Born in Kosovo in 1985. Lived there during the time when Serbia occuppied Kosovo and the Milosvic regime wanted all Albanians to disappear off the planet. Getting an education by going to an official school building where the bell rung and kids got to play outside was nothing but a dream during that tie. From first to seventh grade, going to school meant going to a private home with other kids where you received your official education and moved from one grade to the other.
The situation went from bad to worst in early 1998. Bombings, shootings, massacres, rapings and anything and everything that humans should not be faced with happened. Connectivity to the outside World worsened by the hour and everything became dark. It felt like there was no daylight anymore. Food and sleep became things of the past for the most part. After losing all material things including the family home and living through the horrific events of 1998 and 1999, finally made it to the neighboring country of Macedonia.
In May of 1999, got on a plane and headed to Detroit. US had a refugee program that was put in place to allow people from the Kosovo war to move to US if they had a sponsor. We were fortunate to have an uncle that lived in US who sponsored us and through that, started a new life in the greatest country in the World, although at the time, it was the hardest to get used to.
Started working as a dish washer right away while waiting for school to start back up in September. From that point on, life became all about getting school done and making the next dollar.
After finishing college, real estate and soon after, technology became the new fascinations. Before getting too deep into either, ended up buying a restaurant thinking it would solve the financial problems as well as provide a job for the parents. That lasted about a year and started work in commercial real estate. Shortly after, started a software development company with his younger brother, Etrit.
The software company lead to involvement in many tech ideas, eventually leading to the founding of Rocket Fiber. After raising a record round with Rocket Fiber in 2014, built a company that helped put Detroit on the map from a technology infrastructure perspective. Rocket Fiber continues to grow and expand, winning awards like 2018 Most Impactful Fiber Company in the Country, Top 3 Customer Rated Fiber Companies in the Country etc.
While building a successful company with Rocket Fiber, there were a lot of other companies that were either partnered, founded or invested in during the last five years. See PORTFOLIO page.
One that is worth mentioning is KODE Labs, a startup factory that creates and invests in innovative ideas, primarily related to real estate but open to other industries as well. First company build under KODE Labs is the Smart Building Platform which allows for integration of all building systems into a unified platform, providing visibility and transparency, as well as ability to control and and analyze all things related to a building or real estate portfolio.
On a personal level, Edi is married to his beautiful wife Ariana. They have a son named Kaon. Edi’s parents and brother are also in Michigan. He continues to do business with his brother with whom he co-founded KODE Labs.
One that is worth mentioning is KODE Labs, a startup factory that creates and invests in innovative ideas, primarily related to real estate but open to other industries as well. First company build under KODE Labs is the Smart Building Platform which allows for integration of all building systems into a unified platform, providing visibility and transparency, as well as ability to control and and analyze all things related to a building or real estate portfolio.
On a personal level, Edi is married to his beautiful wife Ariana. They have a son named Kaon. Edi’s parents and brother are also in Michigan. He continues to do business with his brother with whom he co-founded KODE Labs.
While building a successful company with Rocket Fiber, there were a lot of other companies that were either partnered, founded or invested in during the last five years. See PORTFOLIO page.
One that is worth mentioning is KODE Labs, a startup factory that creates and invests in innovative ideas, primarily related to real estate but open to other industries as well. First company build under KODE Labs is the Smart Building Platform which allows for integration of all building systems into a unified platform, providing visibility and transparency, as well as ability to control and and analyze all things related to a building or real estate portfolio.
On a personal level, Edi is married to his beautiful wife Ariana. They have a son named Kaon. Edi’s parents and brother are also in Michigan. He continues to do business with his brother with whom he co-founded KODE Labs.