How to Raise Capital for Real Estate Deals Using AI, Social Media and Investor Trust

Corban Tomlinson (00:00)
The AI, to a certain degree, can interact with people at a very high level to exchange basic information. And then what we found is a real differentiator in today’s world is the human – us, the guys actually involved in the business doing the project. We get on the phone, we explain the details, the nuances, the opportunity, the risks, all those things. And so we’re really trying to develop these relationships with many investors in under a time constraint and do it well and also these relationships for the long term.

Meghan Escobar (02:03)
Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros podcast, hosted by Investor Fuel. I am your host today, Meghan Escobar, and I have the pleasure of sitting down with an incredible young man here. Corban Tomlinson, co-founder and owner of Georgetown Partners. And I’m really – I’m excited about this conversation. He’s got a very specific niche. And I think our audience is definitely gonna walk away with some great insights from your journey and the way that you’ve built your business. Your main focus is, you know, raising capital and identifying partners for entrepreneurs in the real estate world. So, talk to us a little bit more. Well, first and foremost, thank you so much again for being here. So, let’s dive in and for, for those of those people in our audience that might not be familiar with your world and, you know, give us a thirty-thousand-foot view of what your main focus is these days and the markets that you’re operating in.

Corban Tomlinson (02:59)
Cool. Yeah, I’d be happy to. Thank you again for having me. I’m really excited about this conversation. So, starting from the top, I own a company named Georgetown Partners with a partner named Mario Levine. He and I founded that company in late 2017. And really, we started out as a small entrepreneurial real estate investment company. And we were what’s called a sponsor. And so what a sponsor is, is the group that kind of leads the charge, organizes everything, and is responsible for execution. So more practically, that means we raise the capital, meaning the equity from investors. We secure the debt, whatever’s needed. And then we are the ones that identify the project itself, do the due diligence, put together the business plan, and then we’re responsible for actually executing that. So, as a real estate sponsor, also known as a GP or general partner, we’re really the ones leading the charge, organizing, and executing. And we had that model for basically the past eight years or so. During that time, we raised about 85 million of equity to acquire or develop 15 projects. We had an array of investors, array of lenders, were different types of real estate. Initially, we started in medical office doing what’s called value-add or opportunistic value-add, where we acquired properties that were underutilized, under-occupied. We came in, we invested capital to improve the look and feel and quality of the property itself. And then we leased it up to stabilize it with, in that case, doctor groups and other healthcare practitioners. We then kind of shifted over the course of a few years to focus more exclusively on multifamily. And that included traditional apartments as well as townhome developments. We’ve owned and operated everything from garden styles or suburban garden-style apartments to urban rent control and/or affordable projects. So we really had a, a breadth of experience. The company Georgetown Partners was really focused in the DMV, which is the D.C., Maryland, Virginia corridor, the Mid-Atlantic. We had done a few deals in Southern California. We’d also done projects in the Carolinas, Florida, and Pennsylvania. And so that opportunity led us to learn a lot of things. We were a small entrepreneurial shop and we learned a lot and we had a lot of success, a lot of challenges, but I think that might be the thirty-thousand-foot summary.

Meghan Escobar (06:16)
I love it. I love it. Thank you so much. And, you know, one thing that really caught my attention was – you, you mentioned a new project that you’re working on and it, it sounds like a, a really great opportunity for you guys to flow with Flow Capital. With Flow Capital coming about and what really inspired me was the way that you talked about integrating AI services into your business platform. And utilizing it for a specific service where you’re still gonna bring that human touch into every opportunity, every deal, that every partnership that you guys create. And, you know, with AI coming in in every aspect, you know, I think that’s something, something to talk about. You know, what, what do you feel is the key to the keeping that human touch into play?

