Muk Venkatakrishnan, Pierre Calzadilla & Ish Ahmed

Pierre Calzadilla (COO), Muk Venkatakrishnan (CEO) and Ish Ahmed (CPO) are the driving force behind Upfront and Vero, a unified financial platform built to reshape how real estate brokerages operate. Together, they launched Upfront nationally, giving brokers and agents access to a first-of-its-kind financial ecosystem designed to strengthen long-term stability and improve real estate professionals’ financial health.

The trio also rolled out Upfront Care, a national healthcare solution tailored to 1099 workers and powered by a 30,000-member network that lowers costs for agents across the country. Their acquisition and rebrand of Moxibalance—now Vero—expanded their reach to more than 250 brokerages and 20,000 agents, helping facilitate over $2 billion in annual commissions. By merging Upfront and Vero, they introduced a bold new vision for the brokerage back office: transforming traditional cost centers into profit centers through embedded financial services.

For Calzadilla, Venkatakrishnan and Ahmed, innovation is personal. “We get to work together, and all learn from each other everyday,” they shared. “Not only that, but our customers are very close to us. It’s great to hear and see the impact we have in peoples lives with our products.” Their combined expertise—and shared mission—continues to push the industry toward a smarter, more financially empowered future.