I spent the past year working in an accounting/finance role at a small firm ($1BB in asset value) that initially was PE but also starting to enter the development business.
Several months ago, my boss (one of the senior execs in a different city) tasked me to low-key begin building the local development business from scratch. The minimal guidance is to start small and fast, and organically grow into bigger and longer-term projects. As such, I've spent the last few months studying the local market and networking my butt off, meeting GCs / architects / lenders / brokers and sourcing deals.
Prior to this job and company, I cut my teeth for about 5 years out of UG at a CRE lender ($100+ BB in AUM) as an underwriter of 'special projects'. So I had decent experience and strong deal flow in all sorts of tricky, high-leverage construction / bridge type financing -- albeit in a different market.
I feel like this is a very unique and fortunate situation -- falling into my dream role -- being employee #1 of a new development business that is well-funded from existing operations.
My question is: where do I go from here on the fly? How do I make the best of my situation? I feel like have 'impostor syndrome' yet my boss obviously trusts me and has faith in my abilities to perform with minimal direction.
My current plan is to start by focus on value-add / opportunistic projects -- small-sized rehabs, flips with short timelines so I can learn quickly, fail forward and demonstrate track record. Then snowball into larger sized projects over time.
Any advice, tips, suggestions and/or feedback appreciated!
Comments (5)
As someone who is in a similar position and has been for about three months expect for that "imposter syndrome" to stay for a while (and potentially never go away). Lean on the fact mentally that your boss specifically chose you, that you deserve this and have proven that you have the skills, effort and judgement to start and finish what will be a large and potentially lifelong journey. You will find yourself at moments where you will question if you are over your skis (you likely are), if you have the knowledge (you don't, but you will acquire it) and if you can handle the pressure (you can).
Keep in mind you are about to enter the messy world of development and this is a very different than other areas of real estate. Although a traditional real estate finance background is good experience to have going into this position (knowledge of modeling and numbers are a big advantage even over regional guys), you are going to have to learn, learn, learn and develop a whole new skill set.
Tips for you to succeed early in development:
One quick comment on your investment thesis, keep in mind a project's size relative to portfolio size and operational capacity. The process of smaller residential rehabs has some similarities but is ultimately very different from urban ground up development. Although I wouldn't recommend "swinging for the fences" initially, I would make sure you are learning processes and collecting data that will help you iterate for future projects. So don't let fear of the unknown prevent you from pursuing something larger, your first development is always going to feel like a mess (and it will be at times) but that's why it's so important to learn applicable processes for your next one.
Nicely summarized @FutureCEO3, +SB.
fantastic post
Yeah no need to add anything else, here, pretty spot on. Nice job.
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