Am in the market for a new intern, and figured I’d see if you people can help. I hired my last intern, David, maybe four years ago. He worked for us part time during college, then came on full-time immediately after graduating. At first, he was just my assistant. Over time, as he gained experience … Continue reading “Looking for an intern”
Blog
Doing things backwards
Just had an interesting exchange on a call with the other people participating in my panel at IMN’s Winter Opportunities conference. Our moderator, an attorney experienced in putting together large real estate funds, asked the panel about our experience transitioning from raising capital on a deal by deal basis to raising commingled funds. I piped … Continue reading “Doing things backwards”
How I quit worrying and learned to love raising capital
All the capital for my second through 12th deals came from one of my best friends from highschool. Once he forced me to start raising money from other people, I remember complaining to him that I hated raising capital. You should have seen the stupefied look on his face, right before he said: “You realize … Continue reading “How I quit worrying and learned to love raising capital”
An olive branch to the competition
For years, I struggled with whether I should keep writing this blog. On the plus side, the blog has introduced me to hundreds of people who became brokerage clients, property management clients and/or investors in our deals. On the negative side, I have educated a whole legion of people who compete with me for deals, … Continue reading “An olive branch to the competition”
On the growth of Adaptive
I have a very clear vision for my career. I have known where I want to go (I want Adaptive to be a huge company) and I know what I have to do to make that happen (a series of very good deals for the people who trust me with their money, so that they will … Continue reading “On the growth of Adaptive”
Connecting the generations with real estate
Years ago, when we were still working on the Better Dwellings portfolio, before we started Adaptive, I remember having a conversation which I now realize contributed to my bias towards holding real estate permanently. Can’t remember who it was, but the person told me about checks he receives each quarter. The source of the funds? … Continue reading “Connecting the generations with real estate”
A surprising admission from Mr. Fund of Funds
Was at a terrible conference early this week, when I heard something amazing. It came from a guy who runs a fund that invests in other managers’ private equity funds… in other words, a “fund-of-funds”. Someone in the audience, presumably an aspiring fund manager, asked Mr. Fund-of-Funds how much of a co-invest he wants to … Continue reading “A surprising admission from Mr. Fund of Funds”
Bucking the traditional real estate private equity model
The traditional real estate private equity model is broken. Here is how it works now: Sponsor finds deal Sponsor raises equity from investors, then uses as much debt as possible (to enhance the returns to investors) Sponsor adds value to deal (renovating, building ground-up, whatever) Sponsor sells deal as quickly as possible, pays off the … Continue reading “Bucking the traditional real estate private equity model”
We keep evolving
Have been spending a lot of time over the past few weeks speaking with capital partners, both existing and prospective. Yesterday, a guy who has backed us for a lot of years said something that really stuck with me. He said something like: “The way you describe your business has really changed over the past … Continue reading “We keep evolving”
Why we no longer announce acquisitions
Was browsing the LinkedIn newsfeed yesterday and came across a video a guy had posted of his latest acquisition, which included the name of the neighborhood in which it is located. The video had a ton of likes and comments (mostly from brokers) and I admit to feeling a bit jealous. (Side note: If you … Continue reading “Why we no longer announce acquisitions”