Corban Tomlinson (07:09)
Yeah, I think it’s really important. AI obviously is dominating the entire conversation of society right now. So a little bit of context, too, that’ll make all this make more sense. Georgetown Partners, like I said, was that direct sponsor. In late 2022, we started to identify that we as a small entrepreneurial company had our limitations in terms of capacity. We could do any single task really well, but doing it all really well simultaneously under a timeline, which is always the case in real estate transactions, was a challenge. And so since 2022, we’ve been pivoting our model and our focus towards partnership opportunities. And so we’ll come in and raise the capital for a partner, whether that’s a traditional investor sponsor or a ground-up real estate developer. We found a lot of fellow entrepreneurs have the same capacity issues. And so they really value being able to focus on what they do best, which is build or execute the business plan. They’re always local experts with a primary focus on something in particular. And it allows us to support them by bringing capital and spending the time, effort, and our platform to, to facilitate their deal. And then we can also bring and help standardize the way it’s all structured and the way we approach the investment in totality. Since we’re providing more of that kind of service role now in a partnership context, we’ve gotten really into using social media to advertise our opportunities. And with social media comes a lot of engagement with the outside world. We’re raising capital under the crowdfunding-compliant laws that allow us to reach out to the crowd and then facilitate interest, but that is a high-volume endeavor. So we’re contacting a lot of people. Everybody’s at a different stage in their awareness about what real estate investment is, their background in investing in anything themselves. And so there’s a lot of education. And like I said, we’re always kind of under a timeline constraint. So a major factor is being able to develop rapport and convey and exchange information efficiently, but kind of authentically and genuinely. So to speak to your question directly, on that side of the business, we’ve been integrating AI to make everything more efficient. The administrative tasks, the document flows, the access to things, we can really automate that and make it smart. The AI, to a certain degree, can interact with people at a very high level to exchange basic information. And then what we found is a real differentiator in today’s world is the human – us, the guys actually involved in the business doing the project. We get on the phone, we explain the details, the nuances, the opportunity, the risks, all those things. And so we’re really trying to develop these relationships with many investors in under a time constraint and do it well and also these relationships for the long term. And so that’s really what AI has allowed us to do. It – we’re really trying to utilize it as a tool. We’ve seen a lot of trends in business where AI is becoming the forefront. It’s almost becoming the reason to get rid of staff and, and other things, make everything under the guise of efficiency. But we’re really trying to just utilize it as the tool that it can be, which is a extremely effective and efficient analytical tool. And then the differentiator that we think we have and we’re developing is to really add that human element of authentic communication and building partnerships. Which is really the core essence of our business.

Meghan Escobar (11:13)
It’s beautiful and I think it’s the core essence of building proper relationship is kind of the core of real estate relationship.

Corban Tomlinson (11:21)
It is. Yeah. Right. That’s a good point. Very much so, as opposed to just traditional finance. Right. Real estate has always been the tangible thing that you can touch, see and feel, and then people use it. So it’s paramount.

Meghan Escobar (11:33)
Yeah. It doesn’t run without the human, right?

Corban Tomlinson (11:36)
That’s right, exactly. Exactly.

Meghan Escobar (11:38)
Wow, thanks for that share, Corban. I was – that was – there were some gems there. So get your pens out, folks. Yeah. And, you know, every operator or entrepreneur that I know and, and I’ve had the opportunity to sit with, there’s always a moment in their journey where things got real. Maybe that’s a time or a deal that had gone sideways or a time they had to pivot really fast. Do you mind sharing one of those moments for you?

Corban Tomlinson (11:43)
Yeah. We have a lot of those moments. I’ll touch on a few I think that could be helpful. We started that company, like I said, Georgetown Partners originally late 2017, so effectively 2018. So we were only really two years into the business when COVID hit and we owned office property and apartment property, and the, the environment was just totally unknown. Nobody really knew what to do. It was a very interesting time because everybody kind of worked together and then looking for a solution. It was one of those we’re all in this together type of moments. And I think we weren’t really conscious of it at the time, but we really appreciated that that dynamic that was created. Since then, as the economies recovered and life kind of got back to normal, it’s become – business feels a little bit more transactional again. And so I think part of what we’re trying to recreate. On the real estate side with partners is like really coming in and being a true partner. It’s not just about extracting as much profit as efficiently as possible. And it’s not just about like how much and how fast you can do, but it’s really about the quality of how that all gets done. And we’ve just had those experiences time and time again. In 2021 to 2022, that’s when interest rates started to really skyrocket and it happened at a really fast pace. So that created a lot of uncertainty again, forced people to kind of work together to find creative, creative solutions, both with our partners, with our lenders, with our tenancy. There’s just again, kind of going back to this theme, real estate is a – is the business of people, and then in the box or whatever it is we build for the people. And so it, it’s tied hand in hand. So it’s really just proven to us time and time again that the quality of relationships are really the most important factor. And hopefully as we continue to build out this new opportunity for partnering and raising capital through social media, we can just create an environment that’s really just cooperative and collaborative.

