What started as a side venture is now a booming business for Nina Gabbay and Talar Ohanian, cofounders of Beverly Hills-based Restructured News, a digital short-form real estate news aggregator and newsletter platform dedicated to increasing accessibility and making news more easily digestible for readers.
The two met as freshmen at University of California, Berkeley in 2016 and later reconnected when they happened to be working at the same residential real estate brokerage fresh out of school, one as an agent and one on the operations side. It was during their time there that they discovered a deficiency among real estate professionals and saw a market entry.
“Nobody in this brokerage business was getting the news fast. Nobody was dissecting it in the ways that they prefer to dissect it. And this is not a take on journalism. It’s just that the real estate business is so fast and ever changing, that, if you’re not moving quickly, you’re kind of missing the ball on certain things,” Ohanian said. “There’s a difference between a love for news and a love for journalism. I think when you want fast news, it’s just about aggregating it. Restructured News was really born out of that.”
And despite being only a few years out of college, the pair has already garnered the attention of some big commercial and residential real estate moguls – including the likes of Coldwell Banker realtor Jade Mills, Newmark luxury retail broker Jay Luchs and director of USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Richard Green.
Since launching Restructured in 2022, its subscription count has grown to more than 20,000 active subscribers – made up of mainly industry professionals – and it has garnered more than 13 million overall impressions across all platforms.
Newsletter core
The company hones its business on being a news aggregator, meaning it’s not publishing opinions or political judgements, nor is it putting out lengthy features. It is a for-profit business and Gabbay and Ohanian shared revenue comes from advertisements and sponsorships, as well as brand partnerships and event entry fees.
“We’re taking the information that we’re finding on various sources, like Bisnow, Commercial Observer, CoStar, Wall Street Journal,” Gabbay said. “We’re aggregating it and we’re presenting it in the newsletter.”
The newsletter covers the full gamut of top national and international real estate stories – broken up into various sections, including top story, U.S. real estate, the economy, architecture and design, media and more – compiled by a team of four writers from around the globe.
Gabbay and Ohanian said the platform has mainly grown from advertisements and word of mouth and, because of this, they were able to increase the newsletter’s frequency from once a week to now twice a week. And unlike other real estate publications, it’s completely free.
“One of our main goals was to be the nucleus of real estate and create that accessibility for people because I think one of the major obstacles within our industry is accessibility,” Gabbay said. “Real estate will never go out of style. Real estate is one of the most long-standing industries that will always be pertinent and important. So, let’s give it a fresh spin and create this platform to make it accessible for people and excited for people to learn about what’s going on.”
More recently, the pair launched a new series called Word On The Street Network, or WOTS for short, which is their first take on original content. For this, the duo talks to industry experts and publishes interviews in video format.
Panels and events
But, according to Gabbay and Ohanian, what really catapulted their business and brought it into the limelight of some very big names was introducing Restructured Live in 2023, a series of panel events meant to foster meaningful conversations among industry leaders.
Their first event, called Los Angeles in 2030: A Conversation on the Future of Real Estate, was held at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall and brought together a diverse set of voices to explore the challenges and opportunities shaping the city’s future.
Among the speakers were Green; Bret Nielson, chief operating officer of Anderson Real Estate; Saira Rahaman, vice president of new investor initiatives at real estate private equity firm Fundrise; Chris Fraley, chief investment officer at Forge Land Co.; and Neyshia Go, luxury residential real estate agent at Sotheby’s International Realty.
That same year, Restructured Live hosted a “How to Rise in Residential Real Estate” panel at the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center, led by Mills, Aaron Kirman, owner of Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California; and The Agency’s Dennis Chernov.
Last year, Gabbay and Ohanian switched it up with “How to Rise in Commercial Real Estate” and featured Luchs, Bill Fishel, an executive vice chair with Newmark; Marineh Dermovsesian, associate director of real estate and development at McDonald’s; and Josh Katzin, chief investment officer of Eldridge Acre Partners, all at the Directors Guild of America Theater.
“The events are a science,” Ohanian said. “And you need to treat it that way. There is strategy and formula to it. Every time we meet, we probably have a new idea which keeps the game so exciting, but the science of the events is about putting yourself in the shoes of the consumer and saying, ‘what do people want to know now?’”
Broadening the industry’s reach
Their latest event, “Defining the World of Architecture and Design,” differed as it was Restructured’s first social event, in partnership with the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design. It was hosted at Marta Gallery in Silver Lake and panelists included Dan Brunn, founder and principal designer of Dan Brunn Architecture, Zoltan Pali, design principal at SPF:a, and Adrienne Qasabian, director of interior design firm Studio Qasabian.
More than 400 people attended and sponsors included Carlyle Avenue, CTM Rem, Rare Public Relations, Point of Design Studio, Bloomhouse, Triple Beam Pizza, Soto Sake, Skyduster Beer, Thatcher’s Wine and Drink Marquis.
Unlike Bisnow events, which typically range from $100 to $500 for standard tickets with VIP options costing significantly more, Restructured’s events tend to be more cost-sensitive. The architecture panel late last year, for example, charged $25 for general admission and $17 for students.
“We’ve learned the impact that these events have and the need in real estate and architecture and design for these events,” Gabbay said. “Companies are hosting events all the time, they’re hosting panels all the time. However, there is a Restructured touch and authenticity. We’re putting speakers on stage that are meshing so well together, that we’re able to have this profound impact on people.”
And being young female entrepreneurs is something that is both very special to Gabbay and Ohanian and, inherently, sets Restructured apart. The two work hard to attract diverse audiences of all different ages and backgrounds and always aim to put at least one woman on the stage.
“Real estate is a historically male-dominated industry,” Gabbay said. “Yes, there are maybe a majority of female agents, let’s say, but when you’re looking at the tops of companies in this industry, it’s historically male. We are two females that have created a platform within this industry that are really attempting, and I think we’ve made lots of success in, transforming what a company within real estate and architecture and design can look like.”
Eye to the future
Although Gabbay and Ohanian plan to stick to strictly real estate news, stating that the topic alone is a big enough umbrella for constant coverage, they plan to grow Restructured in other ways.
In terms of content, the two shared aspirations of one day launching a subscription-based newsletter in addition to the two free biweekly ones, as well as increasing long-form and original coverage, potentially even creating a podcast one day.
“I think that Talar and Nina are very smart and ambitious young women,” past panelist Go said. “I think they found there was a niche and a need that needed to be served and what they did was they created a news platform that doesn’t necessarily lean in one particular direction. It’s all encompassing. I think that what they’ve created is what is attracting all these different people.”
In addition, the pair is currently working to increase partnerships – with a target focus on establishing school and club relationships across the country – and plan to double the number of Restructured Live events held this year.
The next one, set for early March, is still being finalized but will focus on the impact of the recent Los Angeles wildfires and what the rebuilding process will look like through the lens of industry experts.
“When every branch of your business is then allowing you to grow the whole, and the more you do in all of these realms – the more events you host, interviews you put out, different types of newsletters you put out – you’re able to reach more and more people and, in turn, grow the readership and grow the audience and the network,” Gabbay said. “We look forward to continuing doing that and expanding of course and putting on more and doing more as a company but, in turn, always going back to informing and educating people and making sure that, whether it’s in the real estate industry (or) architecture and design, we’re able to get back to our mission and, in turn, just expand and touch more people.”
