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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Michelle Kesil interviews Brad Robinson, founder and managing partner of Bradford Equity Partners. They discuss Brad’s journey in custom home development, the establishment of his investment fund, and the importance of focusing on human benefits in construction. Brad shares insights on market challenges, the significance of strategic hires, and his goals for the future, emphasizing the need for a strong procurement process and the potential for growth in the real estate market.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Brad Robinson (00:00)
I think one of the key takeaways for me in this short amount of time is just how frequently I say no.⁓ It’s funny because when you’re in the building space you say yes almost everything and then when you invest you’re saying no to everything like you got to have enough buffer built into this to where you’re still delivering to your partners ⁓ With enough with that risk tolerance buried into it and so I know that’s a given and I know that’s a something that maybe doesn’t even need to be stated but
I’m learning now. It’s like a deal has to be a home run for me to want to entertain it. And so when these come across the table and they happen sometimes in bunches, it’s like, three or four hit my desk today. It’s like, all right, I’ve got to work through each of these things and try to size that opportunity up appropriately.
They pencil on paper, but they’re just not the right timing or it’s not the right thing or it’s not the right asset class that I need to be focused on right now.
Michelle Kesil (02:23)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil Today I’m joined by someone that I’m looking forward to chat with, Brad Robinson, who is the founder and managing partner of Bradford Equity Partners, an investment firm focused on real estate development and acquiring construction-related operating businesses. excited to have you here today, Brad.Brad Robinson (02:48)
Yeah, pleasure to be here. Thanks, Michelle.Michelle Kesil (02:50)
Of course, I think our listeners are going to take something away from how you’re approaching the custom development, your disciplined capital and value creation. So let’s dive into.Brad Robinson (03:02)
Sounds good.Michelle Kesil (03:02)
First off, for those who are not yet familiar with you and your work, can you share what your main focus is?Brad Robinson (03:08)
Yeah, so I’ve had my hands in development for the last 18 years and in more recent history, since 2018, I started a custom home business, mostly building and working for clients that want to develop their dream home. And so in getting into that work, I found that we operate best when we are sitting at the head of the table.And moving from the builder role to the owner’s model ⁓ really helped us understand the, well, it’s really what we already knew, but what it helped us do is navigate that space a little bit differently in guiding clients towards their optimal outcome, not just a product at the end of the engagement.
So being a builder is very specific, right? You’re gonna execute the plans as drawn and designed and you’re gonna build it to the best of your ability that way it matches the plans. But when you take ⁓ a step out front into the owner’s rep model, you really are responsible for 100 % of the equation and really what the desired outcome is. And that’s a space that I’ve tremendously enjoyed because in my own…
endeavors, you know, in my own investments, I am that person anyway. So, you know, all of the developments I was doing for myself, was responsible for the architecture, responsible for the interior design, responsible for the financial, ⁓ the fine, the financials matching up to what the market expectations was. And so doing this for clients felt just natural to us. And so
As that evolved and the size of the project opportunities coming to us really changed, I built a massive pipeline ⁓ of projects throughout the Southeast and then ultimately built the Bradford Equity Partners Fund to help support developing those larger, more complex projects where banks typically are going to be a little ⁓ cautious to step into that price point.
Michelle Kesil (05:06)
Awesome. Yeah. How like did you get started in creating this fund? What did that process look like?Brad Robinson (06:00)
Yeah, so it actually took longer than I thought. And that was mostly because I had to educate myself on all the financial regulations around private equity funds to start with. I had had some knowledge and had invested in funds in my past, but knowing who to call, knowing the resources that could help me ⁓ not only ideate, but create something that would be, you know,really compelling and really beneficial to the investors that we wanted to attract, because of the value-based mission that we have, I had to dig pretty deep. And so I went to a company that specializes in developing funds for guys like us and spent a year. I didn’t push it. I just took my time with it. I really wanted to understand every layer, every complexity, every nuance, because like anything else,
I’m gonna obsess over it before I do it. And so, you know, just came out on the other side of dealing thesis into, you know, all of the documentation needed into legal and then, you know, directly into an LOI, which was great.
