How do I find a joint venture equity partner?
Short answer
Start by naming your bottleneck, whether that is deal flow, investor access or deal setup. Then look for a partner whose skills complement yours and who already has the access you lack. Good partners often come from events and communities where you meet people repeatedly. Agree on roles and the split for the specific deal, and many sponsors talk to a securities attorney about how to structure it.
Name the gap before you look for a person
Before you search, decide what is slowing your deals down. In my joint venture and co-GP webinar I said the bottleneck might be access to deal flow, access to more investors, or something else. The right partner is the one who already has the access you need in that area. If you cannot name the gap, you will not know the right person when you meet them.
"When you set up a joint venture, it's really about trying to find parties that are complementary to your core skill sets."
That is the test I use. Look for someone who is strong where you are weak. You might be great at development, at negotiating operating businesses for acquisition, at lining up financing, or at running a company after it is acquired. If you do not want to deal with the capital raising, a partner who does that well lets you focus on what you do best.
This clip walks through why focus and complementary skills are the first reasons to bring in a partner.
Look in rooms where people see you more than once
In the webinar I interviewed Meg from CA South, a real estate development firm. We got to know her through our live events and through being part of the community over time. That is how a lot of good partnerships start. People watch how you show up, how you talk about deals and whether you follow through. Trust builds before anyone talks about a split.
Some practical places to look:
- Events and communities where deal makers and investors meet repeatedly
- People already in your network who are strong in your weak area
- Peers working on similar deals who need what you can offer
Here I take a deeper dive with Meg on how she used joint venture and co-GP deals to build her operation.
Summary and key takeaways from this video
Agree on what each side brings to this deal
A co-GP deal simply means you bring one or two other parties in at the deal management level. In many traditional structures, the limited partners take a more passive role and the general partner takes a more active one. How risk and capital are shared varies from deal to deal. A partner can come in in a very limited way or a very broad way.
Sometimes it is a 50/50 partnership right down the middle. Many times it has to be customized to what each person is contributing and what the deal needs to succeed. So talk about roles, capital and decision making early, and write down who does what.
Speed is a real reason to do this. It could be speed to reach 100 million in assets, or speed to act when the timing is right on a distressed opportunity. Momentum also matters. If your team and your partners feel you are not getting anywhere, you can lose their trust as a leader. A good partner may help restore that movement.
Every structure and agreement is different, and many sponsors talk to a securities attorney about the terms before they commit.
From my books and event talks
One pairing I have seen work again and again is a small project married to a joint venture partner with a group that has a billion dollar balance sheet. People in the room have told me you can raise capital faster and do the big numbers faster that way, compared with raising for a small project on its own. The collaboration and joint venture part is where I see the fastest growth in deals getting done among family office people who go from 20 million or 40 million in assets to 500 million or a billion.
"But we've heard from many people here in the room, you can raise capital faster and do the big numbers faster if you're raising capital for something that's ridiculously credible, or you take your small project and marry it with a joint venture with a really billion dollar balance sheet quality group."
Key facts
- A co-GP deal brings one or two other parties in at the deal management level, in a limited or a very broad way.
- Meg is from CA South, a real estate development firm that used joint venture and co-GP deals.
- Speed is one reason to joint venture, such as speed to reach 100 million in assets.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Joint Venture & Co-GP Webinar - How to Close Deals with Peers & Partners in the Family Office Club, Joint Venture & Co-GP Webinar - How to Close Deals with Peers & Partners in the Family Office Club, Joint Venture & Co-GP Webinar - How to Close Deals with Peers & Partners in the Family Office Club. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around joint venture agreements, co-GP roles and splits and offering documents. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
Next moves
- Write down the single bottleneck holding your deals back.
- List the skills and access a partner would need to fill that gap.
- Go to events and communities where deal makers meet repeatedly.
- Sketch roles, capital and the split for one specific deal.
- Consider talking to a securities attorney about the structure before you commit.
People also ask
What is a co-GP deal?
It means you bring one or two other parties in at the management level of a deal. They can join in a limited way or a very broad way.
Does a joint venture have to be 50/50?
No. Sometimes it is an even split, but many times it is customized to what each party contributes and what the deal needs.
Why use a joint venture at all?
It can give you speed, focus on your strengths, and access to deal flow or investors you do not have yet.
Related questions
- What is a co-GP in real estate?A co-GP in real estate is a second party who shares the management of a deal with the main general partner.
- How do I structure a JV between a sponsor and capital partner?Start with who does what.
- How should I split ownership with a money partner?Start with a preferred return for the money partner, then split the back end profit.
- What do capital partners expect from an operating partner?I would say capital partners expect three things from an operating partner.
Work through it with the one-liner builder. See all co-gp and joint venture deals resources.