June 8, 2024 • 36 mins
In this episode, we will learn from Christopher Stokes, Co-Founder of Secured Living . Tap in to learn how he is empowering investors with an equitable real estate investment platform.
In this episode, you'll learn about his path into real estate, and share goals for the platform that will allow more investors to tap into real estate investments.
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Episode Transcript
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Sponsor (00:29):
This episode is brought to you in partnership with
Ascentum, which is an awardwinning coaching practice that
helps high performingprofessionals advance and
achieve the promotions and paythey deserve.
Ascend to powerful heights withAscentum.
Kenny (00:45):
What's going on everybody?
My name is Kenny Groom.
I am your host of the BeyondNormal podcast.
I'm excited to be here with youtoday.
We have an incredible founderhere in my home market of
Charlotte.
I'm glad to highlight some ofthe amazing founders that are
just in my backyard.
But without further ado, myguest today is Chris Christopher
(01:07):
Stokes.
He is the co founder of Secureliving.
And in a nutshell, you know,I'll let Chris break down what
the company does, but just aquick little Excerpt on what the
company does right now.
They help real estate companiesraise capital by enabling them
to share sell shares of theirprojects to the general public.
(01:31):
We know that real estate is ahot topic for a lot of folks
right now plenty of investmentopportunities.
And so I'm glad to have Someonelike Chris and You know, he'll
share in a little bit how histeam is growing and how they're
helping to you know, enable Someof those investments for folks
are looking to get in the realestate space, but without
(01:52):
further ado, let me bring ChrisTo the stage right now.
How's it going, Chris?
Chris (01:57):
Good man.
Good.
Can't complain.
Thanks.
Thanks for having me on.
Kenny (02:01):
Appreciate you taking time out of your day.
There's plenty of things youcould be doing like running your
business but you know, I thinkit's really important for
founders, no matter where theyare in their journey to You
know, shed a little bit oflight, you know you know, give
folks a peek behind the curtaininto what they're doing.
(02:21):
So without further ado, I wantto get into the conversation
with you tell folks you know, welike to lead our conversations
off by telling folks a littlebit about your story prior to
you found the secure living.
So give us an idea of what Chriswas doing before you decided to
go on this entrepreneur journeythat you're on right now.
Chris (02:41):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, so on paper I got abackground in finance and
economics.
So that led me to work at Bankof America where I led the
regulatory and compliancedepartment and that right there
in a nutshell, just helped metransition, to starting secure
living now, secure living.
(03:03):
It's a regulated funding portalwith the SEC and FINRA.
So similar to how otherbrokerage accounts and, and
financial institutions areregulated, we're regulated by
the same bodies.
So my background helped me avoida lot of the legal costs to help
start secure living.
And it's real estate based.
I took on real estate that's2019.
(03:26):
Bought my first property fromthere.
I just saw the benefits.
Right.
And one of the reasons my wifeand I actually started the
company, it was to really giveback to community.
Right.
we had our family and friendsthat wanted to invest with us.
And we had took them along fortwo years and we had did pretty
well.
We had, average, I analyzed rateof return of just shy of 20%.
(03:50):
And we were like, how can wescale this?
How can we bring more peopleinvolved?
And when you think aboutreaching other people outside of
your network.
That's when things get, youknow, tricky in terms of the
rules and regulations.
So we, we found that the,company to, you know deal with
some of the rules andregulations that we were facing
to expand with a state Acrossthe U S
Kenny (04:13):
I appreciate that breakdown there.
You, you went through a lot.
I want to go back to, like yousaid When you first started your
career, you got your degree andthen you ended up working for
one of the biggest banks in theworld.
Right.
That that we all know as ahousehold before, like before
even, You know, getting intocorporate America, like like
(04:37):
tell us a little bit about yourbackstory there.
Just trying to gain a little bitof an idea about did you have
some of those thoughts aboutstarting your business prior to,
you know, us Being full fledgedadults in this world?
Right.
Like, tell us a little bit aboutLife before even getting that
degree.
(04:57):
Like, what was it?
Tell us a little bit aboutChris.
Chris (05:00):
yeah.
So you know I grew up a singlehousehold two younger siblings.
And I spent a lot of time withmy, my late uncle and my
grandmother.
And.
You know, looking, looking atit.
Then I thought, yeah, they justwant a free labor, right?
So they were actually realestate.
investors.
So back then they would buy youknow, auctions.
(05:24):
So the houses were run down andthey will have us.
So my grandmother had, sevengrandsons, right?
Have all of us over there.
Painting and cleaning and allthose things.
And back then I was like, Oh,this is something to get us, you
know, keep us out of troublefree labor.
But look at it now that reallyexposed me to real estate and to
(05:44):
say a compliment 20, 30 yearsago in the South, right in
Virginia was amazing.
and from there I'm like realestate.
You know, it's very, veryattractive to me.
And I, when I, you know, went toschool, I learned more about it
and how lucrative and how, youknow, millionaires and
(06:07):
billionaires built that wealthwith real estate.
So that just sparked myinterest.
Kenny (06:12):
Got it.
Got it.
Like that's, you know, thesetypes of pieces of someone's
story, such as yours, Chris, youknow, they often go overlooked
by people.
Right.
And it's like, all right, whydoes somebody end up going down
the career path or just the lifejourney?
That, you know, we all go downas parents or excuse me, as
adults, as parents, right.
(06:34):
And you telling sharing thatlittle piece there, like you
said, like, this is probablysomething that was in you at an
early age.
They sparked some of thatinterest.
And now here you are you've beenin, you've been a part of.
You know, different real estateventures, even from an early
age.
Right.
And so those are the things Ithink you know, people say, you
(06:55):
know, specifically in the blackcommunity, like, you know, we
don't necessarily have.
People in our lives that may beOwned a house or were business
owners, but you know, that's notnecessarily always the case.
There's, there's always beenincredible black business
owners, incredible blackfounders, people willing to take
(07:16):
a chance on themselves.
So I appreciate you sharing alittle bit about, sharing a
little bit about your story andhow that's gotten you to the
point where you are now.
You mentioned earlier on aswell.
I don't know if folks caught itbut your co founder.
is your significant other whichis, I don't think there's
(07:38):
enough, I don't think there'senough people that have shared
what that experience is like.
So can you tell us what it islike Going into business with
your wife?
Chris (07:50):
Yeah, I know it's, it's, it's very interesting, right?
So she's, she's a boss at homeand my boss at work.
I like to joke around and saybut at the start, when we
started first started working onsecure living back in 2021 late
2021, it was, it was challengingfor us, right?
So we had different financialbackgrounds, different, degrees,
(08:11):
right?
So mine was finance andeconomics.
Background regulatory compliancefinance services and banking.
Her background was business andadministrative administration,
and then focus on marketing.
And she was in Medifaction,right?
So two separate backgrounds.
So we really didn't know eachother's style when it comes, you
(08:33):
know, to working.
And I think what helped us earlyon is really delegating and
picking ownership of certaintasks.
Right.
