Michael Simanovsky - A Platform Approach to Real Estate - [Invest Like the Best, EP.344]

My guest today is Michael Simanovsky. Mike is the Managing Partner of Conversant Capital, a real estate investment firm he founded in early 2020. Conversant aims to be the most flexible capital provider in real estate, investing across public and private markets as well as equities and credit. The firm will also incubate platforms where they see an opportunity to take advantage of a compelling theme that lacks existing business models for investment. We cover the most undersupplied part of the market, why he’s building Conversant to be so flexible, and the surprising appeal of billboards. Please enjoy my conversation with Mike Simanovsky.

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For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

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Show Notes

(00:03:32) (First question) - Real estate investing through the lens of the capital cycle

(00:06:50) - The capital cycle in practice

(00:12:07) - Using evaluation of supply to determine where you are in a capital cycle

(00:13:16) - Why real estate drew Mike in 

(00:15:35) - The quality of investors in real estate

(00:16:41) - What the US market needs most

(00:20:26) - The range of returns in real estate

(00:23:01) - Insights that stand out

(00:26:45) - Starting a new company vs. building a portfolio of assets

(00:28:46) - Key trade-offs and choices when building a firm

(00:31:10) - Where things go wrong

(00:33:59) - Best investment decision he ever made

(00:38:06) - Philosophy on CapEx

(00:39:52) - Misconceptions about real estate investing 

(00:41:31) - Cold storage real estate

(00:43:13) - The most interesting corners of the real estate market

(00:46:13) - AI and its impact on the future

(00:48:30) - Common investor missteps 

(00:50:51) - Three guests Mike would invite to a dinner party 

(00:52:34) - The most impactful questions to ask a real estate investor

(00:53:17) - A defining moment of his career

(00:53:17) - The premise of the platform approach

(00:56:20) - Possible opportunities and an understanding of the current landscape

(01:03:38) - Lessons Mike learned from basketball coach John Wooden’s philosophies 

(01:04:30) - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him