Nikonomics - The Economics of Small Business

119 - How to Find High-Paying Consulting Clients (and What to Do Once You Land Them) with Sean O'Dowd

Feb 10, 2025

Sean O'Dowd, founder of Scholastic Capital, shares his journey from consulting to building a real estate fund focused on single-family homes in top school districts. He reveals how he found high-paying clients through Catalant and emphasizes the importance of functional skills and networking via Twitter. Sean discusses the strategies for structuring a real estate fund, including management fees and investor distributions. His insights on leveraging consulting income for real estate ventures and targeting a $100 million valuation highlight the intersection of finance and entrepreneurship.

34:42

Episode guests

Sean O'Dowd

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Leveraging consulting income can create vital funding for entrepreneurial ventures, enabling a smoother transition into areas like real estate investment.

Utilizing social media platforms, particularly Twitter, can significantly enhance networking and fundraising efforts, validating business models and attracting potential investors.

Deep dives

Transitioning to Real Estate Investment

The speaker discusses their journey from consulting to real estate fund management, explaining how they initially entered the real estate market using personal funds before launching a formal fund. They focused on purchasing single-family homes in high-quality school districts and renting them to families, which was rooted in their personal experiences with frequent relocations during childhood. This approach, based on investing in desirable locations, both increased rental demand and created a sustainable business model. The transition into fund management allowed for scaling operations, prompting the decision to raise external capital for broader investment opportunities.

Intro

2min

From Consulting to Entrepreneurship

8min

Navigating Podcast Monetization and Consulting Dynamics

2min

Consulting and Real Estate Evolution

10min

Navigating Business Insights and the Importance of Specialized Hiring

1min

Navigating Real Estate Investment Strategies

4min

Leveraging Twitter for Business Growth

7min

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Join me, Nik (https://x.com/CoFoundersNik), as I speak with Sean O’Dowd (https://x.com/SeanODowd15), who runs the real estate fund Scholastic Capital. Sean shares how he went from consulting to building a fund that buys single-family homes in good school districts. He explains how he used platforms like Catalant to find high-paying consulting clients and emphasized the importance of functional skills and being a business "athlete". Sean also discusses how he leveraged his consulting income to begin building a real estate portfolio and how Twitter became crucial for networking, fundraising, and finding legal help. We also touch on his unique strategy of building a portfolio in the upper Midwest, and targeting a $100 million valuation.

Questions this Episode Answers:

How can you leverage consulting to fund your entrepreneurial ventures?
What strategies can you use to find high-paying consulting clients on platforms like Catalant?
How can Twitter be a surprisingly powerful tool for networking and fundraising?
How to structure a real estate fund including management fees, preferred returns and investor distributions?
What are the long-term financial benefits of growing a fund to over $100 million?

Enjoy the conversation!
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This week we covered:

00:00 Highlights
00:40 Introduction to the Real Estate Fund
01:08 From Consulting to Real Estate
01:48 The Consulting Journey
02:33 Breaking into Entrepreneurship
03:49 The Catalan Experience
04:30 Financial Success and Lifestyle Changes
12:40 Starting the Real Estate Fund
17:40 Understanding the Fund Structure
18:23 Management Fees and Team Building
19:11 GP LP Model Explained
19:39 Preferred Returns and Fund Models
20:10 Hiring and Operational Costs
23:23 Growth Strategy and Future Plans
25:45 Acquisition Strategy and Market Focus
28:23 Twitter as a Fundraising Tool
31:46 Investor Relations and Transparency
32:55 Current Performance and Market Tactics

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