We recently launched a new investor portal at Wildhorn Capital. This portal allows our investors to review our current offerings, see and track the performance of the deals they’re invested in and provides the management team with a secure online place to communicate with them.
As an admin, we’re able to see a dashboard of key business metrics (investors, total returns to date, dollars raised and distributed, etc). In looking at the portal last week we noticed something really cool; when we closed on our latest deal in late September, Wildhorn is now in partnership with 365 individual investors.
That’s a big number. It also means that we have an “investor for every day of the year”. This is very exciting for us. As you may know, we try to live a life by design and a life filled with gratitude. So how does crossing a milestone like that factor in to those ideals?
Here are four things we’ve been thinking about in regards to our growing number of investors:
Gratitude
Yes, we talk about it (a lot). But seeing that number on paper has really cemented it in our minds, and overwhelmed us with a sense of gratitude from and for our investors. Each investor is a relationship to us. Someone we know and communicate with. Having an investor for every day of the year gives us a different focal point as well. Each day when we wake up, we take a moment to think of an individual from our list. Reflect on who they are. Think of their family, and their goal of achieving or sustaining financial independence. It has become a driving force for us, and fills us with even more grit and determination to succeed with and for them.
Community
The most satisfying part of creating this growing list of investors is the sense of community that has been created. We cherish the individual relationships we have with everyone, and value the time we get to spend with them. But, we’ve also increasingly had the chance to bring investors together and introduce them to one another. Recently, I invited two investors to lunch to introduce them because in talking with them individually, I realized they had so much in common and shared many similar interests. It was fun to sit back and watch them connect, getting to play the role of matchmaker. This has repeated itself many times over, and we’re having so much fun we’re actively looking for ways to curate more community building experiences amongst our investor base.
Responsibility
When we stop and think about the number of investors we have, and think about them as individuals like we do, an overwhelming sense of responsibility smacks you in the face. Here, we have hundreds of people, who have collectively entrusted nearly $45,000,000 with us to be good stewards of their money. That is a gratifying and sobering number. And it provides us with an immense sense of responsibility to honor that trust and do our very best to provide strong returns. From the very first time we took investor capital on a deal we have taken this responsibility very seriously. But when you sit down and think about an individual investor each day it gives you a whole new perspective.
Excitement
Perhaps the biggest takeaway this exercise has given us is a continuing drive and excitement for the future. When we think about the personal satisfaction we get in reflecting on the ~400 investors we currently get to interface with–how much greater is that feeling going to be when we have 1,000? 2,000? How much of a positive impact will we have on 1000 families and their drive for financial independence? How many connections will we get to create amongst that community? How fulfilled will we be each quarter when distribution checks go out?
This business is personal for us. We’re not in the real estate business as much as the relationship business. Getting the chance to reflect on those relationships, and think about how we can add value to each of those relationships has been, and will continue to be a rewarding experience. To each of our current (and future) investors–we appreciate you and know we are thinking of you daily.
Written by Andrew Campbell
Andrew Campbell is a native Austinite and Managing Partner at Wildhorn. He is a real estate entrepreneur who first broke into the business in 2008 as a passive investor. In 2010 he transitioned into active investing and management of a personal portfolio that grew to 76 units across Austin and San Antonio. He earned his stripes building and managing his personal portfolio before founding Wildhorn Capital and focusing on larger multifamily buildings. At Wildhorn, he is focused on Acquisitions and maintaining Investor Relations, utilizing his marketing and communications background to build long-term relationships.