So I typically handle some ofthe client facing you know,
building relationship withpotential real estate investors
that are looking for capital.
She, you know, and then theoperations and the regulatory
(08:54):
side of the business, and shefocused, focuses a lot on the
marketing, things with thewebsite, SEO.
And building relationships withpotential investors.
That's looking to, you know, puttheir capital to work on
different investmentopportunities in our platform.
Once we did that delegation nowthings are, you know smoother,
(09:15):
you don't butt heads, you don'tstep on each other's toes and
who's working on what and who's,who's reaching out to who.
But once we also understood howeach other worked, work
together, it's all, all workingas planned.
Silence.
Kenny (09:31):
I like that man.
I like to hear that, That Ithink that that's something,
Like going into business.
With family or in this case,like your, your significant
other, but that's something thatpeople may just steer away from
cause there, there's always,there's, there's going to be
(09:51):
some conflict and then like, howdo you resolve it?
But I think the great thingabout seeing couples, you know,
go down that path of beingfounders together is like you
just said, like you both kindof, you, you, you both have the
ability to figure out where theother one is good and let that
other one.
you know, let them thrive.
(10:11):
I think that's, that's probablyat the core of being in a
committed relationship withsomebody.
And so I could definitely see,You know, how you can
transition, you know, from justbeing married, successful
family, nucleus family to owningsome businesses together in the
(10:33):
future that I'm looking forwardto seeing more of that, But I
think people gotta do exactlywhat you all did, which was get
in there and figure it out havethose uncomfortable
conversations, You know, adjustaccordingly, which we all do.
Or what hope we hope that peopledo in their personal lives with
(10:55):
the people that they love.
Chris (10:57):
And another thing that just really helped is we're like
minded.
So we were, you know, we havethe same goals, same aspirations
when it comes to comes to termsof the business and what we want
to see and what we want toaccomplish with our business.
I
Kenny (11:22):
on, on, prior to you, you know, your experiences as a
young, a young person, like withreal estate.
So I'm curious, like, like, howdo you all, like for kids and
things like that, do you seethem being a part of this just
naturally?
Or do you?
Do you think that you'll, likelet them, let them find their
(11:46):
own kind of passions?
Like, how do you, how do, howdo, you start thinking about
some of those things you'redoing now?
Chris (11:52):
mean, that's a great question.
So we have a daughter that's,that's, you know, one and a
half.
So she, she hasn't really reallyexperienced real estate to, to
the extent that I did when I wasyounger, but our nephew who's
about eight, right?
So we.
So we do, a lot of differentstrategies in real estate.
(12:12):
So a lot goes to forcedappreciation where we, you know,
renovate distressed propertiesor also, fix and flips.
So we have him come in and, andhe has the tape, right?
So we asked him to point out allthe flaws and all the mistakes
that he see in the house.
Rule number one, that was amistake because he put tape
(12:32):
everywhere, a little, little mixor, you know paint on the floor
or whatever.
But that alone, you know, showthat he really was thorough and
he enjoyed it and we've take ourfamily and some of our friends
to all the properties that, weinvest in just to see our
vision.
And then we also once it'slisted or before it gets rented,
(12:54):
we take them, through and they,okay.
Are amazed at thetransformation.
So I think just having thatexposure may spark some
interest.
And of course, you know we wantour children and grandchildren
to do you know what they're ledto do Right.
But if we could have some smallinfluence in an investment
(13:16):
vehicle that's known to buildwealth, we would definitely
continue to them towards that,especially when it comes to
passive right now?
like in our active, but when itmoves the passive invest.
Kenny (13:28):
Got it Got it That made, that makes sense.
Having your nephew go throughsome of those experiences, early
on in life, you know, the hopeis that, you know, when they get
to a point where they have theirown properties, like they can
not have some of those, youknow, bump on the head moments
(13:49):
that you have being you know, anearly Active real estate
investor.
So like, can you share like someof the, some of the The growing
lessons that you have learnedbeing in real estate.
Like I can think back to myexperience.
I'll share just real quickly.
Us buying our first property,noticing that things weren't
(14:14):
necessarily in the shape that wethought they were when we first
moved in.
and so instantly from day one,you're having to fix.
Fix shit pretty much.
And then you don't expect that.
So like, can you walk throughsome of like those experiences
that you had that you'releveraging now that you, you're,
you're looking to sink yourteeth a little bit further in
(14:35):
the real estate.
Chris (14:36):
Yeah, when it comes to I'm going to do separate
experiences when it comes to ourpersonal portfolio.
We found out that we are notyour traditional house flippers
house flipping in general is notfor us.
And it's just too much.
Requires too much, you know,work, too much time up front and
(14:58):
too much managing, you know,contracting.
We've seen the most success offour, our buy and hold portfolio.
And they've seen the mostgrowth, right.
And we know over time,historically, you know, real
estate has been seeing thegrowth three to 5 percent
annually.
And even on down, down marketsthat we see now, it's
opportunity to, to buy it alittle bit attractive price.
(15:21):
So I, I, I think just findingyou know, what you can and what
you cannot do.
I myself, you know, sometimestrying to do too much because
I'm good at, you know, learningthings you can be out YouTube
these days.
You can really know how to do alot of things with the house,
but you have to really figureout, Where's your time more
valuable?
(15:42):
So the key lesson that we'velearned is, you know, one
flipping houses after a thirdone, isn't a strategy that we my
wife and I are, will stick with,we prefer, you know, buying
holds and we've seen the mostsuccess of that and the most you
know, stable cash flow and, and,and potential growth in our, in
(16:06):
our network.
And then as far as for secureliving or funding portal
platform, I think what weLearned from was this might be a
sound a little negative, but wereally know who your close
family and friends are when itcomes to getting their actual
(16:27):
support.
You know, as we built thebusiness plan and as we shared
ideas with them.
We get good feedback.
And then when it comes to, okay,we're launching, we need some
additional support, whetherit's, you know, sharing our
content that we pushed just, youknow, sharing with their
network, what we're doing justsharing some of their, our
(16:49):
investment opportunities that's,that's, that's on the platform
that was literally non existent,right?
So we went to, you know, acouple of family and friends.
It's like, Hey, everybody doingbest.
Got the money.
And then when the time comes andwe have launched several deals,
you know, nothing.
So that was just the eye openerfor us.
We thought we had a, a greaterbacking or more supportive
(17:12):
backing, until the time cameand, you know, I just fell off.
So
Kenny (17:18):
you, you're dropping gems, Chris.
I appreciate it.
The friends and family kind ofeven from like an an investment
perspective or even just asupport perspective, in our
community in black communitiesin particular and definitely is
a hot topic, right.
Cause you may have that initialidea.
(17:39):
Some of the people within yourcircle may push you to, to go
and explore it, but when it'stime to You know, pay up, right?
That's where you need the rubberto meet the road.
And a lot of times you won'tnecessarily, You know, get, you
know, 10 people who told you togo for it to actually support
(17:59):
with some dollars and you mayhave to actually look outside of
your core network and, you know,just expand out.
In my experience is what Ifound.
