Prioritize Raising Capital: Rob on Building an Investor Funnel
Prioritize Raising Capital: Guest Speaker Rob Beardsley - PODCAST - Family Office Club
New real estate sponsors and fund managers with little track record who want a practical way to start building an investor pipeline.
Five points worth keeping
- Raising capital is not an afterthought. Rob says the team first assumed that a good deal would bring in money. After putting a deal under contract with no track record and no relationships, no money came. He now calls raising capital a full time job.
- Build the funnel before you need it. Rob uses the line to dig the well before you are thirsty. His team builds funnels, infrastructure and content so investors come to them instead of the team scrambling to call people.
- Be generous on early deals. Rob describes the first raise as coming from a family and friends network and then partners who joined the deal. He says the team did not want to be greedy, because getting the deal done set the groundwork for many more. Many sponsors talk to a securities attorney about how to structure arrangements like these.
- A book works as a funnel tool. Rob tracks lead sources. LinkedIn, guest podcasting and the book are the three biggest. He sees the book as a mid funnel tool for warm leads and a top of funnel tool that builds credibility, like an oversized business card.
- Invest in an investor relations team. Richard describes a sponsor who raised 90 million of equity in their third full year after building a five person IR team and clear processes. He calls that unusual and notes most people grow in steps, such as 4 million, then 8, then 10 or 12.
What you will hear
Rob runs a workforce housing firm with over 2000 units across eight properties. His first deal had no track record and no investor relationships. The team believed a good deal would attract money on its own. It did not. They raised four and a half million dollars over six months and had to ask the seller for extension after extension.
That experience pushed the firm to build a system. Rob began posting daily on LinkedIn, guest podcasting and publishing a book. His latest deal is a 50 million dollar property under contract, with 14 million raised and demand well above the amount needed. Richard C. Wilson adds points on building an investor relations team and accepting thin profits on early deals.
Facts from this talk
- Rob's firm has over 2000 units across eight properties and launched a management company called Radiance Living last year.
- The first deal raised about 4.5 million dollars over six months, built from family and friends and co-GP partners.
- The largest deal under contract is 50 million dollars, with 14 million raised and the raise oversubscribed.
- Rob wrote his book in about two months and self-published it through Amazon print on demand.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Prioritize Raising Capital: Guest Speaker Rob Beardsley - PODCAST - 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 co-GP partner arrangements, raising from friends and family and offering documents. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
Said on the call
"We had the myth in our mind that if you have a good deal, the money will come."
"It's really critical to dig the well before you're thirsty."
"If someone's willing to spend two hours with you, meaning reading your book, that's a very warm lead."
- 1Put first deal under contract
- 2Raise from family and friends
- 3Bring in co-GP partners
- 4Build content and book
- 5Post daily and guest podcast
- 6Raise larger deals
Related questions
- How do I value an early-stage company with no revenue?You value it on proof instead of earnings.
- What is a pre-seed round and who invests in it?A pre-seed round is the earliest outside money a startup raises, often before it has real revenue.
- How do I negotiate valuation with an early investor?Start with a valuation you can defend with traction and numbers, then expect the investor to push back.
Questions about this video
How long did Rob's first raise take?
The first deal raised about four and a half million dollars and took six months. The team had to ask the seller for repeated extensions because the money was slow to arrive.
How did Rob write and publish his book?
Rob wrote it in about two months and had some of his team edit it. He self-published through Amazon, which prints on demand, so the only real cost was his time.
Where do Rob's investor leads come from?
Rob tracks the source of leads. The main sources are daily LinkedIn posts, guest podcast appearances and his book.
Put this into practice with the ready to raise checklist. See all capital raising mindset resources.
