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Show Summary
In this episode of the Investor Fuel podcast, host Michelle Kesil interviews Lance Moore, an architect and interior designer based in the Tampa Bay region. Lance shares his journey into architecture, the challenges he faces in his new business, and his innovative approach to residential design. He discusses the importance of networking, collaboration, and community engagement in the architecture industry, as well as his future goals and projects. The conversation highlights the significance of consistency, building relationships, and adapting to market demands in the architectural field.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Lance Moore (00:00)
My biggest roadblock or barrier to entry is just finding a ⁓ pool of investors or funding that I can access readily, because opportunities ⁓ in my industry present themselves all the times with a depressed market, ⁓ real estate, especially with dirt. ⁓ We have a lot of off-market clients
That come to us looking to get rid of land. ⁓ So yeah, I have a lot of opportunity and I would like to move quick on that.
I could just build that network around me where I could call upon them and access that financial capital when needed and then we can all benefit from that.
Michelle Kesil (02:09)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Investor Fuel podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil. And today I’m joined by someone I’ve been looking forward to chatting with, Lance Moore, who’s been making serious moves in the architectural design space. So really glad to have you on the show, Lance. I think the listeners are really going to take something away from how you’re approaching building your architecture business. So let’s dive in.
Lance Moore (02:37)
Yeah, I’m happy to be here. I appreciate the opportunity to have this platform, and I look forward to the discussion.
Michelle Kesil (02:44)
Yeah, so first off, for people who may not be familiar with you and your world, can you give the short version of what your main focus is?
Lance Moore (02:54)
so I’m practicing currently in the architectural and interior design space, offering architectural services to the greater Tampa Bay region, ⁓ primarily currently focusing on single family residences and design build. ⁓ So yeah, anything from schematic design to ⁓ construction documents and permit.
Michelle Kesil (03:14)
Amazing. And yeah, how did you get into all of this?
Lance Moore (03:18)
Man, yeah, it started a long time ago. ⁓ Architecture is a long road. So it’s one of those professions you kind of have to know that’s what you’re wanting to pursue early on. ⁓ It’s a long road in education, seven years of education. And then you have another 5,600 hours of internship, development program, and stuff like that, ADP, IDP. It changes. ⁓ And then you have licensing and licensure, et cetera. ⁓ Yeah, so no, think
Michelle Kesil (03:22)
Hehehe.
Lance Moore (03:48)
younger on I thought I was going to go into fine arts and I needed to find a profession that I can apply that that love and passion to. Architecture just happened to be that medium that I could ⁓ take up and I loved it and I won’t go back.
Michelle Kesil (04:05)
Amazing. And I know you mentioned you just recently started your own architecture business. So can you share a little bit about what you’re offering and how your business is working?
Lance Moore (04:18)
Yes.
So, yeah, I’ve been in the industry for over a decade in different markets. I started in the higher end hospitality market with nightclubs, bars, restaurants in different regions of the world. Out of that, I went more into higher end, really technical industrial design with some big players in the market, healthcare.
And I’m taking now that breadth of knowledge that I’ve gained from all those different markets and aspects and spatial design and applying it to residential architecture, which is a kind of unique approach. ⁓ I’m doing that ⁓ in the single family realm, higher end
single family homes and spec homes. ⁓ So yeah, so after working a decade with different corporations and businesses, I’ve decided to step out on my own, offer that knowledge and breadth of experience to the local and greater Tampa Bay region.
it.
Michelle Kesil (06:03)
That’s exciting. What has been the key to keeping that business running smoothly?
Lance Moore (06:10)
Yeah, so there’s a lot, obviously with any business, there’s always roadblocks and barriers to entry. ⁓ I would say it’s just consistency. Right now, ⁓ there’s a lot of players in the market after coming out of 2020 for sure, ⁓ but it’s just staying consistent. I’m sure a lot of those will fall off ⁓ and it’s just offering ⁓ honest. ⁓
to the Tampa Bay region. And I think over time, ⁓ that consistency and morals and ethics ⁓ will be felt in the community. ⁓ yeah, I’m looking forward to the challenges and what lies ahead in my future.