And that's okay.
I, I think, In particular Ithink That's why it's so
interesting that For you andyour wife to be co founding a
(18:21):
business.
Cause a lot of times peopledon't even, they go away from
family, family businesses, likethey don't even like look at it.
Right?
And so I think you, What you'redoing with secure living, which
I want to hop into right afterthis, I think it's, you're
really going to be trying toprove some people wrong and
specifically in the blackcommunity around building
(18:42):
together.
You know, with your nucleusfamily and the folks that, you
know, you speak to every day,like there's ways to do it
without you you all hating eachother's guts at the end of the
day, if I can be frank.
And so I want to dig into secureliving now tell us a little bit,
(19:04):
around, I honestly, I gave, Igave like a high level view of
it, but I want you to dig intoit.
I know you're, you're familiarwith it.
The regulations around the spacein terms of investing.
So I want folks to get a goodidea of how they can leverage
and tap into secure living as apotential investment
opportunity.
Chris (19:25):
I'll start by highlighting one of the reasons
why we saw this again.
And so we wanted to make,investing actually attainable
for the average person.
Right?
So what we do is, is, is beingdone today.
But only, you know, the wealthyhave access to it and what they
(19:47):
turn, they coined the term nonaccredited investor.
So we wanted to open that up tothe average person.
Right?
So, anyone that does not have anetwork of a million dollars or
does not make 200, 000 dollars ayear.
So we, you know, we work withreal estate developers or
investors, right?
That's looking to.
(20:07):
Diversify their capital stack.
So whether it's traditionalfinancing, harmony, lending, or
want to raise equity, ourplatform allows them to raise
equity from you know, people,it's anyone from the U.
S.
That's 18 or older.
That can have 500 to invest.
Right?
So we have a lower minimuminvestment threshold in our
(20:29):
competitors.
and we just, we know that 97, 94percent of the the U.
S.
Fits into this non accreditedinvest, you know, investor
category.
So open up the doors to realestate investing.
And that was our primary, one ofour primary objectives.
(20:49):
And long term, you know, we wantto be, you know, the Amazon of
real estate where individualscan come on our platform and see
deals spending all across the U.
S.
and they can pick and choose.
build their own passiveportfolio without the headaches,
you know, late night calls tofix toilets or, scheduling calls
with contractors and withoutthat headache, they can sit back
(21:13):
and you know, potentially watchtheir money grow.
Kenny (21:16):
I like that.
As you were explaining it, I wasthinking along the lines of, In
real estate, I compare it tolike some of the biggest tech
brands we think of in the world.
The thing that just came out,right.
Is the the Apple vision prosthat costs a couple thousand
(21:36):
dollars.
And for somebody looking atthat, right.
Saying, Hey, I can't, you know,I can't, everybody can't afford
right to, to pay for thesegoggles.
And if there's no real use casefor you having it besides it,
just looking to trying to look acertain way, but that doesn't
necessarily mean you can'tinvest in Apple stock or
something like that.
Like you can't invest in some ofthese entities and reap some of
(21:59):
those benefits.
And I really like the point thatyou mentioned around for those
who aren't necessarily ready toembark on a real estate journey
where they're, they're, owning aproperty and they're, they've
got to be super active.
Right?
You mentioned that word a coupleof times.
I think I think that's reallyimportant.
(22:19):
You know, I, I know some peoplethat you know, most recently
they bought, they, theypurchased their first home and
they found out like owning ahome is not for them.
They don't want to put up withthe maintenance.
They don't want to do a lot ofthose things that come along
with it.
They don't want to payinsurance.
They don't want to pay fortaxes.
They just want, they want torent, right?
And so they actually flippedaround within like a year or two
(22:42):
and sold their house.
That's okay.
Right.
But they went through thatprocess of knowing and real
estate is just something it's avaluable thing to get into but
finding out how you can get intoit early on, which I think a
platform like secure livingdoes, I think that's, that's a
really good learning opportunityfor folks.
(23:03):
Like you mentioned the lowerthreshold.
I'll ask you to reiterate thatas well, just so folks know a
little bit more about how they,you know, the minimums and what
they need to do to, to tap intothe platform.
But I really think that's, youknow, that, that, that spot on
that, that explanation you gave.
And as you were talking throughit, I was thinking about like,
(23:23):
man, are you ready to own a homeright now?
But you know, you can stillinvest and reap some of the
benefits of the real estatemarket, which is which is crazy,
ridiculous.
It's just a crazy way thatpeople.
And a significant portion ofAmericans are accumulating
wealth, right?
Not necessarily, an activeresource that you tap into every
(23:44):
single day for, for funds, butit's something that, for the
most part is going to growconsistently over time, like you
said, at three to 5%, those are,those are good numbers.
So can you tell folks a littlebit about a little bit, just
maybe go back to the specificsaround what they need to do, the
minimums, the And the ways thatthey can register and get going
(24:06):
with the platform.
Chris (24:07):
Yeah, very first thing, visit our website, so
securelivingrei.
com, securelivingrei.
com and register for a freeaccount.
Shoot that same email to you toyour mom, your brother, your
sister, your family, everybody.
Right?
So we want to build a communityand potential as the investors
(24:28):
at a low threshold.
So currently our minimum is 500.
now?
the more more potentialinvestors we have on the
platform that can that can be,you know, that can drop it could
be 250 can be 100.
right?
so whatever we need to do toactually, you know, fund these
real estate deals.
And I think you mentioned a goodpoint about, you know, Educating
(24:48):
yourself.
So the deals that we have on theplatform, it's everything about
the deal.
Their financial structure, theuse of funds.
They have tons of documentation.
So as you continue to invest inour platform, you will learn
different strategies differentways, different you know,
experience for the statedevelopers or companies are
(25:10):
structuring their deals byreading some of the material.
And through our platform, youcan also, you know, Basically
communicate with them.
You can, you know, comment ontheir page and have specific
questions.
So it's also, you're investing,you reap some potential benefits
of that investment that youmade, and you're also learning
from the sponsor who's actuallyraising capital.
(25:31):
So I think it's a goodopportunity to expand And deepen
their, their knowledge on realestate.
Kenny (25:39):
I love it.
So you touched on somethingthere in terms of actually
engaging with, the individualswho are putting the, the, the
potential investment property upthere.
So that makes it a two sidedmarketplace, right?
You are actively looking forreal estate investors that made
(26:02):
people that have properties thatthey want people to invest in.
Can you speak a little bit intolike, how, how, how do, how do
those folks, engage with thebrand as well?
Like, is it a similar process?
Like, tell me a little bit aboutthe folks who want to maybe
(26:24):
potentially put a property on asecure living REI.
com.
Like what, what, does that looklike?
Chris (26:30):
Yeah.
So, so today we, we probablyaccept between seven and 10
percent sponsors on our platformbecause we go through a very, in
depth check and review of theactual deals.
Right.
So we're dealing with you know,people's capital, right?
So we want to ensure that wemitigate as much risk as
possible, knowing that allinvestments have risks.
(26:52):
Right.
