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. There’s no one single dominant player in real estate anywhere in the world and people will invest at a level they wouldn’t in the tech industry. Victor explains how real estate doesn’t 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 ‘good side of the line’ and the ‘bad side of the line’ 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. There’s 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 ‘good charitable cause, bad foundation.’ 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. Don’t miss this powerful episode of Just Start Real Estate with tons of applicable tips and advice from uber-successful entrepreneur, Victor Menasce! Notable Quotes:   “Every single project is a little different, even the ones you design in architecture to look identical to the next.” Victor Menasce   “People will invest with you. They will give you capital on a level that they wouldn’t in the tech industry.” Victor Menasce   “You need to be challenged and pushed out of that comfort zone.”  Mike Simmons   “Even today, I’m not a real estate guy per se…I really took a business approach.” Victor Menasce   “Whenever you have a business model that’s based on the assumption that you’re 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.”  Victor Menasce   “It really comes down to developing relationships with the very best people in the world.” Victor Menasce   “Just becoming aware of what’s possible opened my eyes to seeing those opportunities.” Victor Menasce   “When I saw a void in the marketplace, I just wanted to address that, so that is why I wrote my book.” Victor Menasce   “When trust is there, decisions happen faster.” Victor Menasce   “If the goals for the money and the goals for the project don’t match, don’t take the money, because it’s not going to work.” Victor Menasce   “More sophisticated investors are very clear on what they’re looking for.” Victor Menasce   “You cannot go into a situation where you’re raising funds and appear to need that person more than they need you.” Mike Simmons   “Raise funds, don’t ask for money.”  Mike Simmons   “Raising money for a charitable cause is no different than raising money for an investment.” Victor Menasce   “If you want to be a billionaire do what billionaires do. If you want to be broke do what broke people do.” Victor Menasce   Links:  Rich Dad Poor Dad Magnetic Capital: Raise All the Money for Any Worthy Venture by Victor J. Menasce Victor's Website Real Estate Espresso Podcast Victor's LinkedIn 7 Figure Flipping Return on Investments Just Start Real Estate JSRE on Facebook Mike on Facebook Mike on Instagram Mike on LinkedIn Mike on Twitter Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months