Michelle Kesil (07:01)
Absolutely. So what are you most focused on solving in your business right now?
Lance Moore (07:08)
Yeah,
my biggest roadblock or barrier to entry is just finding a ⁓ pool of investors or funding that I can access readily, where I don’t have to access ⁓ more traditional funding ⁓ methods. And that being is because opportunities ⁓ in my industry present themselves all the times with a depressed market, ⁓ real estate, especially with dirt. ⁓ We have a lot of off-market clients
that come to us looking to get rid of land. ⁓ So yeah, I have a lot of opportunity and I would like to move quick on that. It’s a lot, it would be a lot easier ⁓ to grab opportunities before all those other players in the market that I mentioned ⁓ have access to those same lots as well. So if I could just build that network around me where I could call upon them and access that financial capital when needed and then we can all benefit from that.
Michelle Kesil (08:08)
Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, a lot of the people listening to this are investors or people looking to level up in that space. how can you guys collaborate, maybe share more about that?
Lance Moore (08:22)
Yeah, so ⁓
I think it’s all about pulling ⁓ money together. mean, there’s different types of fractional ownership and stuff out there, but I think just ⁓ establishing a ⁓ relationship with.
A few individuals, obviously there would probably be some due diligence involved ⁓ in case studies, a reference to past work and projects that I’ve completed. Obviously there is some trust there that I have to build with that group of investors, but I think once that is completed and ⁓ they’re comfortable with what I have to offer ⁓ and the product is found.
And they understand that it’s just ⁓ having potentially a fund. I thought about having opening a fund where, know, it’s ⁓ high interest or maybe invested somewhere ⁓ so that the capital or the principal is always there and I have access to it and can draw on it and then pay back kind of my own ⁓ mini bank for funding my projects, I guess. Obviously, it would be fully transparent. We would work those percentages out upfront depending on pay
Michelle Kesil (08:58)
having a fund. I thought about having a fund where it’s high interest or maybe invested somewhere so that the capital or…
Lance Moore (09:27)
back periods and stuff like that. ⁓ Obviously, certain markets aren’t going to sell quicker than others. ⁓ I’m confident, knowing what’s going on here in Tampa, that we can move these properties very quickly.
Michelle Kesil (09:41)
Yeah. So every operator I know has a moment in business where things felt real. Maybe a deal went sideways or you had to make a fast pivot. Would you mind sharing one of those moments that you’ve experienced?
Lance Moore (09:54)
Mm-hmm.
Michelle Kesil (10:35)
Yeah. I would say.
Lance Moore (10:34)
Yeah,
I would say in my
realm, it’s not less on the deal ⁓ in regards to financing and stuff. It’s more on reacting to comments from the city that may have major impacts on what we had planned coming into the project. So maybe it’s a FAR issue. It’s affecting how many units we can get on the property or in my situation in single family homes, would be ⁓ a client coming in expecting that we were going to have an accessory unit in the back where they would have
Michelle Kesil (10:41)
Right?
Lance Moore (11:06)
that
cash flow, all of a sudden they’re not able to. So now we have to look into other ways to hack the house out in order to help
access that capital per month to help their mortgage burden. I work with a lot of first time home buyers in that situation where they’re trying to get into a home, they may not be able to afford it completely. So I find unique ways for them to access capital and or turn their home on when they need it to raise some capital. So yeah, so it’s more on the permitting for me and my profession.
reacting to comments and stuff like that that may impact the overall project.
Michelle Kesil (11:43)
Yeah,
So what are you most focused on in terms of like new goals in your business? ⁓
Lance Moore (11:53)
Yeah,
first and foremost is just getting my company’s name out there, Molt.Live. It’s just gaining that traction. I just stepped out. I’ve been always have been associated with other developers, so it’s hard, been hard for me in conflict of interest to actually promote fully what I do and what I have done and accomplished. so I’m one it’s, you know, it’s a something that I’m to focus on. I think it, you know,
It’s always obviously going to be a challenge to drive that traffic. But I’m also looking forward to it because it’s also the first time I’m able to freely talk about what I do and how I do it.