So we go through backgroundchecks, which checks for You
know, criminal background,financial fraud, anti money
laundering.
We go through deal review.
So we have people that sit onour board who, who worked at
some of these largeorganizations That focused on,
analyzing real estate deals.
(27:12):
So we have deal review to helpmitigate risks that covers
market analysis.
We look at the competency of theactual sponsors and their team.
Is this out of, this strategythat they're trying to deploy,
is it normal for them orsomething new?
Right, so we look at a lot ofdifferent things.
And they also, we bring them tous and they actually pitch their
(27:33):
opportunity.
As well with us and our board sowe can have that those tough
questions and feedback like aprime example, we were reviewing
some some proposals and we aswell as the investors know that.
Property management can beanywhere from 8 to 12%.
Well, and their projections thatwe're putting two to 5%, which
(27:54):
we were like, Hey, this isextremely low.
Well below, you know, a nationalaverages.
So we have those conversations,check out the numbers.
We look at the economic growththat they're predicting.
We just make sure we validateeverything they put on the pitch
deck or on the material thatthey share with us, you know,
checks out
Kenny (28:13):
Got it.
Got it And so there's a.
There's definitely a thorough, athorough background check.
Like, you said I think that'sreally important for, for the
folks who are potentiallylooking at putting their pool
and their money in and investingin the platform to know that
just giving your background andyour co founders background.
Y'all do this right in your day,you do this and you did this for
(28:36):
your career.
and now you're trying to makesure that you apply some of
those rigorous, thorough, youknow, just the thoroughness, the
audits, the dot in your eyes andcrossing your T's that you do
for the bank is it definitelyshould cross over into this
space as we get more folks thatare open to, you know, just, you
(28:57):
know, Investing in stuff thatthey haven't invested into in
the past or even a lot of folksnow, I think for a platform like
this, they're probably going tobe new to investing in some
capacities, right?
And so you got to make sure, youknow, the stamp of approval is
there from a regulatorystandpoint.
Chris (29:15):
exactly.
exactly.
Kenny (29:17):
what else?
I don't, one thing I was curiousabout was the, You being in my
home market of Charlotte, NorthCarolina, the Carolinas,
everybody knows that's where I'mat.
That that's a focus area now,but I guess like longer term
(29:38):
kind of the vision for thecompany are there any areas that
you're looking into expanding tonow or is Carolina, the, go to
market for now?
Chris (29:51):
So we actually just launched a another investment
opportunity outside of theCarolinas, actually in Florida.
So we've been focusing on, thesoutheast, but I think, you
know, people have been hearingabout us and we've been gaining
more traction.
So we, have Individuals fromCalifornia, Michigan approach us
(30:12):
when I list different, you know,this their project.
So, we're still focusing on theCarolinas because that's where
our network is.
And we know we can, you knowhelp explain what we do to our
network.
But as of late, the last twomonths we lost our new our new
platform.
More sponsors have been reachingout to us needing capital.
(30:36):
So we've, we've soon will behave you know best opportunities
not just in one region, buthopefully across the U.
S.
Which can help, you knowpotential investors diversify
their, their passive portfolio.
Kenny (30:52):
I love to hear it.
There's plenty of growthopportunities for folks.
We all see the new developments.
We all see the repurposing andrefurbishing of old
establishments on the, even onthe, whether it's residential or
commercial in terms of thebusiness spaces as well.
I can't remember if you told methis before on that residential
(31:15):
commercial element, are thereany, between investing in.
Residential projects versuscommercial.
And is, is there, is commercialor business spaces, is that on
the, is that a possible way forfolks to invest within a secure
(31:36):
living?
Chris (31:36):
Yeah.
So we we're not biased.
So we actually, We've, we've,we've worked with commercial
residential mixed use.
Someone approaches from Michiganthat wants to build a
manufacturing plant and bringtheir manufacturing business
from, overseas to to state side.
(32:00):
So we we're, we're, we're notbiased.
So anything, everything, youknow, real estate that makes
sense, that we feel and deemhave a low risk.
Tolerance, we will definitelyadvertise on our platform
definitely.
Kenny (32:20):
it.
I mean, I I'm, I'm all for it.
You know, our conversations offair, we, we've talked a little
bit about real, our real estatejourneys.
Glad to see somebody takinginitiative like this.
There's definitely.
folks who, who are interested ina solution like this.
Like you said folks shoulddefinitely sign up for the
(32:42):
platform.
Put that link back up again.
But then tell somebody about it.
And it's just so about awarenessright now.
I'm putting that opportunity infront of folks on analogy that,
you know, I, from my timeworking in corporate America,
when it comes to, marketing andmedia.
(33:03):
Putting different opportunitiesin front of customers.
You know, you look at theretailers, all the businesses
that solicit us every day,whether it's email or mail,
direct mail, which is thetraditional way.
Like it's not up to your mailmanto look through the junk mail
that you get, right?
You're going to get pieces ofjunk mail that your mailman
just.
They don't understand whythey're sending it to you, but
(33:25):
you know, you may get that samepiece 10 times, but it's that 10
time that intrigues you to, goonline and buy something that
you may or may not need.
But that is your, that is youryour opportunity.
So you know, I say that just tosay, you know, don't.
necessarily limit somebodyseeing a platform like this,
(33:46):
make sure on that folks haveawareness that solutions like
this are out there so that theycan give it a look themselves
and make that, you know, makethat decision on whether or not
they want to invest in somethinglike this.
In closing, you know, I justwant to thank you, Chris for,
for you know, shedding light onwhat you're, you're building.
(34:06):
It's amazing to see you and yourco founder Amazing couple, you
know, building this, this typeof platform, leveraging your,
your experience in real estateat a really young age.
And putting that to work tobuild a business and you know,
just leveraging all the thingsthat you've done from a
corporate perspective.
(34:27):
And this new space to, buildsomething for other folks to
benefit from.
You know, I'll leave it to youto, to, to once again, let folks
know how they should, Interactwith the brand, look at things
to look out for.
And then the last closingthought, I'll leave that to you
as we look to on close out thisgreat conversation.
Chris (34:47):
Yeah, thanks.
I definitely think beyond normalfor having me here, but really
us.
So in terms of my wife andcirculate and be able to
represent.
We're looking for potentialinvestors, potential sponsors.
We want to, you know, build thiscommunity to help bring
(35:07):
investment opportunities to helpbring capital to those that may
not have access to it.
In terms of last Comment.
So we have interesting pipelinecoming up.
So really stay tuned.
So by registering an account,you'd be registered with our
newsletter and we are, you know,send updates, educational
material about wealth strategiesand wealth building as well.
(35:28):
So it's not just really focused.
So it's really aboutgenerational wealth.
So by registering an account,you get access, you know, to,
to, to all those opportunities.
So stay tuned.
We have Interesting markets thatwe're looking at.
California, Michigan and Atlantacoming up some really big deals
from some known investmentcompanies.
(35:51):
So in the next, you know,hopefully next month or two, we
have those bills on board andthen we have more opportunities
for you to invest and pick andchoose.
