Is Networking URL the New Networking IRL?
For all you Gen Xers & Boomers, that's online vs. in person.
Real estate is a place where relationships are king. It is an industry that rewards smart people for taking risk’s and gives them outsized rewards. To build a real estate business, you have to have relationships with capital partners, brokers, attorneys, engineers, etc.
Until today, this has been driven by your network from your college, your local real estate groups, and your family. With social media, our reach as entrepreneurs has expanded exponentially.
When it comes to new relationships in real estate, historically, you had to meet in real life (IRL) to get to know someone. You’ve had to shake their hand. You’ve had to sit in a room with them for at least an hour and maybe go out for dinner and drinks to “get to know them.”
The Pandemic changed all of that.
The Value in Social Media Networking
Now that we no longer live our professional lives just in real life, how does this impact our reach and our opportunities? For example, I met Logan Freeman, a real estate investor and General Partner (GP) at FTW Investments on LinkedIn about three years ago. He and I have interacted via comments and DMs. He produces quality content. I know he is a pro and that we are aligned on priorities since he talks about how he grows his business through positive long-term relationships.
About three weeks ago, we set up a chat. When I told him I was in Tampa and in the multifamily space, he immediately said, “Well, if you’re looking to Co-GP, you should talk to this guy.” Let’s call him Frank.
Fast forward a week, I meet Frank on Zoom. He is sharp, and what I expected, so we set up a property tour for a potential acquisition. He brought his project manager with him, and we walked the property. They are both very professional, and they know their stuff.
At the end of our first in-person meeting, he invited me to participate in the GP.
This type of story happens all the time now if you’re active on social media and engaging with people in your industry/space. It would never have happened five years ago, pre-COVID.
Social media has transformed the way we interact with each other and get to know about opportunities, influencers, and how we communicate our credibility as professionals.
Leveraging Resources as an Entrepreneur
Now, if you’re a broker with JLL, you have instant credibility because you’re associated with a large, well-respected platform. But if you’re working as a real estate entrepreneur or someone with a smaller or independent brokerage, your reach is no longer limited to your nearby network.
I’m active on LinkedIn, now Twitter/X and we have this newsletter, and we are producing a podcast focused called Real Estate Tech Insider. There is a huge amount of impact we can have with the reach of social media. Are there social strategies you use that are impactful?
On X, I’ve begun following along with the #ReTwit community, which focuses mostly on commercial real estate. There are interesting conversations, and there are a lot of young and experienced people. They are all online to share their knowledge and experiences and to grow their understanding of the industry and their network.
Creating Community
Another great platform where people are connecting is X. Moses Kagan, a prominent poster on X, with 136,000 followers, created the ReConvene platform. This is a group of private equity real estate investors, GPs, and LPs that share information and build community online, then meet in person to learn from each other and share deal flow.
Their annual event, ReConvene LA, refers to itself as “the real estate private equity unconference” as it looks to attract entrepreneurs and family offices that may not feel the community vibe as much with the larger industry events held by the major players like ULI and NAIOP.
And while I am a proud member of both of those organizations, they tend to cater to large institutional players and less to entrepreneurs building their real estate businesses.
So yes, if I get the invite, I will plan to attend ReConvene this year in Santa Monica. That is something to point out as well; the event is invite-only, so that makes it feel a bit more exclusive.
As our industry has become increasingly institutionalized, there has been less space for real estate entrepreneurs to learn and share. Now that social media has provided a free platform to connect with like-minded individuals, we can share, learn, and grow with our real estate entrepreneurial friends more easily.
Links for more in-depth reading:
Logan Freeman - Real Estate Investor & GP at FTW Investments
What are the best platforms and tools for online networking in your industry?
The View From Half Court:
Hoops last week was very interesting…Yes my son’s 9-10 YMCA team lost big which was a bit tough, but we will bounce back as we have strong leadership in the front court. In other major hoops news, UConn, Purdue, UNC and University of Tennessee (UT) are the top 4 today in college basketball. I have to say it is nice to see UT ranked so highly as their coach Lon Krueger is a class act and is an absolute winner. Purdue continues to roll and Xavier beat a strong St John’s team this past weekend.
Fordham University’s mens basketball program is having a middle of the pack year at 10-12. It is very respectable, but not quite the same as last year’s 3rd place finish in the A-10. We expect to see continued strength from the program as Coach Urgo is a great leader and program builder.
Links from Halfcourt: