How Did You Get Your Start?

When I was 17, I saw a Gary Vee video about flipping garage sale finds on eBay. Once I got my license, I started flipping shoes.

Then COVID hit, and with all that free time I was either gaming with friends or selling shoes. I did well in high school, but since I couldn’t have a car my first year at UVA, I had to pause the business.

Once I got a car, I rented an office unit in McIntire Plaza, filled it with inventory, and ran the business for the next two years. Every Sunday I’d wake up at 8am, drive to Northern Virginia to source shoes for eight hours (eventually getting local suppliers), and make it back to UVA in time for Monday classes.

On my 21st birthday, I met a UVA grad real estate agent who helped me buy my first investment property in Charlottesville — my first dip into real estate.

I went deeper after reconnecting with my friend Renzo, who had been interning at a development firm. He pitched me on an idea inspired by Live Oak Lake, a seven-cabin retreat in Waco, TX, that sold for $7M.

He had his eye on a 2.5-acre plot in rural Virginia. After some due diligence and thought, I said, “fuck it, let’s do it.”