Michelle Kesil (12:35)
Yeah, amazing. So what kind of like architectural builds are you most focused on?
Lance Moore (12:44)
I’m primarily only currently I mean I’m open to any types of projects primarily only looking at high Single-family residences ⁓ Right now I’m primarily I would say half my clients are on ⁓
Unfortunately, hurricane builds, so their reaction to hurricane damage that we had last year. We had three hurricanes come through this region last year. It devastated this region. There’s a lot of projects along the beaches, whether that’s renovation work ⁓ or rehabilitation. ⁓ It gets really complicated because there’s a lot of different. ⁓
variables in the permitting of what’s actually going to go underneath a storm repair and what’s going to go underneath a new building permit. So that has taken up a lot of my time. ⁓
And but it’s also been fun learning. ⁓ And then the other portion of my business is design build. So that’s ⁓ looking for different specs, helping other developers look for property. That has been the fun part, coming up different marketing campaigns and stuff like that to drive those projects. So now I get to kind of implement that on my personal ⁓ projects, which ⁓ the community will start seeing ⁓ with.
Harper residence will be my first spec that is public. ⁓ And so I’m looking forward to sharing that journey.
Michelle Kesil (14:10)
Yeah, can you expand on some of those projects that you’re focused on right now?
Lance Moore (14:15)
Yeah, so I have
a
different ⁓ projects. are various stages. ⁓ One really interesting one is kind of outside of my typical wheelhouse is for a significant client in St. Pete area off of an area region they call Snell Isle. ⁓ It was affected ⁓ mostly by flooding. They’re an open water, so they had a lot of ⁓
to action. ⁓ And so it’s interesting because it’s even though there’s different parts, some of it is structural and interior. It’s the first time I’m tackling an entire, I would say it’s more hardscape, more
entertainment, outdoorscape, ⁓ massive pool, a lot of unique features and stuff like that. ⁓ But ⁓ although I’ve done that in the past, I’ve never really had ⁓
as much ⁓ complexities in the back. It’s such a limited area that’s affected by code, by FEMA, and by what the client wants. it’s also a really unique project where both of his neighbors have decided to completely demolish their homes after the hurricanes and they’re rebuilding. So they’ll be at different flood elevations. So yeah, it’s just a really unique project.
Michelle Kesil (16:22)
That’s exciting, awesome. And are you like collaborating or creating these projects with other people or how does that work?
Lance Moore (16:33)
Yeah, it depends. ⁓ I’m fully capable of taking a project ⁓ from start to finish. That’s what I would prefer because I keep it in-house. But obviously we all know that’s not the case. typically work with outside interior designers, ⁓ typically clients. From my experience, they always have a family friend, someone they already have a relationship with that they feel ⁓ they want to work with on the interiors. And then I have… ⁓
I’ve…
In my practice, I’ve never ⁓ believed in that it’s a ⁓ full handoff. So I collaborate heavily with interior designers in making sure that the project stays cohesive. It doesn’t look like it touched two different ⁓ designers’ hands. I think that’s really important to the ⁓ success of the project, especially ⁓ when you’re in two different offices and potentially the interior designer isn’t aware or ⁓ hasn’t been a part of the full ⁓ extent
of the project and doesn’t understand some of the challenges that we’re up against architecturally. So it’s great to be transparent ⁓ and really open communication throughout the entire build in that regards. ⁓ Other, yeah, I collaborate with other subs, outside subs all the time, know, ⁓ pool subs, low voltage, ⁓ electricians and all that. ⁓ But yeah, so primarily my main collaborators are interior designers, landscape designers.
myself, the architect. And then the one last key to that puzzle is whoever the builder is or contractor.
Michelle Kesil (18:11)
Amazing and when it comes to growing your
and building those relationships what has made the biggest difference for you?
