Coaching Call - How to Raise Capital

In this special “Coaching Call” Jake Wurzak goes solo to share everything he’s learned from over a decade of raising capital in real estate. Drawing on personal experience—from his first $7 million deal with no clear path to funding, to building DoveHill into a hospitality investment platform—Jake walks through the real, unfiltered playbook for getting deals financed.

This episode is packed with insights on how to approach high-net-worth individuals, build trust with investors, and create compelling deal collateral that actually converts. Jake also breaks down how he structures investor communications, designs pitch decks and memos, leverages tools like Juniper Square, and uses short personalized videos to bring deals to life. It’s the same method he’s using today to raise preferred equity for a current hotel redevelopment project in Savannah, Georgia.

Key lessons include:

- Why raising money for a single deal is easier than launching a fund

- The importance of being honest, conservative, and clear with investors

- How to use storytelling, design, and delivery to drive commitments

- Tips for building investor databases, managing follow-ups, and closing deals

- Real talk on sharing upside, walking away from bad capital, and learning through failure

Whether you’re about to raise your first $1 million or scaling to institutional capital, this behind-the-scenes coaching call gives you a candid, detailed roadmap for how to actually get it done.

Connect & Invest with Jake:

Follow Jake on X: https://x.com/JWurzak

1 on 1 coaching with Jake: https://www.jakewurzak.com/coaching

Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:00:38) - More on DoveHill

(00:05:05) - Jake’s First Deal and Lessons Learned

(00:08:57) - Raising Capital: Strategies and Tips

(00:14:44) - Creating Effective Investment Memos

(00:16:59) - Designing Investment Decks

(00:35:26) - Engaging Investors with Video Pitches

(00:40:21) - Investor Intake Process

(00:44:01) - Negotiation Tips

(00:45:09) - Q&A: Meeting Potential Investors

(00:48:59) - Q&A: Handling Design and Pre-Development Costs

(00:53:06) - Q&A: Capital Structure and Investor Profiles

(00:56:22) - Q&A: Overcoming Appraisal Challenges

(00:59:28) - Q&A: Partnering in New Markets

(01:02:06) - Q&A: Preferred Equity and Fund Structures

(01:17:58) - Q&A: Subscription Process and Investor Relations

(01:22:27) - Unexpected Investor Stories