Meghan Escobar (14:41)
Beautiful. And, you know, this is the kind of stuff I feel people don’t talk about enough. I mean, we live in such a highlight world, right? Where everybody is sharing their wins and their success and not what it takes behind the scenes to, to, to reach those types, those heights. Yep. Right. Wow. Perfect. And it also separates the folks who are here to just dabble and

Corban Tomlinson (14:45)
Yeah, interesting.

Meghan Escobar (15:05)
maybe create a few transactions versus the individuals who are here to stay in the game long term. And as you mentioned, a, a a few moments ago, some of these deals that you’re creating in the partnerships that you’re putting together, these are long-term processes. Right. Three years, five years.

Corban Tomlinson (15:24)
So, yeah, yeah, exactly. We’ve – we have a handful of deals that we’ve had since our inception. So pushing nine, 10 years now. And I think to, to your previous question, the context is that it doesn’t always go right. Most of the time there are challenges. In fact, we have kind of like joked about it. The only time you’re really talking to different parties like your property manager or somebody, it’s usually not to like celebrate great news. It’s usually there’s a problem, how do we address it? We need funding, we need a new vendor, we need something. So it really is kind of like a, a solution-oriented business. And it – the highlights are fun, but I think everyone can relate that the last handful of years, especially post-COVID, it’s probably been more challenges and more long-term thinking versus short wins that you can just list as highlights.

Meghan Escobar (16:11)
Yeah, for sure. And let me ask you this, Corban, what are you – what are you and Mario most focused on scaling or solving next? Like what’s the next real big goal for you guys over at Georgetown Partners?

Corban Tomlinson (16:24)
Yeah, absolutely. So our next big goal is to take what we’ve developed under Georgetown Partners as this partnership-oriented model and bring it into its own by starting a new company that we’re calling Flow Capital. And the premise there is to utilize everything we’ve been doing for the last three, four years, which is find new investors by communicating our message publicly. Right now that means social media for the most part, but there will be other avenues. While simultaneously identifying great, high-integrity partners that we want to work with throughout the nation, you know, in theory throughout the world, but for now throughout the United States, and really find good people that have great projects and that the developer, the sponsor, whoever it is, really just like loves doing what they do. And we can help facilitate their ability to do that by raising capital and providing some kind of, like, strategic advisory services just from the fact that we’ve had the benefit of seeing a lot of opportunities nationwide for beyond just our time at Georgetown Partners. But we’ve really, throughout our careers, had the opportunity to touch and feel a lot of different types of assets and investments. And so we think we can help provide some strategic guidance. At the very least, it’s always helpful just to talk to a partner you trust who’s standing kind of outside of the fray. The operator, the developer is always deep in the weeds. And so we can provide some perspective at times. And otherwise, we’re just there to facilitate the investment management process. Interacting with investors, we’re really trying to ramp up the speed, the frequency, and transparency of our communications there. And so this idea of Flow Capital, we haven’t launched it yet, but all the component pieces are there. And so we really want to scale that into something larger, which is builds this community both of real estate partners and prospective investors or existing investors. And one of the things we hope Flow Capital can develop is this idea of a sponsor incubator on the real estate side where kind of best practices and war stories are shared for lack of a better term, amongst this group of partners. And then on the other side with the investors, creating an environment where they obviously get the opportunity to look at the deals that we have, interact with our partners, but then also create just like a, a known location or, yeah, known location where people can exchange ideas and start to develop whatever it is they want to do with people of like mind. Because it does seem thanks to technology which has broken down geographic barriers, there’s really no limitation as to where – who, how, who can connect. You can connect with anyone globally. And so it’s really becoming a function of shared values and shared kind of passion and intention. So all of that hopefully will lead into different types of community groups and masterminds. I think that’s something we’re really excited about. It – it’s still not clarified yet, but with the fundamentals of the business coming together, hopefully that’s the next piece.

