CrowdStreet’s Brent Hieggelke is joined by Jasmine Nazari, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Investor Relations at Urban Green Investments, to discuss how the firm is making more distributions than ever, finding the areas of opportunity, and how she’s navigated the commercial real estate industry.
Brent Hieggelke, Chief Marketing Officer
CrowdStreet
CrowdStreet
Brent is a high-growth tech marketing executive focused on start-up and early category innovators and disrupters. He is a seasoned evangelist, and public speaker across a wide-range of topics.
He is a former CMO of several leading SaaS companies such as Urban Airship (mobile), Brandlive (video), Webtrends (data and analytics) and Touch Clarity (AI, machine learning), which sold to Omniture. In 2009, Brent co-founded a real estate start-up, Second Porch, which built the first sharing vacation rental site and ultimately exited to HomeAway, now Expedia. Brent has keynoted and led panels at global events like SXSW, Mobile World Congress, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week, Adtech, and hundreds of other conferences. Brent has been featured or quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Advertising Age, and hundreds of other publications.
Brent holds a BA in Economics with honors from the University of Chicago.
00:00:04 Hello, welcome back to another episode of StreetBeats. I'm Brent Hieggelke , Chief Marketing Officer at CrowdStreet, and I'm really excited to bring a real estate sponsor to today's session. We have Jasmine Nazari with us from Urban Green Investments, uh, and they are experienced with raising capital on the CrowdStreet marketplace. So we're really excited to, uh, to bring back a veteran firm and a veteran in Jasmine. And Jasmine, if you wouldn't mind just kick it off by telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got into commercial real estate
00:00:35 As it goes with the beginning of all stories. Um, it started in a very different space. I actually studied, uh, soil bio geochemistry at, uh, uc Davis and got a master's in that. And, uh, my thesis was actually in vertical farming, um, which means like growing food and buildings. And then, um, after graduating, I landed upon this firm. It was actually the first firm that I interviewed with. Um, and I started off as an office manager slash assistant to, um, our amazing, uh, I call 'em our fearless Lieber and CEO David McCluskey. And from there, um, really just, it was such a brilliant team with so much potential that I would just ask for more responsibility and they gave it to me, um, and slowly created a space called investor relations at the firm. And that transitioned to more and more investor relations and operational work. And then now I head up IR and, um, uh, yeah, and I'm a partner at the firm and recently c o o and happy to say that, um, I always say it's the best team around, so
00:01:46 That's fantastic. So tell us a little bit about Urban Green Investments and, and what your, you know, your projects look like.
00:01:53 Sure. So very similar to CrowdStreet actually, where we, we are in, we're very close to the real estate. We specialize in gp in the GP position, um, and as a result have partnered up with about 14 different sponsors of our own, um, that bring a very prolific and diverse, uh, pipeline of investment opportunities. So what I say is that just like CrowdStreet, we're a one stop shop for, um, all sorts of real estate investments and diversity across asset type sponsor and location.
00:02:32 So, um, let's talk about kind of the current mic, uh, the current, you know, sort of climate and environment. What's, um, you know, what's your research? How's your firm feeling about the, the recession and the recovery and what, uh, you know, what are your points of view on kind of what's happening out there?
00:02:48 Totally. So I'm actually really glad you asked because we have been making more distributions than ever. And, and I keep thinking, oh, you know, I wonder why there's really no uniform answer. Like, this type of investment is of ours is doing very well. It is just that, um, it's kind of a cliche maybe answer, but it's because we've been churning that butter for so long <laugh> that it's, it's finally time to, um, enjoy it and, uh, not tutor our own horns. But we've made more distributions than ever during Covid. And I think it's because the assets were stabilized, the property managers were empowered. Um, our sponsors, our cogs have a heavy alignment of incentives to make distributions. So I don't, I can't speak for the economy as a whole as to the pace of its recovery or the, um, the extent of it. I just know that the, you know, our sphere of concern and our sphere of influence are aligned and they seem to be generating results in terms of the general economy and the direction of it. Um, I'm confident and enthusiastic and I actually look forward to, um, what's to come. I think really the best is yet to come and right now we just need to keep our eyes on the ball and be aware of the general context and the opportunities that could arise.
00:04:15 Yeah, let's talk about that. Let's talk about the opportunities for sort of middle market commercial real estate, uh, projects and kinda, you know, what are the things you guys are all thinking about in terms of capitalizing on sort of all the market disruption, you know, happening right now?
00:04:32 Yes. Um, I think in certain markets we've seen there's as many answers as you want in the world about this kind of thing. Unfortunately, whatever I say is bound to be wrong and bound to be right in some contexts. Um, in San Francisco, for instance, which is where we office out of rents are really, really down rents are down more than they've ever been. And I always say everything is created in language that's like kind of what we're creating. Same thing for the economy. Oh my gosh, if if it goes bad, then people just engender that. But then if you really look at it, the value of apartments has not dropped much, not more than, you know, three or 5%. Then when you look at a market that we're in, for instance, Tucson, um, where we are quite active, we have over a thousand units there.