Michelle Kesil (07:07)
Yeah, amazing. And what does the process of the fun look like for you now?Brad Robinson (07:11)
Yeah, so now that the fund has been established and we’ve got active projects and active investments ⁓ being deployed, really now it’s just helping the investors understand just updates. It’s like, here’s what’s going on.You know, our deal flow is constantly evolving. We’ve been able to maintain 100 % deal flow with what we’re doing right now, and that’s positive. I think it’s in large part because we’ve been presented with lots of opportunities through my traditional construction company. And that’s great. When a magazine approaches us to do a show house and we’re able to fund that deal, it’s a little different these days. And so…
⁓ But these type of opportunities continue to show up and we’re able to really just cherry pick the opportunities that make sense for us now and for the fund and for the investors so that we can give them a max return on investment. It’s pretty fun. I think some of the fun parts about it for me now as I go out and approach.
these trades-based businesses, the mechanical electrical plumbing companies that we were wanting to purchase, that is an area that is still, while I understand how they run, how they operate, I can read the balance sheet, I can understand what their assets look like, I understand all those pieces, it’s still somewhat of a learning curve to me. And so we’ve engaged with a partner who,
⁓ really knows that space well and is helping keep our deal ⁓ pipeline very fresh over there. So I think I’m most encouraged to continue to learn that piece of business acquisition. Whereas I’ve typically been mostly execution. So that’s been a lot of fun.
Michelle Kesil (08:53)
Awesome. And are you operating in specific markets or nationwide?Brad Robinson (09:00)
Yeah, so, you know, we’re we’re anchored in the southeastern United States, mostly where my resources are just and my connections are the strongest. Although we’ve we’ve been executing some projects in Colorado. We’ve got another project that’s going to be going under construction in Aspen next year, or actually in late part of 26. It looks like it’s a Q3. But no, we’re we’re actually spreading our wings. I was approached by a large developer in St. George,⁓ Utah and it looks like we’re going to be potentially carving out a piece of that development for the product that we’re bringing to life in a very prominent golf course community there. So ⁓ no, I’ve been expanding my geographic area pretty vastly.
Michelle Kesil (09:45)
Amazing. What are some keys that you feel have made the biggest difference in allowing your business to be able to grow and to run smoothly?Brad Robinson (09:54)
You know, it’s the people. I’ve been very fortunate to ⁓ have developed some wonderful relationships and been able to make some very strategic hires. And this past year, I was able to bring in an operator to take over my primary construction-based business. And being able to step back from those day-to-day responsibilities has given me a lot more time toto produce these new opportunities, to think through these new opportunities, to be more strategic about where my time is spent. so people really is the best answer to that because now there’s no longer a requirement for me to be any particular place at any particular time outside of meetings that I’m taking with prospective investors or I’m meeting with someone who’s presenting an opportunity to me.
or meeting with another fellow business owner in connection with potentially procuring their company or acquiring their company. And so I’m spending a lot more time on the investment piece rather than the executional piece. And that’s been huge for me.
Michelle Kesil (11:08)
Yeah, definitely. And what is like the process of being in the investment piece? Like what are some tangible things that you’re doing?Brad Robinson (11:51)
Yeah, so I mean, well, it never stops. That’s what I’m that’s what I’m learning. It’s, you know, at first, I’ll have to admit before I had an operator running the business full time, and my attention was being, you know, stretched between both practice areas, you know, one running a construction business to running an investment side business, you know, it wasn’t a side business as you’re running an investment for for people who have real money invested with you. So it’s equally as important, if not more.that we deliver on those returns for our investors. the tangible day to day looks very different. It looks like you’re sizing up deals all day. Something lands on your desk.
