Thesis Driven for GPs

Empowering the next generation of real estate entrepreneurs with education, playbooks and access to investors

We didn’t launch Thesis Driven Courses to create content. We launched it to empower the modern real estate GP.

The kind who isn’t just fluent in capital stacks and underwriting models—but also in structuring interactive marketing materials for investors, building businesses in new asset classes, and navigating capital markets where the rules are changing fast.

We’re doing this with cohort-based courses, live workshops, and IRL events that give you more than just knowledge—they give you reps, feedback, frameworks, and community. In fact, alumni from our recent courses have already partnered up to launch new companies together.

And we’re not just teaching—we’re learning alongside you. Brad and I both enrolled in our Fundamentals of Underwriting course this spring. Because let’s be honest: even experienced GPs need to sharpen their pencil when interest rates, rent growth, and investor expectations don’t look like they used to.

This spring, we’re offering four flagship programs—each designed for GPs who are building real businesses, raising real capital, and trying to make real deals happen in a market that’s more competitive, complex, and creative than ever:

• Fundamentals of Capital Raising - Sign Up

• Fundamentals of Underwriting - Sign Up

• Fundamentals of Real Estate Entrepreneurship - Sign Up

• Structuring OpCo/PropCo Businesses - Sign Up

Students in these programs will also be eligible to participate in our next Pitch Night in May—where you’ll present your business or deal to a curated group of investors from the Thesis Driven network.

We’re building the courses and community we wish we had. Come build it with us!

Upcoming GP Courses

Our GP courses are a combination of online and live formats, with access to ongoing community resources, playbooks, investor databases and IRL events.

Fundamentals of Capital Raising

Insider’s guide to raising capital for real estate projects & platforms—from individuals, family offices and institutional investors

• Next live course: April 29 & 30 in 🗽NYC - Sign up

• Next online cohorts: Start May 5th (5 weeks long) - Sign up

Designed for emerging GPs, experienced operators launching new strategies, and anyone looking to level up their real estate capital markets game, this 10-hour bootcamp walks you through the real-world playbook of successful fundraisers. We cover how to identify the right investors for your deal type, build and refine your pitch, structure joint ventures, navigate governance issues, and manage the investor journey from first conversation to close. You’ll walk away with practical materials—decks, models, and frameworks—as well as feedback on your capital raising strategy.

Students will also be eligible for Pitch Night in May, where select alumni pitch their deal to a curated group of Thesis Driven investors.

Fundamentals of Real Estate Underwriting

An interactive bootcamp in underwriting real estate deals from scratch—taught by a private equity partner and designed for emerging GPs

• Next online cohorts: Start May 5th (5 weeks long) - Sign up

This course teaches the critical financial modeling & underwriting skills every GP needs to make smart investment decisions and build trust with investors. Over ten chapters, students will learn to model cash flows, structure capital stacks, and evaluate acquisitions across asset classes. Along the way, they’ll build their own dynamic underwriting models—starting from rent rolls and expense comps and ending with IRRs and equity waterfalls.

Taught by Jay Dunn (ex-Morgan Stanley, ex-RFR), the course combines institutional-grade rigor with real-world practicality. You’ll leave with a sharpened underwriting skillset—and the confidence to back it up in investor meetings.

Fundamentals of Real Estate Entrepreneurship

A practical, case-based course for first-time developers and aspiring real estate entrepreneurs ready to take the leap and build their first deal.

• Next online cohorts: Start May 5th (5 weeks long) - Sign up

This 5-week online course follows the journey of a first-time entrepreneur—Dana—as she sources, underwrites, finances, and develops a small mixed-use building in her community. Along the way, students learn the real-world process of building a team, navigating zoning, structuring partnerships, and pitching investors—with practical lessons and exercises after each module.

It’s designed for real estate lawyers, agents, architects, contractors, and young professionals who want to move to the principal side, and who are looking for the confidence and practical knowledge to do their first deal. The course ends with students building their own development plan and pitching it live to the cohort.

Workshop: Structuring OpCo/PropCo Businesses

A practical workshop for real estate operators, entrepreneurs, and investors exploring how to structure and fund businesses that own and operate real estate.

• Next online workshop: May 6th & 7th - Sign up

This two-day online workshop is built for those launching platforms in hospitality, logistics, coworking, storage, wellness, or any other operationally intensive niche. You’ll learn how to separate—and integrate—real estate (PropCo) and operations (OpCo) in a way that aligns with investor expectations, unlocks capital, and positions your business for scalable growth.

We’ll walk through real case studies and equip you with frameworks for structuring management agreements, raising the right capital for each side of the business, and navigating governance. Students will walk away with clarity, confidence, and a draft structure tailored to their own platform.

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Full list of upcoming course dates and more information can be found here.

If you’re curious about any of our programs, don’t hesitate to fill out the forms and we’ll reach out to you! We aim to speak to all of our students 1:1 to get to know them a bit before they register for any Thesis Driven course.

—Brad Hargreaves and Paul Stanton