00:05:21 Um, rents have been stable. Rent collection's actually been exceeding proforma, or n o i, excuse me, has exceeded proforma. We're actually in contract to sell a property three years earlier for more than proforma. So, uh, well a lot more than proforma. So, um, I think that there's opportunities and nuggets everywhere, and I think that what will come will be the, the fruits of some distress. Um, but in markets like San Francisco, I always say it's not like a paycheck to paycheck kind of town. People here aren't gonna be in foreclosure in their homes, I don't think, um, there will be some opportunity, but I think that where we really will continue and always have seen success is in, is always where our firm has, it's like our, it's in our d n a is on the opportunistic side where a property is nearly complete and then they ran out of funds or, um, or there's a, there is a distressed person in a family that is eager to sell or yeah, a distress in one family member where they really need to sell. Um, but I don't know if it'll be something overarching. It'll just be about keeping really close tabs on your relationships in, in all the markets you wanna be in to find those opportunistic deals. Yeah,
00:06:38 Sure. Let's talk about you personally. You know, uh, you're in a very male dominated industry and, you know, how have you navigated that? And as you, you know, share this advice with, with other women, you know, what kind of, what kind of things would you share in terms of your own experience and journey?
00:06:56 Sure. So I never really kind of saw myself as a woman in this space, believe it or not. I, I kind of was just, I never saw myself as a woman working amongst many men, mostly men. Um, it wasn't, it didn't occur to me actually until I went to a conference and I was sitting in the conference and I was looking around and it was mostly men, and I was actually looking for color, like colored clothes, um, and I was like, oh, that actually, oh, that's a woman. Oh, hmm. She's a woman too. And it was, there wasn't more than like 20 and, and it was a thousand people in the room. It was a, a massive conference. So that's when it occurred to me. I was like, whoa, there's, you know, there's not many of us. I thought it was just, I'm a woman and who, I mean anecdotally or again, um, what's the big deal?
00:07:44 Um, but then I realized it's like actually a huge opportunity for firms to really capitalize on what is missing and especially what they don't know that they don't know. Like you may not know that your company needs to do like an operational audit, but if you bring someone else in who's different than you and who's passionate, and you just give that person a chance, they will be able to blow you away. Like our, our CEO really trusted me, gave me a tremendous amount of opportunity, and I'm forever grateful to him and his family that they, you know, I started off as an office manager and then they trusted me and gave me more responsibility. So I guess what I'm saying is, uh, and enrolling anyone watching this to like look around, encourage you to take on mentors, take on in interns, um, and take on hires that are intentionally different than you because that's really where you'll see the best investment in your firm is, is because they're different. They will see things different and across gender, across, um, sexuality, across everything. Um, it's hard to calibrate the value of, of it. Just know that often that's where opportunity comes from, is in those differences. Um,
00:09:02 That's great. Well really appreciate you taking a few minutes today to share kind of what's happening with, uh, urban Green Investments, your own personal journey, and we look forward to your next, uh, participation on CrowdStreet. So thanks for taking time.
00:00:35 As it goes with the beginning of all stories. Um, it started in a very different space. I actually studied, uh, soil bio geochemistry at, uh, uc Davis and got a master's in that. And, uh, my thesis was actually in vertical farming, um, which means like growing food and buildings. And then, um, after graduating, I landed upon this firm. It was actually the first firm that I interviewed with. Um, and I started off as an office manager slash assistant to, um, our amazing, uh, I call 'em our fearless Lieber and CEO David McCluskey. And from there, um, really just, it was such a brilliant team with so much potential that I would just ask for more responsibility and they gave it to me, um, and slowly created a space called investor relations at the firm. And that transitioned to more and more investor relations and operational work. And then now I head up IR and, um, uh, yeah, and I'm a partner at the firm and recently c o o and happy to say that, um, I always say it's the best team around, so
00:01:46 That's fantastic. So tell us a little bit about Urban Green Investments and, and what your, you know, your projects look like.
00:01:53 Sure. So very similar to CrowdStreet actually, where we, we are in, we're very close to the real estate. We specialize in gp in the GP position, um, and as a result have partnered up with about 14 different sponsors of our own, um, that bring a very prolific and diverse, uh, pipeline of investment opportunities. So what I say is that just like CrowdStreet, we're a one stop shop for, um, all sorts of real estate investments and diversity across asset type sponsor and location.
00:02:32 So, um, let's talk about kind of the current mic, uh, the current, you know, sort of climate and environment. What's, um, you know, what's your research? How's your firm feeling about the, the recession and the recovery and what, uh, you know, what are your points of view on kind of what's happening out there?
