JF3434: Secrets to Organic Growth in Multifamily and More ft. Sarah Sullivan

Jan 29, 2024

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Sarah Sullivan, CEO of SuGo Capital, joins our host Joe Cornwell on the Best Ever Show to discuss her road from Silicon Valley to the headaches of single-family investing and eventually to multifamily and alternative assets, including how diversifying her personal portfolio turned into a shift in her business model and the opportunities SuGo provides to investors.

Key Takeaways:

Outsource, Simplify, Educate: Sullivan likes to outsource as much as possible. Managing vendors is easier than managing employees. If you bring someone in-house, that's a big commitment. SuGo doesn’t have property management in-house. They have investor relations and marketing in-house, but everything else — legal, accounting, etc. — is all outsourced. Their marketing strategy is simple: strictly email. You won't find Sullivan on social outside of LinkedIn, and her company focuses on virtual events to educate investors with the goal of providing as much value as possible.
A Business Model Is Born: Looking at her personal investments, Sullivan realized at one point that she was 90% invested in multifamily. Realizing she was exposed to market trends that could impact her entire net worth, she built out a portfolio that included alternative assets to get her multifamily exposure to 60%. She then packaged these alternative investments like forex and gold — which she does due diligence on herself — for investors, and they were a hit, effectively shifting her business model to offer more options for her investors.
Due Diligence Never Stops: Companies grow. Team members change. Executives change. The way they do business changes. Doing continuous due diligence on your partners and with whom you invest ensures that as relationship dynamics change, your partners continue to align with your goals and trajectory. (You can download Sullivan’s investor due diligence checklist here.)

Sarah Sullivan | Real Estate Background

CEO | SuGo Capital
Portfolio:
- Multifamily, energy, forex, and gold
Based in: San Francisco, CA
Say hi to her at:
Best Ever Book: Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki
Greatest Lesson: When you’re getting started, don’t try to do everything yourself. The right partnership can really launch you. Find someone who’s 10 years ahead of you, figure out how you can add value to them, learn from them, and then you can take off on your own.