Raising capital from family offices
How a Family Office Moved From Real Estate Into 300 Venture Deals
Real Estate, Venture Capital, and Building a Billion-Dollar Legacy
Investors, family office staff and capital raisers who want to see how one family office moved from real estate into venture and how it handles deal flow and trust.
Worth quoting
"You'll be better off maybe going after 10 or 20 people that you know exactly why you are approaching them rather than 200 or 2,000 people."
"If you come in early, that's when you can be playful around your investment vehicle and have a very good negotiation standpoint."
"It took over a year to establish that partnership and well over 20 meetings."
The short version
Isabelle of a Los Angeles family office explains how a real estate fortune became a venture capital program with over 300 investments. The family built its wealth in real estate development. About seven years ago it decided to add outside capital and start a VC firm. She says the venture portfolio is on track to outperform real estate, with early investments already up five to 8x.
Richard C. Wilson hosts the fireside chat. Topics include finding a venture partner with domain expertise, building trust over many meetings, and approaching family offices with research instead of mass emails. Isabelle also describes a data center project on land the family owns in Northern California, plans for an office in Bangalore, and her rule to do your own homework on every deal.
Facts and figures
- The family office has made over 300 venture capital investments and over 100 real estate transactions, according to the introduction.
- The family is starting a data center hub on 50 acres of the Northern California town it bought from the Murdoch family in 2018.
- Isabelle says the Stargate project of $500 billion would cover only 20% of OpenAI's need, and the family has done about 40 investments in India.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Real Estate, Venture Capital, and Building a Billion-Dollar Legacy. 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 venture deal terms, investment vehicle structure and investor eligibility rules. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
What stood out
- Find a partner with domain expertise. Coming from real estate, the family lacked venture expertise. They chose a partner who had it, and the relationship took over a year and well over 20 meetings to build.
- Target fewer investors, with real research. Isabelle says cold emails are hard but sometimes work. She suggests picking 10 or 20 people and knowing exactly why each one fits, rather than blasting 200 or 2,000.
- Use early entry to shape terms. Isabelle describes how investing very early let the family negotiate deal terms that suited them. She says a lot of value offered at the start gives a strong negotiating position that is much harder to get later. Many investors talk to a securities attorney about how to structure terms like these.
- Do your own homework. Founders project revenue and brokers project future deal values. Isabelle says investors should verify for themselves, which she says also reduces stress. She tells a story of a missed Clippers purchase to make the point.
- Check size sets the timeline. Isabelle says that in her experience on the venture side, a check as small as $50,000 can close in a week. She says the larger the check, the longer the relationship needed.
Related questions
- How do I find the decision maker at a family office?Start by meeting the family through advisors, events and the people who manage their investments.
- Do family offices invest in funds or only direct deals?Family offices do both.
- Do family offices co-invest alongside other investors?Yes, many family offices invest alongside other investors, and they often feel more comfortable when another respected investor is already in the deal.
Questions about this video
How does Isabelle's family office build trust with new partners?
She describes it as spending time together and getting to know each other, with no fixed checklist. Trusting your gut is a big part of it. Their venture partnership took over a year and well over 20 meetings.
How fast can the family office invest in a venture deal?
Isabelle says that in her experience a check can be done in a week on the venture side, for checks as small as $50,000. She says larger checks take longer, because the relationship needs more time.
What stage does the family office invest in?
They have mostly gone very early. Isabelle says nine out of 10 portfolio companies are at least generating revenue. They now make occasional one-off investments at slightly later stages.
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