From the Tech Industry to Huge Success in Real Estate with Victor Menasce
For this episode, I welcome Victor Menasce, the author of Magnetic Capital and the host of the daily Real Estate Espresso Podcast. He specializes in the development of new construction multi-family apartments, assisted living, industrial, and workforce housing in several markets across North America. Before moving into real estate development, Victor held roles as Vice President of Engineering at Wavesat, a developer of chips for wireless networks, and Chief Technical Officer at Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (AMCC), a Silicon Valley-based public company that develops microprocessors for numerous consumer products including televisions and gaming. Victor lives in Ottawa, Canada with his family.
Victor first shares his background story as a microprocessor developer which eventually got tedious and he had to retire. He made a hard turn into the real estate world and is now doing almost all new construction development. We move on to talk about his shift from the tech industry to real estate. Thereās no one single dominant player in real estate anywhere in the world and people will invest at a level they wouldnāt in the tech industry. Victor explains how real estate doesnāt require much for people to start investing as compared to tech businesses that require deep pockets to get people to invest.
Together we dive into the real estate business approach that Victor took when he joined the industry. He saw a need in his city of Ottawa and strategized a way to serve a targeted market. He started by buying one-bedroom condos within a four-block radius of parliament and marketed them as fully furnished executive suites. He later sold that portfolio to focus on the US market when he saw an opportunity presented by the financial crisis in 2008.
We talk about the distress in commercial real estate following the pandemic, which included hotels. Victor explains how wealth is going to be transferred and some good assets will come into the market within a short period. Businesses are especially vulnerable now due to their outstanding debts.
We talk about the concept of new builds with Victor explaining his beliefs concerning demand and supply. Victor explains how he and his team learn from their developments in the US on the āgood side of the lineā and the ābad side of the lineā as is defined by various zoning codes.
We move on to the power of developing relationships with the best people in the world. Victor explains how he opened his eyes to opportunities after becoming aware of what is possible. He then talks about his book Magnetic Capital which is about the five principles to help you raise capital for any venture. Thereās a difference between asking for money and offering an investor an opportunity to collaborate on a project. Victor gives us the reason why he offers compelling and interesting projects that serve a need in the marketplace to potential investors rather than directly asking them for money.
We discuss what Victor means when he talks about āgood charitable cause, bad foundation.ā He believes that raising money for a charitable cause is no different from raising money for investment. The foundation of a worthy cause should be set to have an outcome just like an investment does and it is important to look for these qualities when you are looking to invest in one.
Lastly, we discuss how to invest like a billionaire by looking for and investing in safe deals. Donāt miss this powerful episode of Just Start Real Estate with tons of applicable tips and advice from uber-successful entrepreneur, Victor Menasce!
Notable Quotes:
āEvery single project is a little different, even the ones you design in architecture to look identical to the next.ā
- Victor Menasce
āPeople will invest with you. They will give you capital on a level that they wouldnāt in the tech industry.ā
- Victor Menasce
āYou need to be challenged and pushed out of that comfort zone.ā
- Mike Simmons
āEven today, Iām not a real estate guy per seā¦I really took a business approach.ā
- Victor Menasce
āWhenever you have a business model thatās based on the assumption that youāre going to be able to feed the debt based on the revenue, and the assumption is the revenue is going to stay uniform to service that debt, you have some level of vulnerability.ā
- Victor Menasce
āIt really comes down to developing relationships with the very best people in the world.ā
- Victor Menasce
āJust becoming aware of whatās possible opened my eyes to seeing those opportunities.ā
- Victor Menasce
āWhen I saw a void in the marketplace, I just wanted to address that, so that is why I wrote my book.ā
- Victor Menasce
āWhen trust is there, decisions happen faster.ā
- Victor Menasce
āIf the goals for the money and the goals for the project donāt match, donāt take the money, because itās not going to work.ā
- Victor Menasce
āMore sophisticated investors are very clear on what theyāre looking for.ā
- Victor Menasce
āYou cannot go into a situation where youāre raising funds and appear to need that person more than they need you.ā
- Mike Simmons
āRaise funds, donāt ask for money.ā
- Mike Simmons
āRaising money for a charitable cause is no different than raising money for an investment.ā
- Victor Menasce
āIf you want to be a billionaire do what billionaires do. If you want to be broke do what broke people do.ā
- Victor Menasce
Links:
Magnetic Capital: Raise All the Money for Any Worthy Venture by Victor J. Menasce
Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months