Thanks.
Kenny (36:00):
Appreciate that.
Chris for those listening in,thanks for tuning in to another
great episode of the beyond thepodcast Peace.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with
Ascentum, which is an awardwinning coaching practice that
helps high performingprofessionals advance and
achieve the promotions and paythey deserve.
Ascend to powerful heights withAscentum.
Kenny (00:45):
What's going on everybody?
My name is Kenny Groom.
I am your host of the BeyondNormal podcast.
I'm excited to be here with youtoday.
We have an incredible founderhere in my home market of
Charlotte.
I'm glad to highlight some ofthe amazing founders that are
just in my backyard.
But without further ado, myguest today is Chris Christopher
(01:07):
Stokes.
He is the co founder of Secureliving.
And in a nutshell, you know,I'll let Chris break down what
the company does, but just aquick little Excerpt on what the
company does right now.
They help real estate companiesraise capital by enabling them
to share sell shares of theirprojects to the general public.
(01:31):
We know that real estate is ahot topic for a lot of folks
right now plenty of investmentopportunities.
And so I'm glad to have Someonelike Chris and You know, he'll
share in a little bit how histeam is growing and how they're
helping to you know, enable Someof those investments for folks
are looking to get in the realestate space, but without
(01:52):
further ado, let me bring ChrisTo the stage right now.
How's it going, Chris?
Chris (01:57):
Good man.
Good.
Can't complain.
Thanks.
Thanks for having me on.
Kenny (02:01):
Appreciate you taking time out of your day.
There's plenty of things youcould be doing like running your
business but you know, I thinkit's really important for
founders, no matter where theyare in their journey to You
know, shed a little bit oflight, you know you know, give
folks a peek behind the curtaininto what they're doing.
(02:21):
So without further ado, I wantto get into the conversation
with you tell folks you know, welike to lead our conversations
off by telling folks a littlebit about your story prior to
you found the secure living.
So give us an idea of what Chriswas doing before you decided to
go on this entrepreneur journeythat you're on right now.
Chris (02:41):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, so on paper I got abackground in finance and
economics.
So that led me to work at Bankof America where I led the
regulatory and compliancedepartment and that right there
in a nutshell, just helped metransition, to starting secure
living now, secure living.
(03:03):
It's a regulated funding portalwith the SEC and FINRA.
So similar to how otherbrokerage accounts and, and
financial institutions areregulated, we're regulated by
the same bodies.
So my background helped me avoida lot of the legal costs to help
start secure living.
And it's real estate based.
I took on real estate that's2019.
(03:26):
Bought my first property fromthere.
I just saw the benefits.
Right.
And one of the reasons my wifeand I actually started the
company, it was to really giveback to community.
Right.
we had our family and friendsthat wanted to invest with us.
And we had took them along fortwo years and we had did pretty
well.
We had, average, I analyzed rateof return of just shy of 20%.
(03:50):
And we were like, how can wescale this?
How can we bring more peopleinvolved?
And when you think aboutreaching other people outside of
your network.
That's when things get, youknow, tricky in terms of the
rules and regulations.
So we, we found that the,company to, you know deal with
some of the rules andregulations that we were facing
to expand with a state Acrossthe U S
Kenny (04:13):
I appreciate that breakdown there.
You, you went through a lot.
I want to go back to, like yousaid When you first started your
career, you got your degree andthen you ended up working for
one of the biggest banks in theworld.
Right.
That that we all know as ahousehold before, like before
even, You know, getting intocorporate America, like like
(04:37):
tell us a little bit about yourbackstory there.
Just trying to gain a little bitof an idea about did you have
some of those thoughts aboutstarting your business prior to,
you know, us Being full fledgedadults in this world?
Right.
Like, tell us a little bit aboutLife before even getting that
degree.
(04:57):
Like, what was it?
Tell us a little bit aboutChris.
Chris (05:00):
yeah.
So you know I grew up a singlehousehold two younger siblings.
And I spent a lot of time withmy, my late uncle and my
grandmother.
And.
You know, looking, looking atit.
Then I thought, yeah, they justwant a free labor, right?
So they were actually realestate.
investors.
So back then they would buy youknow, auctions.
(05:24):
So the houses were run down andthey will have us.
So my grandmother had, sevengrandsons, right?
Have all of us over there.
Painting and cleaning and allthose things.
And back then I was like, Oh,this is something to get us, you
know, keep us out of troublefree labor.
But look at it now that reallyexposed me to real estate and to
(05:44):
say a compliment 20, 30 yearsago in the South, right in
Virginia was amazing.
and from there I'm like realestate.
You know, it's very, veryattractive to me.
And I, when I, you know, went toschool, I learned more about it
and how lucrative and how, youknow, millionaires and
(06:07):
billionaires built that wealthwith real estate.
So that just sparked myinterest.
Kenny (06:12):
Got it.
Got it.
Like that's, you know, thesetypes of pieces of someone's
story, such as yours, Chris, youknow, they often go overlooked
by people.
Right.
And it's like, all right, whydoes somebody end up going down
the career path or just the lifejourney?
That, you know, we all go downas parents or excuse me, as
adults, as parents, right.
(06:34):
And you telling sharing thatlittle piece there, like you
said, like, this is probablysomething that was in you at an
early age.
They sparked some of thatinterest.
And now here you are you've beenin, you've been a part of.
You know, different real estateventures, even from an early
age.
Right.
And so those are the things Ithink you know, people say, you
(06:55):
know, specifically in the blackcommunity, like, you know, we
don't necessarily have.
People in our lives that may beOwned a house or were business
owners, but you know, that's notnecessarily always the case.
There's, there's always beenincredible black business
owners, incredible blackfounders, people willing to take
(07:16):
a chance on themselves.
So I appreciate you sharing alittle bit about, sharing a
little bit about your story andhow that's gotten you to the
point where you are now.
You mentioned earlier on aswell.
I don't know if folks caught itbut your co founder.
is your significant other whichis, I don't think there's
(07:38):
enough, I don't think there'senough people that have shared
what that experience is like.
So can you tell us what it islike Going into business with
your wife?
Chris (07:50):
Yeah, I know it's, it's, it's very interesting, right?
So she's, she's a boss at homeand my boss at work.
I like to joke around and saybut at the start, when we
started first started working onsecure living back in 2021 late
2021, it was, it was challengingfor us, right?
So we had different financialbackgrounds, different, degrees,
(08:11):
right?
So mine was finance andeconomics.
Background regulatory compliancefinance services and banking.
Her background was business andadministrative administration,
and then focus on marketing.
And she was in Medifaction,right?
So two separate backgrounds.
So we really didn't know eachother's style when it comes, you
(08:33):
know, to working.
And I think what helped us earlyon is really delegating and
picking ownership of certaintasks.
Right.
So I typically handle some ofthe client facing you know,
building relationship withpotential real estate investors
that are looking for capital.
She, you know, and then theoperations and the regulatory
(08:54):
side of the business, and shefocused, focuses a lot on the
marketing, things with thewebsite, SEO.
