From engineer to $250M+ in assets under management with Venkat Avasarala

Join Matt Callihan and his co-host, Vince Gethings, as we chat with Venkat Avasarala about how he went from being an engineer to having a $300 MM under asset management and a portfolio of 3000 Units in DFW, Phoenix, Denver. Venkat is the principal and co-founder of Raven Multifamily, and they specialize in B & C class apartments and value-add investing.

Never Stop Adapting and Improving Yourself

Your business must learn how to adapt its products and services strategically in regard to the demand of the current market. If you want to scale faster or continue to thrive, it is important that you are attentive to the needs of your customers or clients. You will easily set yourself apart and it will increase your chances of success! Never stop improving yourself and your products. There is a lot to improve in every market. Focus on the weakness and what is lacking, then find a way to provide better quality!

Build Your Wealth: Create a Passive Income 

Venkat shared in the episode that you should believe in yourself. It is okay if you have another job and you are happy in your company, but that shouldn’t stop you from investing! You can really achieve financial independence in multifamily real estate. Just go for it and believe in yourself! It won’t hurt to invest once in a while. It can help you a LOT! Sudden problems arising from getting laid off from a job can be avoided if people chose to invest properly!

About Venkat Avasarala:

Venkat is the co-founder and principal of Raven Multifamily, which is a powerhouse with a current portfolio of 2,918 units valued at just shy of a quarter-billion dollars. Venkat has several years of experience in strategic acquisitions and overseeing Operations of large multifamily assets. Venkat has a Masters in Electrical Engineering from UAH, Alabama, and worked for 14 years in IT Domain at several Fortune 500 companies such as PepsiCo, Halliburton, Bank of America. Venkat’s last corporate job was as an SVP in Global Transformation on Operations LOB with Bank of America. Since 2006, Venkat lives in Plano, Texas, with his family.

Outline of the episode: 

·        [02:48] The situation that made him realize he needed to have a passive source of income.

·        [07:30] Having a great partner who can complement your skills will really help you out.

·        [11:20] Venkat and his partner bought their own property in 2016 and left their job in 2018.

·        [13:40] It is all about leveraging other people’s time to accomplish your plans.

·        [14:39] Building your network with the right people can greatly impact your mindset.

·        [17:10] Going from a B or A class asset to doing ground-up construction.

·        [20:37] The reasons why they decided to get into the development side of properties.

·        [29:54] The beauty and importance of proper development.

·        [32:41] Venkat’s KPIs suggestions and market he is currently looking at.

·        [38:11] The adjustments Venkat made to his underwriting during this pandemic.

·        [44:27] Continuously looking for things to improve to keep up with the changes.

·        [53:18] The ONE Thing was written by Gary Keller, the importance of not multitasking!

·        [53:54] Venkat’s superpower is finding people who are best in what they do and getting things done with them! 

·        [54:51] Be happy in whatever you do and don’t let anyone tell you differently.