Meghan Escobar (19:25)
Sounds huge, and you kind of just planting the seeds for this to, you know, help you guys compound things. Maybe potentially create a little chaos in between us. We know nothing ever actually just flows, right? That’s amazing stuff, Corban. Thanks for sharing. And, you know, and a, a lot of our listeners, they’re either very early on in their journey and you can just getting their feet wet in, in the real estate world, or they’re looking to level up. These

Corban Tomlinson (19:38)
That’s right. That’s right.

Meghan Escobar (19:53)
other individuals who’ve been in the game long term and they’re just looking for the next best opportunity, or I, you know, I really think that they would benefit from hearing this. When it comes to building relationships and growing your network, what has made the biggest difference for you?

Corban Tomlinson (20:02)
Awesome. Yeah, it’s been interesting. We were talking about this earlier. It’s not really something I’d thought about before, but Mario and my background, we came from the more institutional world, if you will, of Wall Street, of, of real estate finance operations. And so we, we kind of were able to learn the tricks of the trade and the processes of how the industry works. But we never really wanted to be part of that world. That’s the main reason we broke off and started our company. We knew we would be smaller and more entrepreneurial than the, the large groups that you probably hear about on TV and that they talk about on CNBC. But we get to do it our way. And we get to work with people we choose and want to work with. And so what we’re really trying to do here with Flow Capital as a combination of what we’re calling the sponsor incubator, which is going to be platform where we can help bring in any level of sponsor real estate professional who wants to never done it, wants to learn all the way through is kind of a battle-hardened operator, but has both information to share as well as can just benefit from hearing real-time information. And then as we develop the sponsor – the investor side of that community, similar in nature, just in terms of communication and information exchange. And so basically, the answer is we want to help contribute to build our own community that kind of mirrors our goals and aspirations and then our kind of way of seeing the world and then just watch, see what happens. That’s watch it evolve. Yeah.

Meghan Escobar (21:41)
Absolutely beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And, you know, that’s something that you just can’t fake. And we talked a little bit about this pre-podcast is, you know, in the real estate world, relationships are really everything.

Corban Tomlinson (21:52)
They are. Yep. That’s right.

Meghan Escobar (21:54)
We need the humans to occupy the, the, the spaces, right? So, all right, perfect. Corban, you know, before we wrap here, if somebody listening in wanted to learn more about what it is that you guys are doing over at Georgetown Partners or even just learn from you, what would be the best way for someone to touch base – is that email, socials, phone number?

Corban Tomlinson (22:00)
That’s right. Yeah, all of the above. We have an Instagram page, we have a LinkedIn page, we have a website. It’s all under Georgetown Partners. We have a blue, blue and black logo. I can share that with you after this call to post and share the link. You can also just email me at Corban, C-O-R-B-A-N, at gtownpartners.com. And, yeah, we’d love to as we’re kind of developing all these new concepts for what we hope Flow Capital can be. We’d love to hear from people and really start engaging in that community building because that will be the foundational backbone of its success and growth. I love it.

Meghan Escobar (22:52)
Perfect. Well, listen, I appreciate your time. I appreciate your story and more importantly, your perspective and the gold that you shared here with us today. We definitely need more people in this space who are doing things the right way. So thank you so much again, Corban, for being here. And for those of you that are tuning in, if you got any value from this, please be sure to hit like and subscribe. We’ve got more conversations coming in with operators, just like Corban Tomlinson here, who are out here building real businesses in real time with real people. Yeah. Okay, we’ll see you on the next episode.