And building relationships withpotential investors.
That's looking to, you know, puttheir capital to work on
different investmentopportunities in our platform.
Once we did that delegation nowthings are, you know smoother,
(09:15):
you don't butt heads, you don'tstep on each other's toes and
who's working on what and who's,who's reaching out to who.
But once we also understood howeach other worked, work
together, it's all, all workingas planned.
Silence.
Kenny (09:31):
I like that man.
I like to hear that, That Ithink that that's something,
Like going into business.
With family or in this case,like your, your significant
other, but that's something thatpeople may just steer away from
cause there, there's always,there's, there's going to be
(09:51):
some conflict and then like, howdo you resolve it?
But I think the great thingabout seeing couples, you know,
go down that path of beingfounders together is like you
just said, like you both kindof, you, you, you both have the
ability to figure out where theother one is good and let that
other one.
you know, let them thrive.
(10:11):
I think that's, that's probablyat the core of being in a
committed relationship withsomebody.
And so I could definitely see,You know, how you can
transition, you know, from justbeing married, successful
family, nucleus family to owningsome businesses together in the
(10:33):
future that I'm looking forwardto seeing more of that, But I
think people gotta do exactlywhat you all did, which was get
in there and figure it out havethose uncomfortable
conversations, You know, adjustaccordingly, which we all do.
Or what hope we hope that peopledo in their personal lives with
(10:55):
the people that they love.
Chris (10:57):
And another thing that just really helped is we're like
minded.
So we were, you know, we havethe same goals, same aspirations
when it comes to comes to termsof the business and what we want
to see and what we want toaccomplish with our business.
I
Kenny (11:22):
on, on, prior to you, you know, your experiences as a
young, a young person, like withreal estate.
So I'm curious, like, like, howdo you all, like for kids and
things like that, do you seethem being a part of this just
naturally?
Or do you?
Do you think that you'll, likelet them, let them find their
(11:46):
own kind of passions?
Like, how do you, how do, howdo, you start thinking about
some of those things you'redoing now?
Chris (11:52):
mean, that's a great question.
So we have a daughter that's,that's, you know, one and a
half.
So she, she hasn't really reallyexperienced real estate to, to
the extent that I did when I wasyounger, but our nephew who's
about eight, right?
So we.
So we do, a lot of differentstrategies in real estate.
(12:12):
So a lot goes to forcedappreciation where we, you know,
renovate distressed propertiesor also, fix and flips.
So we have him come in and, andhe has the tape, right?
So we asked him to point out allthe flaws and all the mistakes
that he see in the house.
Rule number one, that was amistake because he put tape
(12:32):
everywhere, a little, little mixor, you know paint on the floor
or whatever.
But that alone, you know, showthat he really was thorough and
he enjoyed it and we've take ourfamily and some of our friends
to all the properties that, weinvest in just to see our
vision.
And then we also once it'slisted or before it gets rented,
(12:54):
we take them, through and they,okay.
Are amazed at thetransformation.
So I think just having thatexposure may spark some
interest.
And of course, you know we wantour children and grandchildren
to do you know what they're ledto do Right.
But if we could have some smallinfluence in an investment
(13:16):
vehicle that's known to buildwealth, we would definitely
continue to them towards that,especially when it comes to
passive right now?
like in our active, but when itmoves the passive invest.
Kenny (13:28):
Got it Got it That made, that makes sense.
Having your nephew go throughsome of those experiences, early
on in life, you know, the hopeis that, you know, when they get
to a point where they have theirown properties, like they can
not have some of those, youknow, bump on the head moments
(13:49):
that you have being you know, anearly Active real estate
investor.
So like, can you share like someof the, some of the The growing
lessons that you have learnedbeing in real estate.
Like I can think back to myexperience.
I'll share just real quickly.
Us buying our first property,noticing that things weren't
(14:14):
necessarily in the shape that wethought they were when we first
moved in.
and so instantly from day one,you're having to fix.
Fix shit pretty much.
And then you don't expect that.
So like, can you walk throughsome of like those experiences
that you had that you'releveraging now that you, you're,
you're looking to sink yourteeth a little bit further in
(14:35):
the real estate.
Chris (14:36):
Yeah, when it comes to I'm going to do separate
experiences when it comes to ourpersonal portfolio.
We found out that we are notyour traditional house flippers
house flipping in general is notfor us.
And it's just too much.
Requires too much, you know,work, too much time up front and
(14:58):
too much managing, you know,contracting.
We've seen the most success offour, our buy and hold portfolio.
And they've seen the mostgrowth, right.
And we know over time,historically, you know, real
estate has been seeing thegrowth three to 5 percent
annually.
And even on down, down marketsthat we see now, it's
opportunity to, to buy it alittle bit attractive price.
(15:21):
So I, I, I think just findingyou know, what you can and what
you cannot do.
I myself, you know, sometimestrying to do too much because
I'm good at, you know, learningthings you can be out YouTube
these days.
You can really know how to do alot of things with the house,
but you have to really figureout, Where's your time more
valuable?
(15:42):
So the key lesson that we'velearned is, you know, one
flipping houses after a thirdone, isn't a strategy that we my
wife and I are, will stick with,we prefer, you know, buying
holds and we've seen the mostsuccess of that and the most you
know, stable cash flow and, and,and potential growth in our, in
(16:06):
our network.
And then as far as for secureliving or funding portal
platform, I think what weLearned from was this might be a
sound a little negative, but wereally know who your close
family and friends are when itcomes to getting their actual
(16:27):
support.
You know, as we built thebusiness plan and as we shared
ideas with them.
We get good feedback.
And then when it comes to, okay,we're launching, we need some
additional support, whetherit's, you know, sharing our
content that we pushed just, youknow, sharing with their
network, what we're doing justsharing some of their, our
(16:49):
investment opportunities that's,that's, that's on the platform
that was literally non existent,right?
So we went to, you know, acouple of family and friends.
It's like, Hey, everybody doingbest.
Got the money.
And then when the time comes andwe have launched several deals,
you know, nothing.
So that was just the eye openerfor us.
We thought we had a, a greaterbacking or more supportive
(17:12):
backing, until the time cameand, you know, I just fell off.
So
Kenny (17:18):
you, you're dropping gems, Chris.
I appreciate it.
The friends and family kind ofeven from like an an investment
perspective or even just asupport perspective, in our
community in black communitiesin particular and definitely is
a hot topic, right.
Cause you may have that initialidea.
(17:39):
Some of the people within yourcircle may push you to, to go
and explore it, but when it'stime to You know, pay up, right?
That's where you need the rubberto meet the road.
And a lot of times you won'tnecessarily, You know, get, you
know, 10 people who told you togo for it to actually support
(17:59):
with some dollars and you mayhave to actually look outside of
your core network and, you know,just expand out.
In my experience is what Ifound.
And that's okay.
I, I think, In particular Ithink That's why it's so
interesting that For you andyour wife to be co founding a
(18:21):
business.
Cause a lot of times peopledon't even, they go away from
family, family businesses, likethey don't even like look at it.