An email hits your inbox and you’re looking at it from 17 different angles and you’re trying to understand, know, does this land, you know, typically it starts with land, you know, it’s like our great partners and real estate agents who are sort of the eyes and ears ⁓ of good opportunity and then other, you know, other investors who, you know, are other developers even who.
get things that come across their desk, they say, yeah, this one’s not for me. This one looks like something that’s great for you. You end up building this incredible network where people are constantly just shuffling ideas back and forth to one another. And then all of a sudden, your deal flow is on warp speed because you’re sizing things up every day. you know what I found in the most, you know,
I think one of the key takeaways for me in this short amount of time is just how frequently I say no.
⁓ It’s funny because when you’re in the building space you say yes almost everything and then when you invest you’re saying no to everything and so it’s been a paradigm shift for me and and something really cool ⁓ because you know the numbers They’ve got to make perfect sense like you got to have enough buffer built into this to where you’re still delivering to your partners ⁓ With enough with that risk tolerance buried into it and so I know that’s a given and I know that’s a something that maybe doesn’t even need to be stated but
I’m pretty on the risk side. I’m fine with risk. I live with it every day. I’m good with it. But I’m learning now. It’s like a deal has to be a home run for me to want to entertain it. And so when these come across the table and they happen sometimes in bunches, it’s like, three or four hit my desk today. It’s like, all right, I’ve got to work through each of these things and try to size that opportunity up appropriately.
But guess what? Two thirds of it, maybe 100 % of those opportunities, they’re good ones and they make sense. They pencil on paper, but they’re just not the right timing or it’s not the right thing or it’s not the right asset class that I need to be focused on right now.
Michelle Kesil (14:35)
Right, makes sense. And what are you most focused on solving or scaling to next?Brad Robinson (14:41)
Yeah, I think, you know, I set out 2026 to be incredibly intentional about how I spend my time and which direction I’m going to be pointed this year. And one of the things that ⁓ I really set a chart for in late 25 was I want to focus on building for the biological benefit of humans. And the way that we bringthe built environment to life needs to be based on something incredibly important, not just tax credits or energy credits or, ⁓ you know, for just how low to the bottom of construction costs can we get, but how can we directly impact the human being?
that’s living in that space. And so that’s something that’s become incredibly important to me. And trying to figure that out, I’ve got some very deep relationships at Stanford, and I’m exploring the science-backed data-proof perspective of how our built environment impacts our biology. And I’m leaning deeply and heavily into that. And I’m encouraged by what we’re finding and what the data says. And I think that it’s the new frontier.
Michelle Kesil (15:58)
Yeah, absolutely. And how is that something that’s supporting your business, like having that access to that information?Brad Robinson (16:47)
You know, when you stop marketing for the sakes of trying to build more houses, increase your revenue, increase your bottom line, and you start doing things because it actually benefits people, the deeply meaningful work translates so much clearer. And the people that care, they are much morewilling to be open and receptive to the advancements that we’re making in this space. And there’s so many opportunities that are unlocking themselves because of this message and because of the meaning behind what we’re doing. you know, look, dollars and cents will always matter. But what I would say is, is like, can you put value on more years and can you put value on better years?
I would suggest there is a massive return on investment there that people haven’t been giving credit to. And I think that we have the ability to unlock that ROI through the built environment.
Michelle Kesil (17:55)
Totally, that’s a really awesome perspective. Thanks for sharing that.What are some obstacles or challenges that you may have overcome in the recent years that now looking back in hindsight you have the lesson on?
Brad Robinson (18:08)
This past year was an interesting one because while we didn’t have a recession and we didn’t have a massive slowdown what we had is we had a Market that was shifting incredibly fast the tariffs created a lot of fear they Challenged us all to look at you know in a deeper way where we’re sourcing from and we had tobecome very cognizant of a future state. Whereas I think a lot of times these projects are happening at a specific point in time and you can’t necessarily narrow the exact cost down for when you’re gonna purchase something in the cycle of the build. It forced us all to take a deeper dive into the procurement processes that we had and to try to remove and eliminate all the risk or as much of the risk out of the build cycle as we possibly can.