Lance Moore (18:22)
Yeah, unfortunately, naturally, I’m an introvert. I have to really challenge myself to get out and network Tampa with what has been going on in the region with these massive development projects, both in St. Pete and Tampa. There’s a ton of real estate networking events going on almost every night here. So I need to challenge myself to get out. ⁓
I know LinkedIn, Lineable, these other platforms has also offered a lot of help. ⁓ And mostly just ⁓ connecting. That’s more on the micro level, local. ⁓ Yeah, I mean, I’m still exploring unique ways of gaining traction. ⁓
sponsoring a fundraiser on Thursday. It’s called hashtag but it’s my body. You can potentially see that drop on my Instagram at Mr. Cotain. ⁓ So those are other unique ways. If that fundraiser does well then I could potentially be a sponsor at a gala which I could extend my ⁓ network there for architectural services in
region as well. I don’t know it’s just thinking outside the box. Everyone chooses the same
channels, ⁓ you have to really ⁓ be ⁓ unique and different. We live in a copy-paste world,
Michelle Kesil (19:44)
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely. That is so true. Yeah. So what kind of like projects are you excited to create? Is there any like things that you’re envisioning for your future?
Lance Moore (20:01)
Yeah so I would mostly focused on ⁓ the Harper residence is it’s the name of it. But ⁓ to expand that further the Harper residence is kind of a test of a as a model and a concept that I’ve been working on. ⁓ I launched the line of homes with the developer down in St. Pete that really focused on ⁓ accessing low income families. We ran into it quickly
a roadblock with ⁓
what that really means to be affordable in the Bay Area. And so just with the building materials and stuff like that, was really hard to get as a one-off builder, to get this cost down enough to really fall within that 120 % AMI in my region. So I had to look elsewhere and try to figure out a floor plan that would allow various, you know.
arrangements so that the Inhabitor could use it in multiple different variations. I took that knowledge and that experience that I gained from building those projects. We had eight projects running with the
one floor plan, ⁓ three different elevation designs, but they all implemented this house hacking idea and concept. There were some issues with that floor plan, although we got them all approved, they all went through, they’re all permanent. So we got through those barriers. It’s just the circulation issues and some other privacy and public issues that could have been addressed. And I solved all those in a new floor plan. ⁓ It is a little bit inefficient in regards to I chose not to go
two stories and keeping it at one story. ⁓ And there are some reasons to that. ⁓ In the hackability of a home, one of the biggest reasons you would hack a home is for intergenerational living, which ⁓ is really taking off here in Tampa. So, know, mother-in-laws are ⁓ dads, moms that move back in with their kids. ⁓ And or here in Tampa, we’re seeing a lot of ⁓ medical issues with ⁓
extended care services and stuff like that. Those all need to be one story with ADA. ⁓ So yeah, so yeah, so I’m pushing that model. think it has the ability to also be superimposed on some other concepts with fractional ownership. ⁓ And so yeah, I’m looking forward to exploring that and what that means to this market.
Michelle Kesil (22:35)
Yeah, amazing. That is so exciting. Thank you for sharing all of that. And yeah, before we wrap up here, if someone wanted to connect, collaborate, learn more about what you’re doing, what’s the best way for them to reach you?
Lance Moore (22:51)
Yeah, first and foremost, ⁓ info at Molt, M-O-L-T dot live. ⁓ Molt is the name of my company that stands for Modern Organic Living Typologies. Shoot me an email. ⁓ Go check out Molt dot live. ⁓ And that’s the website. And then you can follow my personal, if you want to, Instagram, where I share a lot of my photography stories ⁓ at Mr. Cotain.
Michelle Kesil (23:18)
I really appreciate your time, your story and perspective. We need more people in this space doing things in this right way. So thank you again for being here.
Lance Moore (23:28)
I appreciate it. Thank you, Michelle.
Michelle Kesil (23:31)
And for those that are tuning in, if you got value from this, make sure you’ve subscribed. We have more
coming with operators just like Lance who are out here building real businesses. And we’ll see you in the next episode.