Right?
And so I think you, What you'redoing with secure living, which
I want to hop into right afterthis, I think it's, you're
really going to be trying toprove some people wrong and
specifically in the blackcommunity around building
(18:42):
together.
You know, with your nucleusfamily and the folks that, you
know, you speak to every day,like there's ways to do it
without you you all hating eachother's guts at the end of the
day, if I can be frank.
And so I want to dig into secureliving now tell us a little bit,
(19:04):
around, I honestly, I gave, Igave like a high level view of
it, but I want you to dig intoit.
I know you're, you're familiarwith it.
The regulations around the spacein terms of investing.
So I want folks to get a goodidea of how they can leverage
and tap into secure living as apotential investment
opportunity.
Chris (19:25):
I'll start by highlighting one of the reasons
why we saw this again.
And so we wanted to make,investing actually attainable
for the average person.
Right?
So what we do is, is, is beingdone today.
But only, you know, the wealthyhave access to it and what they
(19:47):
turn, they coined the term nonaccredited investor.
So we wanted to open that up tothe average person.
Right?
So, anyone that does not have anetwork of a million dollars or
does not make 200, 000 dollars ayear.
So we, you know, we work withreal estate developers or
investors, right?
That's looking to.
(20:07):
Diversify their capital stack.
So whether it's traditionalfinancing, harmony, lending, or
want to raise equity, ourplatform allows them to raise
equity from you know, people,it's anyone from the U.
S.
That's 18 or older.
That can have 500 to invest.
Right?
So we have a lower minimuminvestment threshold in our
(20:29):
competitors.
and we just, we know that 97, 94percent of the the U.
S.
Fits into this non accreditedinvest, you know, investor
category.
So open up the doors to realestate investing.
And that was our primary, one ofour primary objectives.
(20:49):
And long term, you know, we wantto be, you know, the Amazon of
real estate where individualscan come on our platform and see
deals spending all across the U.
S.
and they can pick and choose.
build their own passiveportfolio without the headaches,
you know, late night calls tofix toilets or, scheduling calls
with contractors and withoutthat headache, they can sit back
(21:13):
and you know, potentially watchtheir money grow.
Kenny (21:16):
I like that.
As you were explaining it, I wasthinking along the lines of, In
real estate, I compare it tolike some of the biggest tech
brands we think of in the world.
The thing that just came out,right.
Is the the Apple vision prosthat costs a couple thousand
(21:36):
dollars.
And for somebody looking atthat, right.
Saying, Hey, I can't, you know,I can't, everybody can't afford
right to, to pay for thesegoggles.
And if there's no real use casefor you having it besides it,
just looking to trying to look acertain way, but that doesn't
necessarily mean you can'tinvest in Apple stock or
something like that.
Like you can't invest in some ofthese entities and reap some of
(21:59):
those benefits.
And I really like the point thatyou mentioned around for those
who aren't necessarily ready toembark on a real estate journey
where they're, they're, owning aproperty and they're, they've
got to be super active.
Right?
You mentioned that word a coupleof times.
I think I think that's reallyimportant.
(22:19):
You know, I, I know some peoplethat you know, most recently
they bought, they, theypurchased their first home and
they found out like owning ahome is not for them.
They don't want to put up withthe maintenance.
They don't want to do a lot ofthose things that come along
with it.
They don't want to payinsurance.
They don't want to pay fortaxes.
They just want, they want torent, right?
And so they actually flippedaround within like a year or two
(22:42):
and sold their house.
That's okay.
Right.
But they went through thatprocess of knowing and real
estate is just something it's avaluable thing to get into but
finding out how you can get intoit early on, which I think a
platform like secure livingdoes, I think that's, that's a
really good learning opportunityfor folks.
(23:03):
Like you mentioned the lowerthreshold.
I'll ask you to reiterate thatas well, just so folks know a
little bit more about how they,you know, the minimums and what
they need to do to, to tap intothe platform.
But I really think that's, youknow, that, that, that spot on
that, that explanation you gave.
And as you were talking throughit, I was thinking about like,
(23:23):
man, are you ready to own a homeright now?
But you know, you can stillinvest and reap some of the
benefits of the real estatemarket, which is which is crazy,
ridiculous.
It's just a crazy way thatpeople.
And a significant portion ofAmericans are accumulating
wealth, right?
Not necessarily, an activeresource that you tap into every
(23:44):
single day for, for funds, butit's something that, for the
most part is going to growconsistently over time, like you
said, at three to 5%, those are,those are good numbers.
So can you tell folks a littlebit about a little bit, just
maybe go back to the specificsaround what they need to do, the
minimums, the And the ways thatthey can register and get going
(24:06):
with the platform.
Chris (24:07):
Yeah, very first thing, visit our website, so
securelivingrei.
com, securelivingrei.
com and register for a freeaccount.
Shoot that same email to you toyour mom, your brother, your
sister, your family, everybody.
Right?
So we want to build a communityand potential as the investors
(24:28):
at a low threshold.
So currently our minimum is 500.
now?
the more more potentialinvestors we have on the
platform that can that can be,you know, that can drop it could
be 250 can be 100.
right?
so whatever we need to do toactually, you know, fund these
real estate deals.
And I think you mentioned a goodpoint about, you know, Educating
(24:48):
yourself.
So the deals that we have on theplatform, it's everything about
the deal.
Their financial structure, theuse of funds.
They have tons of documentation.
So as you continue to invest inour platform, you will learn
different strategies differentways, different you know,
experience for the statedevelopers or companies are
(25:10):
structuring their deals byreading some of the material.
And through our platform, youcan also, you know, Basically
communicate with them.
You can, you know, comment ontheir page and have specific
questions.
So it's also, you're investing,you reap some potential benefits
of that investment that youmade, and you're also learning
from the sponsor who's actuallyraising capital.
(25:31):
So I think it's a goodopportunity to expand And deepen
their, their knowledge on realestate.
Kenny (25:39):
I love it.
So you touched on somethingthere in terms of actually
engaging with, the individualswho are putting the, the, the
potential investment property upthere.
So that makes it a two sidedmarketplace, right?
You are actively looking forreal estate investors that made
(26:02):
people that have properties thatthey want people to invest in.
Can you speak a little bit intolike, how, how, how do, how do
those folks, engage with thebrand as well?
Like, is it a similar process?
Like, tell me a little bit aboutthe folks who want to maybe
(26:24):
potentially put a property on asecure living REI.
com.
Like what, what, does that looklike?
Chris (26:30):
Yeah.
So, so today we, we probablyaccept between seven and 10
percent sponsors on our platformbecause we go through a very, in
depth check and review of theactual deals.
Right.
So we're dealing with you know,people's capital, right?
So we want to ensure that wemitigate as much risk as
possible, knowing that allinvestments have risks.
(26:52):
Right.
So we go through backgroundchecks, which checks for You
know, criminal background,financial fraud, anti money
laundering.
We go through deal review.
So we have people that sit onour board who, who worked at
some of these largeorganizations That focused on,
analyzing real estate deals.
