Next Week: Capital Raising Bootcamp + GP Brand Building

Our next 5-week Fundamentals of Capital Raising bootcamps kick off Monday, January 26, with a new section on GP brand building & how to leverage social media to raise capital.

Since we launched our flagship Fundamentals of Capital Raising course in 2024, the market has evolved—most notably around raising capital from private wealth channels through GP branding and media.

Thanks to AI and email automation tools, investor marketing via email campaigns has incredibly low conversion rates today. Meanwhile, GPs—from Blackstone to upstart developers—are leaning into brand & modern marketing tools (e.g., social media) to build trust with investor audiences.

 So we’re evolving the 5-week program to include a bonus section on GP branding & social media, where course attendees will build out their own founder-led media strategy and marketing funnel as part of the course. 

Otherwise, the course content still covers the full spectrum of the real estate capital markets ecosystem. 

Register here

The bootcamp takes a case-based learning approach around a capital raise for Washington Place, a fictional 20-unit multifamily project in an up-and-coming neighborhood in “Big Apple City." Sam, the Sponsor, will be pursuing investments from private equity real estate funds, family offices and high-net-worth individuals.  

It is designed to help new & emerging real estate entrepreneurs quickly develop the diverse set of skills required to raise capital for real estate projects—along with learning how and where to find investors.

The course consists of six 1-hour lectures, plus Q&A sessions:

• Investor Types: Breaking down high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), family offices and institutional investors and how they think about real estate investing
• Picking the Right Investment Vehicle: Designing the right fee structure and legal framework for different project types and investor targets
• Marketing Materials & Storytelling: Highlighting key financial metrics in your model and bringing them to life through marketing materials and pitches (bonus: GP branding & social media)
• Sourcing Debt: Sourcing and pitching lenders, and using debt term sheets to validate your financial model for investors
• Investor Lists & Outreach: Customizing an investor list and outreach plan that best fit the project, and strategically phasing the process to maximize interest
• Closing the Deal: Negotiating and competing term sheets to get the best terms while planning for future capital raises

It will follow the trials and tribulations of Sponsor Sam as he identifies, markets to, and eventually raises money from five different types of investors:

• Allie, the Accredited Investor
• Fred, the Family Office Investor
• Ralph, the Real Estate Private Equity Investor
• Hazel, the Hedge Fund Investor
• Philip, the Pension Fund Investor

The first half of the course will introduce students to different investor types, deal structures and the sponsor’s preparation of underwriting and marketing materials to go out to market for capital.

The second half will walk students through the process of sourcing debt, running the outreach process to equity investors and negotiating a term sheet with an institutional investor.

At the end, students will design and present their own capital raising campaign—and later be provided access to an ongoing online community for students to continue networking, exchanging notes and sharing wins.

The online course is hosted in 5-week cohort programs, which include 1-hour of live Zoom discussion and Q&A each week with Thesis Driven’s Brad Hargreaves and Paul Stanton.

You can go here to sign up and learn more about the course.

Why do this and who is it for?

Raising capital for real estate projects can be intimidating. 

It requires a unique combination of sales, marketing, legal and general entrepreneurship skills, plus knowing how—and where—to access investors. But unfortunately there is no guidebook to develop this skill set or navigate the capital raising process, leaving budding real estate entrepreneurs in the dark and on their own.  

We’ve personally been there and know the challenges.

So we created this course to help students raise capital with confidence, providing the fundamental skills and knowledge to run a well-planned fundraising process (whether it's for $50 thousand or $50 million) and avoid many potholes along the way. 

We expect this knowledge will be broadly applicable to anyone growing their career in real estate, but specifically to new & aspiring real estate entrepreneurs, as well as anyone looking to brush up on their approach to the real estate capital markets. 

Note that while there may be some transferrable lessons, this course is not intended for entrepreneurs looking to raise venture capital.

What does it cost?

The online cohort is $1,299, and discussion groups are limited to 12 students. Sign up here.