00:02:48 Totally. So I'm actually really glad you asked because we have been making more distributions than ever. And, and I keep thinking, oh, you know, I wonder why there's really no uniform answer. Like, this type of investment is of ours is doing very well. It is just that, um, it's kind of a cliche maybe answer, but it's because we've been churning that butter for so long <laugh> that it's, it's finally time to, um, enjoy it and, uh, not tutor our own horns. But we've made more distributions than ever during Covid. And I think it's because the assets were stabilized, the property managers were empowered. Um, our sponsors, our cogs have a heavy alignment of incentives to make distributions. So I don't, I can't speak for the economy as a whole as to the pace of its recovery or the, um, the extent of it. I just know that the, you know, our sphere of concern and our sphere of influence are aligned and they seem to be generating results in terms of the general economy and the direction of it. Um, I'm confident and enthusiastic and I actually look forward to, um, what's to come. I think really the best is yet to come and right now we just need to keep our eyes on the ball and be aware of the general context and the opportunities that could arise.
00:04:15 Yeah, let's talk about that. Let's talk about the opportunities for sort of middle market commercial real estate, uh, projects and kinda, you know, what are the things you guys are all thinking about in terms of capitalizing on sort of all the market disruption, you know, happening right now?
00:04:32 Yes. Um, I think in certain markets we've seen there's as many answers as you want in the world about this kind of thing. Unfortunately, whatever I say is bound to be wrong and bound to be right in some contexts. Um, in San Francisco, for instance, which is where we office out of rents are really, really down rents are down more than they've ever been. And I always say everything is created in language that's like kind of what we're creating. Same thing for the economy. Oh my gosh, if if it goes bad, then people just engender that. But then if you really look at it, the value of apartments has not dropped much, not more than, you know, three or 5%. Then when you look at a market that we're in, for instance, Tucson, um, where we are quite active, we have over a thousand units there.
00:05:21 Um, rents have been stable. Rent collection's actually been exceeding proforma, or n o i, excuse me, has exceeded proforma. We're actually in contract to sell a property three years earlier for more than proforma. So, uh, well a lot more than proforma. So, um, I think that there's opportunities and nuggets everywhere, and I think that what will come will be the, the fruits of some distress. Um, but in markets like San Francisco, I always say it's not like a paycheck to paycheck kind of town. People here aren't gonna be in foreclosure in their homes, I don't think, um, there will be some opportunity, but I think that where we really will continue and always have seen success is in, is always where our firm has, it's like our, it's in our d n a is on the opportunistic side where a property is nearly complete and then they ran out of funds or, um, or there's a, there is a distressed person in a family that is eager to sell or yeah, a distress in one family member where they really need to sell. Um, but I don't know if it'll be something overarching. It'll just be about keeping really close tabs on your relationships in, in all the markets you wanna be in to find those opportunistic deals. Yeah,
00:06:38 Sure. Let's talk about you personally. You know, uh, you're in a very male dominated industry and, you know, how have you navigated that? And as you, you know, share this advice with, with other women, you know, what kind of, what kind of things would you share in terms of your own experience and journey?
00:06:56 Sure. So I never really kind of saw myself as a woman in this space, believe it or not. I, I kind of was just, I never saw myself as a woman working amongst many men, mostly men. Um, it wasn't, it didn't occur to me actually until I went to a conference and I was sitting in the conference and I was looking around and it was mostly men, and I was actually looking for color, like colored clothes, um, and I was like, oh, that actually, oh, that's a woman. Oh, hmm. She's a woman too. And it was, there wasn't more than like 20 and, and it was a thousand people in the room. It was a, a massive conference. So that's when it occurred to me. I was like, whoa, there's, you know, there's not many of us. I thought it was just, I'm a woman and who, I mean anecdotally or again, um, what's the big deal?
00:07:44 Um, but then I realized it's like actually a huge opportunity for firms to really capitalize on what is missing and especially what they don't know that they don't know. Like you may not know that your company needs to do like an operational audit, but if you bring someone else in who's different than you and who's passionate, and you just give that person a chance, they will be able to blow you away. Like our, our CEO really trusted me, gave me a tremendous amount of opportunity, and I'm forever grateful to him and his family that they, you know, I started off as an office manager and then they trusted me and gave me more responsibility. So I guess what I'm saying is, uh, and enrolling anyone watching this to like look around, encourage you to take on mentors, take on in interns, um, and take on hires that are intentionally different than you because that's really where you'll see the best investment in your firm is, is because they're different. They will see things different and across gender, across, um, sexuality, across everything. Um, it's hard to calibrate the value of, of it. Just know that often that's where opportunity comes from, is in those differences. Um,
00:09:02 That's great. Well really appreciate you taking a few minutes today to share kind of what's happening with, uh, urban Green Investments, your own personal journey, and we look forward to your next, uh, participation on CrowdStreet. So thanks for taking time.