Thirty investors. Two days. Orlando in June.
I haven't been this fired up all year.
A few things I took away from our investor day at Westlake Realty Group:
1. Investors invest in people. Full stop.
We could have sent the deck. We could have done a Zoom. Being in the room was not more efficient. It was more real. Post-COVID, showing up in person still signals something a call never can. I watched conversations happen over dinner that would never have started over email. Deals do not close in a deck. They close when someone looks you in the eye and decides you are the one.
2. Sophisticated capital is patient but not passive.
Our investors are family offices and high net worth individuals who have options. They are not moving until conviction is there. They want to understand the macro, they want to know how we are protecting their capital, and the bar is higher than it was two years ago. The managers who can earn their way into that conviction will have the most loyal capital in the industry.
3. When you show the data, IOS sells itself.
Three years ago I spent most investor conversations explaining what industrial outdoor storage was. At this event I did not have to. Vacancy rates, supply constraints, tenant profiles, tax structure: the room wanted to go deeper. That shift in sophistication is a signal. This asset class has arrived.
4. Team is everything. I was lucky to be joined by my teammates Lino Campanile and Stew Cedarleaf. I recently heard someone giving advice to recent college grads on how to be hireable and the advice he gave was to be someone that people want to spend time with. Of all the things I’m grateful for, I am so appreciative to have teammates who are incredibly talented but also fun to spend time with. So big thanks to my team for joining and to our investor base for being amazing people to hang with. And thank you Josh Tapp and Nate Wilde for co-hosting and helping with planning!
What advice would you give college grads embarking on their career right now?
Investors Invest in People. Full Stop