And I know in the residential space, builders don’t typically have sophisticated procurement processes, not the individual custom home builder. Yes, large scale, ⁓ you know, national track home builders are going to do things in a more sophisticated way. Even builders that, you know, maybe build up to 20 or 30 homes a year. You know, you may have a sourcing professional procurement specialist that is going to give you some line of sight into risk and where your exposure risk is.
But unless you’re Rain Man as a custom home builder, a single guy who’s building, you know, one to five homes a year, like you’re going to always be stuck dealing with whatever the market gives you because there’s just there’s not a lot of people out there giving it that much. You know, they’re not putting as much effort into it as it probably deserves. And so this past year taught us that we all have to stay focused on that.
⁓ And even on my team, which I would consider to be on the smaller side, you we have 22 employees, you know, the folks that are responsible for purchasing, responsible for having some visibility and some, you know, and some foresight into cost, they’re leveraging tools now that make us a lot more strong and help us protect our margins and our clients resources in a more significant way.
Michelle Kesil (20:22)
Yeah, absolutely. That is super important to note and be aware of.Brad Robinson (20:27)
yeah.Michelle Kesil (20:27)
What are some goals or exciting things that you’re looking forward to for your business in this year?Brad Robinson (20:34)
Yeah, this year we’re, you know, what’s great is that we’re starting the year off ⁓ looking at a project, a revenue projection that’s double of that of last year. And I know that I speak for probably myself and several of the builders that are in my direct, you know, reference group as having some of the similar.projections. And so I think 25 was the year of pause and see and kind of see how things go. I think that there’s still a lot of pent up demand ⁓ coming into 26. And I think that just what we have on what we have contracted at this point is going to be wild. So I’m excited to see our team maximize full efficiency.
and handle it with grace. think that that’s an encouraging piece for me is knowing that we’re staffed and ready to support the business that we have. But I’m excited to see, you know, really what the last quarter of the year, you know, I’m thinking about Q4 right now. I’ve been very fortunate, at least on the home building side of things. We’re completely sold out for the first, you know, 10 months of the year, transparently. And the projects that we are delivering on
in 25, some of them began concept in 24. The new projects going into 26 started in the late part of 24. if a project got started today, for instance, or not getting started, but went into the planning phase, 10, 12, 14 months getting into production would be fast. So I’m encouraged. I’m encouraged by.
the new projects that’ll come into the fold, because I know some of them are going to be portfolio driving projects. ⁓ I’m excited because the investments that we’ve been able to cultivate ⁓ are going to drive strong returns for our investors. And I think this is a year where I’m excited that a lot of, there’s going to be a lot more people involved in what I’m doing that are going to share in the rewards.
of how much value we’re creating. And I think that that’s really exciting because for, you know, while I’ve had investors in the past, I’ve never had a fund that was this big, right? So having $50 million to deploy and execute is, ⁓ you know, is a massive number comparatively. And I think that, you know, seeing those investors or cutting those investors checks is gonna be probably the most fun thing I get to do.
because everybody is now sharing in the success of how strong this market is.
Michelle Kesil (23:04)
Absolutely, that’s exciting. So before we wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect, collaborate, where can people find you and reach you?Brad Robinson (23:13)
Yeah, the easiest way is to is to find me at the website. So www.bradfordequity.com. ⁓ If you’re interested in our custom home building products, it’s just as easy. It’s bradfordbuilds.com. Try to make that really easy. And then you can always find us on Instagram. You know, our portfolio is basically alive and in a living fashion over at Instagram. It’s at bradfordbuilt. And you can see current ongoing projects all the time.Michelle Kesil (23:42)
Perfect. Appreciate your time, your story, your perspective. Thank you for being here.Brad Robinson (23:46)
Yeah, thanks, Michelle.Michelle Kesil (23:47)
For the listeners tuning in, if you got value, make sure you’ve subscribed. We’ve got more conversations with operators like Brad who are building real businesses. We’ll see you on our next episode.
