Bringing together cryptocurrency and real estate
You recently launched RealOpen.
How is it going?
Christian Dumontet:Fantastic.
Christine Quinn:It’s going great.
Dumontet:Yeah, we have over $250 million worth of listings.
Quinn:We’re super excited, morale is high, the team is growing.
We love it … We have quite a few engineers [and] a lot of real estate agents.
Was starting a business together a no-brainer?
It feels like it brings together both of your different skill sets perfectly.
Dumontet: It’s a great convergence of our interests and skills.
I’ve been involved in cryptocurrency since 2013.
The concept of cryptography in general is fascinating, not just with monetary systems.
[With] Christine, being one of the premier experts in real estate, it came together well.
Quinn:It’s funny because I never thought that we would’ve worked together on a company.
I know that we’re both very like-minded individuals when it comes to anything of intellect or business.
It worked out great.
What are your goals for the business?
That means that we’ll get into all price points.
Beyond that, we see it being a marketplace for bridging digital and physical assets.
It becomes a full blown world economy with all that goes with that.
Quinn:We’re headed into [what I foresee as] a universal currency.
Dumontet: Oh, you actually had American dollars.
Quinn:And it’s all I had.
They’re like, “Oh no, we don’t take that.”
Dumontet: Yeah, and day-to-day things, dinners out, and all sorts of things.
The business is already taking you all over the world?
We have a developer in the UK that has this series of properties that we’re about to post.
We already have listings in Africa, Australia, Germany.
We have alisting in South Africa.
It’s called Casablanca, and it’s not in Morocco.
Quinn:We’re hilarious, Amy.
Dumontet: We laugh a lot.
Quinn:We’re really funny.
I don’t think we saw enough Christian on “Selling Sunset.”
Dumontet: I’m a little private.
Quinn:We’re both really funny, really silly goofballs.
Dumontet: We don’t take much time off, despite what …
I don’t check social media, but my guess is it looks like we’re gallivanting around.
That’s not true at all.
Yes, we travel, but we work all day and all night, and we love it.
We do it because we love it.
Christian, you mentioned that you are quite private.
What was it like joining a reality show and putting yourself out there?
Dumontet: It was an adjustment.
I never sought this out, but I embraced it and it’s quite a lot of fun.
He didn’t really get it.
Dumontet: No idea what I was signing up for, but it’s been great.
I don’t know if I want to watch it if you are not on it.
Quinn:Never say never.
I really don’t know.
The ball’s pretty much in their court.
What was that experience like?
Quinn:Demna [the creative director of Balenciaga] hand-selected me, gosh, probably …
I don’t want to give a timeframe because I’m probably going to get it wrong.
I’m horrible with time.
I thought it was an audition, and it was absolutely surreal.
I’ve been a fan of the brand for so many years incredible vision.
I was so honored.
It was fittings after fittings after rehearsals after rehearsals.
It was the most incredible moment of my career and my life.
It’s been great.
And you got to walk alongside some amazing people in that show like Nicole Kidman and Kim Kardashian.
What was it like being in that lineup?
Don’t quote me on [the exact time].
I was a lighting stand-in for her.
It’s with Nicole Kidman, and you’re just her height."
I think she’s 5'9, I’m 5'9.
She’s like, “Would you like to do it?”
[I said,] “Absolutely.”
It didn’t pay, [but] I didn’t care.
I worked for free for years and years and I didn’t care.
I wanted the experience, and it was so great that I got to walk alongside her.
I told her the story.
She told me I looked like a young Britney Spears, and I thought that was so sweet.
That was so kind.
That was really surreal.
Bella Hadid and I have become really good friends.
I ran into her, I believe, at one other rehearsal.
We had dinner, and then I saw her later after the show, quite a few times.
I was shocked how genuine and sweet and kind she was.
It was another thing she knew all the models and she’d been around them for years.
I didn’t know anyone.
She made me feel right at home, and it was really great.
It was the pinnacle of my career.
Are you going to be doing more fashion stuff now?
Fashion has always been my love and my passion and I go every year to the Fashion Weeks.
I always go to New York, so I’ll be going there in September.
For the first time ever, I want to go to Milan for Fashion Week.
I have yet to do that.
That’s my absolute dream.
It’s so great because, at the brokerage, I never felt comfortable.
I never felt like that was the right fit for me.
Expanding RealOpen
What’s next for your company, RealOpen, and for the two of you?
Quinn:That’s a great question.
You call it stalking, I call it persistence.
I say, “No, you’re not going to work for me.
You’re going to work with me.”
It’s great that I’m able to do that now.
How do you find time for yourselves as a couple and for your family?
Quinn:It’s because we work together.
Dumontet: Yeah, it’s enjoyable.
Quinn:That’s part of our time together.
Even when we’re working, that’s enjoyable for us.
Dumontet: It’s a bonding experience.
Before we wrap up, is there anything else you want people to know about RealOpen?
I really encourage growth.
That’s important for us in our company.
We prioritize growth over anything.
Find out more about Christine Quinn and Christian Dumontet’s new venture,RealOpen.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
