The Flywheel of Success. Interview: Ben Riehle

In the 12 short years since Ben Riehle bought his first rundown house as an incoming college freshman, he has gone from sleeping on (and manually renovating) rotting floors to founding and becoming CEO for the vertically-integrated Apex Real Estate Network which employs 30 people in 3 states, deploys $7.5m in investments, manages over 300 properties, and brokered $50m in real estate sales last year alone. The future looks even brighter.

Raised in a rural Arizona town, Ben developed his entrepreneurial spirit from an early age, selling handmade welding and woodworking projects at local swap meets on weekends. As a high school swimmer, Ben joined a team of highly-motivated athletes that motivated each other to set records and dominate regional and state competitions both as individuals and relay teams. Most of those team members later became the backbone of the Apex Real Estate Network. Ben attributes the spirit of “competitive friendship” that defines the Apex work culture to the lessons learned from competitive swimming – a team sport where success relies entirely on the individual performances of its members.

Ben is a strong proponent of the idea that a rising tide of good-faith competition lifts all boats, meaning that win-win outcomes are only possible when individuals push each other to be the best versions of themselves.

Ben has always had a passion for helping others build wealth. As an undergraduate at the University of Arizona, Ben assembled individual investors to acquire, renovate, and manage individual properties while earning a degree in Accounting. After graduating, he continued developing extensive real-estate relationships and began to assemble a company of investor services including commercial/residential property sourcing, management, renovation/construction, and brokerage. Ben concurrently earned his J.D. from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona, specializing in tax planning and business formation, areas where he assists individual and corporate investors alike.

Fueled by phenomenal people (including NCAA champions, military veterans, and Ivy League graduates) and competitive friendship, the Apex Real Estate Network is quickly becoming a juggernaut. Currently operating in 3 states, Apex expects to be vertically integrated in 5 different markets within the next 3-5 years, likely adding 70 employees in the process. The already-successful Apex Development and Construction division has doubled revenue each of the last two years, and expects to triple revenue again within the next 5 years. The Apex Property Management division currently has 330 properties under management, and expects to triple that number in the next 3 years, while Brokerage sales are expected to hit $100m within 2 years. First Floor Capital Management, where Ben serves as Chief Operating Officer, sees a clear path to deploying over $100m in commercial, residential, and tax- advantaged funds where investors can avoid the liabilities of individual ownership and diversify risk across numerous properties simultaneously.

In what little off-time he has, Ben enjoys traveling (Spain and Nicaragua are among his favorite destinations), adventure sports, and is training to swim from Catalina Island to Long Beach, California as part of a 3-man team later this year.

 

Flywheel of Success: https://goo.gl/MzXLYZ 

Get a call with Ben and also receive a FREE digital copy of his Wealth Building Guide: https://apexaz.com/nextlevelagents/