We are happy to announce that LAB Ventures has appointed Ryan Stohl as CEO of our studio company, Lumi House. Lumi is an off-campus student housing company with a simple goal of providing students with a new way to live, while introducing a new asset class to the real estate industry.
Originally from Austin, Texas, Ryan attended the University of Texas and then received an MBA from Rice University. He began his career in investment banking at Deutsche Bank where his focus on oil and gas transactions gave him the opportunity to re-establish the bank's dormant renewable energy M&A practice. Ryan left Wall Street for FinTech, working first inside Santander’s own tech division and later becoming Product Manager for a Colombian startup focused on financial inclusion. He was the company's only Product Manager, responsible for launching the company's first product in the US market.
As Lumi's Chief Executive Officer, Ryan will be responsible for taking a very successful Proof-of-Concept that LAB Ventures has built around the University of Miami’s main campus and turning it into a national co-living business. He immediately understood the value proposition of Lumi, having twice suffered as a student trying to find off campus housing.
“I still remember how difficult it was to find a place to rent in college, not to mention the headaches of finding a new roommate, and delegating cleaning duties. I wish Lumi existed when I was younger, but I can’t turn back time. So, now my mission is to provide students with a better way to live and an environment for them to thrive. I want Lumi to be the one and only brand students think about when looking for housing” said Stohl.
In those days, iPhones didn't exist and building a scalable company to address these issues wasn't feasible. However, a chance encounter with the LAB Ventures team made him realize that providing students with a better way of life would be a great business model and mission.
“We’ve been working on Lumi for a while now - the unit economics are fantastic, but we needed an entrepreneur who relates to the problem and brings both the finance capability and a start-up mindset. Ryan came along at the perfect time, and we are excited to be working alongside him to grow Lumi into something big,” said Tigre Wenrich, CEO of LAB Ventures.
