Quit my full-time job

Quit my full-time job

Developer · Austin, TX · Member since 2010 · 371 posts · 284 votes

I figured I would share a personal victory here.  @Bryan Hancock and myself have been ramping up our project volume over the last four years and this is turning out to be a banner year.  So much so that I was able to quit my full time job as a Development Manager at Microsoft to take on real estate investing and development as a full time passion.  My last day was in April, and I can't imagine going back.  The business would suffer too much.

I started investing about 5 years ago, starting with fix and flips.  My very first flip made $700 and took me 6 months.  But the lessons learned were priceless.  The next flip I did made $7,000.  One power of ten is pretty good for deal #2.  Then I started building.  Deal #3 made about $30,000 and took 9 months.

Today Inner 10 Capital has 43 active projects with a full pipeline and I'm doing it full time.  It's actually more work than my day job was, but it doesn't feel like it.  It's fun, more lucrative than my day job, and scalable which is the most important part.

Five years isn't that long anymore, but it's long enough to have a complete transformation.  Thanks to everyone who's been a partner, mentor, and cheer leader.

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Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2012 · 205 posts · 112 votes
12y

@John Blackman congrats again. I was there to see you quit your day job and it was awesome, but it's good to read the detailed story of how you got there. 

I'm glad to be working with / learning from you and @Bryan Hancock    In our short time working together, the info I've learned has been invaluable. I have no doubt I will have a similar story soon.  Thanks for the willingness to share your knowledge guys!

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  • Karen MargraveBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    12y

    @Bryan Hancock In previous post you mentioned others that were using your model, can you tell us what your model is?

    I know you are involved in several different entities, Bulleseye Capital, Inner 10, etc., can you tell us each of your businesses, what they each are, and what your role is? Do you have your own construction company? (I thought at one time you said your dad was involved in that or ?) 

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    12y

    //Quote

    In previous post you mentioned others that were using your model, can you tell us what your model is?

    //End Quote

    I can’t remember the context here Karen. We have various different models for different product types, deal structures, sizes, etc. The pro forma and deal structure is often one of the most difficult parts and there is some art to it.

    //Quote

    I know you are involved in several different entities, Bulleseye Capital, Inner 10, etc., can you tell us each of your businesses, what they each are, and what your role is? Do you have your own construction company? (I thought at one time you said your dad was involved in that or ?)

    //End Quote

    I could start many separate threads on this topic alone. John is also a partner in the Bullseye Fund. We raise money into this fund for folks that want exposure to a national footprint and wish to invest for a period of time for tax advantages and both geographic and temporal diversification. There is more to it than this, but in summary these are the main advantages.

    Inner 10’s scope is limited to Austin and we do single-purpose syndications there for development projects. We don’t have our own construction company; we outsource all of this work to focus our energy, effort, and expertise to the development and capital formation pieces.

    My role is mostly to organize the deals, source them, do high-level deal structure, procure team members, raise money (equity and debt), etc. John manages the operations piece of all of the projects. 

  • Silver Spring, MD · Member since 2014 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    12y

    Congrats. That's my ultimate goal. To work for myself in the near future. I am new to real estate investing but so far I am learning a lot. Thanks for telling your story because it has inspired an motivated me to work even harder towards becoming a successful REI and creating a very successful real estate business.

  • Investor · Edmond, OK · Member since 2014 · 120 posts · 56 votes
    12y

    Mind=Blown. Too much to take in....Very inspiring and Thank you for sharing.

  • Investor · Fox River Grove, IL · Member since 2011 · 28 posts · 10 votes
    12y

    @John Blackman,

    Thanks a lot for the detailed health care summary - it is greatly appreciated!  This is kind of what I was thinking (with regards to deductibles and HSAs).

    One other thing I am doing is making my wife and kids work out for three hours a day and eat organic kale to keep them out of the doctor's office.  They hate me.

    Best Regards,

    Donko

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