Running a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) can be a tricky balancing act; especially during its earlier stages. Growth is undoubtedly a big priority for any business that’s starting out. But if your back-end operations are in disarray then that growth becomes increasingly difficult to achieve and maintain. Back in 2012, Jake Marmulstein was underwriting distressed hotel investments for Watermark Capital Partners, a private REIT based out of Chicago, when he realized that there had to be a better way to do syndication. After feeling overwhelmed with data, and without any technology or software available to support the process, Jake partnered with a technology entrepreneur to found Groundbreaker, a real estate technology company that simplifies the investment process. In our conversation Jake shares what it was like building a software product without prior experience in tech, the lessons he learned along the way, and why building your first start-up is a process of trial and error. We also unpack how the needs of the customer shaped their product, and what sets them apart from new competitors in the field. Tune in for valuable lessons on what you should prioritize when starting a business, and much more!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Introducing today’s guest, Jake Marmulstein, founder of Groundbreaker.
- An overview of Groundbreaker as a real estate technology company.
- How Jake’s work underwriting distressed hotel investments inspired him to start Groundbreaker.
- Why there is often a misalignment between growth initiatives and backend operations at young real estate firms.
- How Groundbreaker simplifies the process of raising money for investors who are doing a syndication or fund.
- How its customers informed Groundbreaker’s features and the way it was developed.
- Jake’s fortuitous partnership with a technology entrepreneur and how they built Groundbreaker together.
- Some of the lessons that Jake had to learn to work well with software engineers.
- The biggest hurdles in the journey from launching a software to gaining momentum.
- How Groundbreaker benefitted from a marketing and PR strategy.
- How Groundbreaker is adjusting to new competition in the real estate technology space.
- What sets Groundbreaker apart from their competitors: customer service and attention to detail.
- Jake’s top advice on starting a business.
Tweetables:
“Even if you intend to build a certain feature, it's always a surprise what users end up needing.” — @Marmulstein [0:09:03]
“I had a very good product manager at the company who could help to translate a lot of information to me, and it helped me learn what I needed to know and fill in my gaps.” — @Marmulstein [0:12:41]
“Doing a startup is all about a process of small pivots and tweaks along the way until you get to a point where it really fits and clicks.” — @Marmulstein [0:16:20]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Passive Income Through Multifamily Real Estate Facebook Group
