Giving a talk today

Today, am going to speak to Mott Smith’s real estate development class at USC.

The topic? Capital structures for real estate entrepreneurs… or, in other words, how to build a real estate business from scratch without starving.

Here’s the rough outline for my talk:

  • First: Do good deals
  • Why a small asset base is a problem
  • How you survive while you grow the asset base – vertical integration
    • Brokerage
    • Construction oversight
    • Management
  • Figuring out how to say “yes” to capital
  • Alternate capital structures:
    • Pref/promote/fees
    • Fee for service
    • “First dollar”
  • The importance of growing your fundraising network