just high-net-worth individuals.

The problem? The system wasn’t built to support a large community of investors. Real estate issuers weren’t set up to handle thousands of small-dollar investors in a single deal – it would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming and their concerns were legitimate:

• How do you issue tax slips to thousands of people?
• How do you manage investor communications at scale?
• How do you process small-dollar contributions efficiently?
• How do you execute thousands of subscription agreements?

The traditional real estate investment model favoured exclusivity over accessibility. But we knew there was a better way.

Our solution? Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).

We spent thousands of dollars on legal fees to find a way to make it happen. We learned that by structuring deals so that thousands of investors could pool their capital into a single investment entity, we removed friction for real estate issuers while giving our community the opportunity to own a stake in real estate for as little as $1. 

Chapter 2: Scaling the Technology to Power the Future

To make this vision a reality, we built a custom technology platform to handle everything from investor onboarding to transaction execution.

Here’s what we created:
✅ A fully automated investor platform – Canadians could sign up, verify their ID, and invest seamlessly.
✅ Custom money movement infrastructure – We designed a system to handle thousands of transactions efficiently.
✅ Automated subscription agreements – Investors could review and sign documents digitally.
✅ Scalable tax reporting solutions – We built processes to issue thousands of tax slips painlessly.

This wasn’t just about getting deals done—it was about proving that large-scale, democratized real estate investing could work.

And it did. Over 26 successful investments later, we were proving that real estate investing at scale wasn’t just possible—it was the future.

Chapter 3: The Compliance Challenge: Working With—and Challenging—Regulation

Then came the turning point.

By property #27, the BC Securities Commission (BCSC) reached out. They acknowledged the innovation behind addy but informed us that, to continue operating, we would need to register as an Exempt Market Dealer (EMD).

Rather than stop operations, we adapted—partnering with third-party EMDs to facilitate investments and ensure compliance.

But new challenges emerged: EMDs weren’t designed for thousands of investors. Their processes catered to high-net-worth individuals, and the idea of managing thousands of small-dollar investors manually was overwhelming.

So we did what we do best: we built a solution.

We developed custom technology to help EMDs handle compliance at scale, including:
✅ Automated investor suitability assessments – Streamlined questionnaires to assess risk efficiently.
✅ A fully digital closing process – Making transactions seamless from start to finish.
✅ Scalable compliance tools – Reducing bottlenecks and making large-scale deals possible.

This allowed us to keep delivering on our mission—but the story wasn’t over yet.

Becoming an Exempt Market Dealer: A New Chapter Begins

In April 2024, the BCSC informed us that working with third-party EMDs wasn’t enough. If addy wanted to continue offering investment opportunities to the public, we would have to register as an Exempt Market Dealer ourselves.

So, we got to work.

By August 2024, we had submitted our application. Over the following months, we collaborated closely with regulators, adapting our platform to meet every requirement while ensuring we could still serve investors.

Now, after months of rigorous regulatory review, we’re excited to announce:

addy Dealer Corp. is now a registered Exempt Market Dealer! 🎉

This designation solidifies our future, expands our capabilities, and strengthens our ability to serve investors at scale.

What This Means for the Future of addy

Becoming an Exempt Market Dealer unlocks new opportunities for both investors and issuers:

🚀 More investment opportunities – We’re expanding our offerings, including equity, debt, real estate funds, and more.

🚀 A seamless investment experience – With addy Dealer Corp., transactions are faster, smoother, and more efficient.

🚀 A stronger, more sustainable addy – We’ve built a platform that can scale for the long term, bringing real estate investing to even more Canadians.

For investors, this means more access.
For issuers, this means a frictionless way to raise capital.
For the industry, this means real estate investing has officially changed forever.

addy vs. The Status Quo: A Necessary Tension

History has shown us that regulation and innovation don’t always move at the same speed.

Think of Uber, Airbnb, or Wealthsimple. Each one challenged industry norms, fought to change outdated regulations, and ultimately paved the way for a new, better way of doing things.

addy is no different.

Before we came along, investing in real estate with small amounts wasn’t possible. The system was designed to serve a select few, not the many.

We’ve spent years proving that a better, fairer system can exist, and today, that effort has been validated. Becoming an EMD ensures that addy can continue to push boundaries—while operating within the regulatory framework.

We’re not just working within the system; we’re helping redefine it.

The Future of Real Estate Investing Starts Now

Our journey to this moment wasn’t easy—but every challenge we faced made us stronger.

✅ For investors: We made it possible to own real estate for as little as $1.

✅ For issuers: We eliminated barriers, making it easier than ever to raise capital.

✅ For dealers: We built a scalable compliance toolset that allows transactions to happen at scale.

The impact? A new era in real estate investing—one that is accessible, efficient, and built for everyone.

And the best part?

We’re just getting started. 🚀

Thank you to every investor, issuer, partner, and regulator who has worked with us to make this vision a reality.

The future of real estate investing is here. And it belongs to all of us.