.png)
This month we are spotlighting our recent conversation with Amit Sarin, co-founder of BalanceAI, talking about the opportunity to leverage AI-driven technology to increase net operating income for property owners while solving existing maintenance issues and energy efficiency.
What led you to become a founder?
My professional background is a bit mixed, but all fits in a similar space, I would say. After I graduated college, I went back to a youth leadership program that I had previously been a participant in, that focused on social equity in lower income neighborhoods, empowering young people to take action and advocate for their community and themselves.
At grad school I became fascinated with green buildings and thinking about how that can help make lives better, healthier, more economical, as well as the actual technology and operational nature. That led me to a Fortune 50 company in the clean tech space, and then to work for the Obama administration in HUD's Office of Sustainable Communities and FHA in Multifamily. There we deployed several hundred millions of dollars and worked directly with owners of affordable and market rate housing to figure out how we could help move the market in a direction that was better for buildings and better for people.
I later joined as the number two person at a real estate startup that focused on providing senior immigrants housing which greatly deepened my knowledge of real estate development and ownership, as well as the finance piece and finding novel approaches with technology.
I also worked at a growth company that raised two billion dollars and went public, and then back to the private sector in the PropTech, ClimateTech space. All of these combined experiences – exploring affordable and market rate multifamily, the innovation and entrepreneurship side of tech – exposed me to different stages of a company and how to build in this space, all kind of leading me to this moment.
What was your “Aha” moment that sparked the idea for BalanceAI?
One of my big pivot points was a hackathon I participated in nine years ago, right when Alexa had come out. Given my previous experience, I knew that loneliness was a big problem in senior communities and I couldn’t help but think about if there was a way to use Alexa to solve some of that and provide a sense of companionship. And so I went to this hackathon and we ended up winning. This experience made me realize the impact of tangible technology and the huge opportunity in real estate. That hackathon is also where I met my now co-founder, And from there, it was off to the races to build something that makes a difference but also utilizes technology in novel ways to solve core important problems.
How did you come to connect with Bronze Valley?
We crossed paths with Bronze Valley just last year, in 2024. We had evaluated several accelerator programs but one of the things that really stood out about Bronze Valley is that they prioritize building great companies, but also making an impact. So they support founders who are focused on that, and who otherwise might not be able to build those companies. That made me believe it was a great fit.
How have you grown and what’s ahead for the company in 2025 & beyond?
Our first customer was a 200 unit property, but this is really just the start of our journey as we’ll be formally going to market in the next several weeks. Our goal by the end of 2026 is to hit one million in ARR which I think is very possible with our current engagement and pipeline.
We're seeing more and more with electrification of buildings as well as data centers, and with AI taking off, grids are really being stressed; there’s a need to manage that load. So we see a huge opportunity there that we can contribute to with a set of assets, really multifamily, that aren't being utilized even close to what they can be today.
Founder to founder: What’s your advice to other entrepreneurs?
Have a North Star that relates to what you can uniquely do as a company to serve your customer. And it sounds really simple, but there are many times in our journey where we have a product decision – you can go this direction or that direction. You can incorporate technology in this way or focus on X/Y instead. But what’s going to be best for our customer?
For us, it's about what we can uniquely do that no one else is doing today, as well as what's best for that customer. When you put those two together, it leads to pretty powerful results.
Thank you, Amit, for sharing your story about BalanceAI and for the helpful advice for new founders! We look forward to your progress in the year ahead.
.png)