(27:12):
So we have deal review to helpmitigate risks that covers
market analysis.
We look at the competency of theactual sponsors and their team.
Is this out of, this strategythat they're trying to deploy,
is it normal for them orsomething new?
Right, so we look at a lot ofdifferent things.
And they also, we bring them tous and they actually pitch their
(27:33):
opportunity.
As well with us and our board sowe can have that those tough
questions and feedback like aprime example, we were reviewing
some some proposals and we aswell as the investors know that.
Property management can beanywhere from 8 to 12%.
Well, and their projections thatwe're putting two to 5%, which
(27:54):
we were like, Hey, this isextremely low.
Well below, you know, a nationalaverages.
So we have those conversations,check out the numbers.
We look at the economic growththat they're predicting.
We just make sure we validateeverything they put on the pitch
deck or on the material thatthey share with us, you know,
checks out
Kenny (28:13):
Got it.
Got it And so there's a.
There's definitely a thorough, athorough background check.
Like, you said I think that'sreally important for, for the
folks who are potentiallylooking at putting their pool
and their money in and investingin the platform to know that
just giving your background andyour co founders background.
Y'all do this right in your day,you do this and you did this for
(28:36):
your career.
and now you're trying to makesure that you apply some of
those rigorous, thorough, youknow, just the thoroughness, the
audits, the dot in your eyes andcrossing your T's that you do
for the bank is it definitelyshould cross over into this
space as we get more folks thatare open to, you know, just, you
(28:57):
know, Investing in stuff thatthey haven't invested into in
the past or even a lot of folksnow, I think for a platform like
this, they're probably going tobe new to investing in some
capacities, right?
And so you got to make sure, youknow, the stamp of approval is
there from a regulatorystandpoint.
Chris (29:15):
exactly.
exactly.
Kenny (29:17):
what else?
I don't, one thing I was curiousabout was the, You being in my
home market of Charlotte, NorthCarolina, the Carolinas,
everybody knows that's where I'mat.
That that's a focus area now,but I guess like longer term
(29:38):
kind of the vision for thecompany are there any areas that
you're looking into expanding tonow or is Carolina, the, go to
market for now?
Chris (29:51):
So we actually just launched a another investment
opportunity outside of theCarolinas, actually in Florida.
So we've been focusing on, thesoutheast, but I think, you
know, people have been hearingabout us and we've been gaining
more traction.
So we, have Individuals fromCalifornia, Michigan approach us
(30:12):
when I list different, you know,this their project.
So, we're still focusing on theCarolinas because that's where
our network is.
And we know we can, you knowhelp explain what we do to our
network.
But as of late, the last twomonths we lost our new our new
platform.
More sponsors have been reachingout to us needing capital.
(30:36):
So we've, we've soon will behave you know best opportunities
not just in one region, buthopefully across the U.
S.
Which can help, you knowpotential investors diversify
their, their passive portfolio.
Kenny (30:52):
I love to hear it.
There's plenty of growthopportunities for folks.
We all see the new developments.
We all see the repurposing andrefurbishing of old
establishments on the, even onthe, whether it's residential or
commercial in terms of thebusiness spaces as well.
I can't remember if you told methis before on that residential
(31:15):
commercial element, are thereany, between investing in.
Residential projects versuscommercial.
And is, is there, is commercialor business spaces, is that on
the, is that a possible way forfolks to invest within a secure
(31:36):
living?
Chris (31:36):
Yeah.
So we we're not biased.
So we actually, We've, we've,we've worked with commercial
residential mixed use.
Someone approaches from Michiganthat wants to build a
manufacturing plant and bringtheir manufacturing business
from, overseas to to state side.
(32:00):
So we we're, we're, we're notbiased.
So anything, everything, youknow, real estate that makes
sense, that we feel and deemhave a low risk.
Tolerance, we will definitelyadvertise on our platform
definitely.
Kenny (32:20):
it.
I mean, I I'm, I'm all for it.
You know, our conversations offair, we, we've talked a little
bit about real, our real estatejourneys.
Glad to see somebody takinginitiative like this.
There's definitely.
folks who, who are interested ina solution like this.
Like you said folks shoulddefinitely sign up for the
(32:42):
platform.
Put that link back up again.
But then tell somebody about it.
And it's just so about awarenessright now.
I'm putting that opportunity infront of folks on analogy that,
you know, I, from my timeworking in corporate America,
when it comes to, marketing andmedia.
(33:03):
Putting different opportunitiesin front of customers.
You know, you look at theretailers, all the businesses
that solicit us every day,whether it's email or mail,
direct mail, which is thetraditional way.
Like it's not up to your mailmanto look through the junk mail
that you get, right?
You're going to get pieces ofjunk mail that your mailman
just.
They don't understand whythey're sending it to you, but
(33:25):
you know, you may get that samepiece 10 times, but it's that 10
time that intrigues you to, goonline and buy something that
you may or may not need.
But that is your, that is youryour opportunity.
So you know, I say that just tosay, you know, don't.
necessarily limit somebodyseeing a platform like this,
(33:46):
make sure on that folks haveawareness that solutions like
this are out there so that theycan give it a look themselves
and make that, you know, makethat decision on whether or not
they want to invest in somethinglike this.
In closing, you know, I justwant to thank you, Chris for,
for you know, shedding light onwhat you're, you're building.
(34:06):
It's amazing to see you and yourco founder Amazing couple, you
know, building this, this typeof platform, leveraging your,
your experience in real estateat a really young age.
And putting that to work tobuild a business and you know,
just leveraging all the thingsthat you've done from a
corporate perspective.
(34:27):
And this new space to, buildsomething for other folks to
benefit from.
You know, I'll leave it to youto, to, to once again, let folks
know how they should, Interactwith the brand, look at things
to look out for.
And then the last closingthought, I'll leave that to you
as we look to on close out thisgreat conversation.
Chris (34:47):
Yeah, thanks.
I definitely think beyond normalfor having me here, but really
us.
So in terms of my wife andcirculate and be able to
represent.
We're looking for potentialinvestors, potential sponsors.
We want to, you know, build thiscommunity to help bring
(35:07):
investment opportunities to helpbring capital to those that may
not have access to it.
In terms of last Comment.
So we have interesting pipelinecoming up.
So really stay tuned.
So by registering an account,you'd be registered with our
newsletter and we are, you know,send updates, educational
material about wealth strategiesand wealth building as well.
(35:28):
So it's not just really focused.
So it's really aboutgenerational wealth.
So by registering an account,you get access, you know, to,
to, to all those opportunities.
So stay tuned.
We have Interesting markets thatwe're looking at.
California, Michigan and Atlantacoming up some really big deals
from some known investmentcompanies.
(35:51):
So in the next, you know,hopefully next month or two, we
have those bills on board andthen we have more opportunities
for you to invest and pick andchoose.
Thanks.
Kenny (36:00):
Appreciate that.
Chris for those listening in,thanks for tuning in to another
great episode of the beyond thepodcast Peace.
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