5 Talents Podcast

What this episode teaches an operator: what deep value-add multifamily really costs in sweat, and how one distressed 77-unit deal grew into 5,000 units and $500M.

Will Crozier started with a distressed 77-unit complex in Irving, Texas at 50% occupancy, lived on site, and ground through gang activity, dumpster fires, and boiler failures to manufacture value the hard way. He and Abel Pacheco follow the arc from that first deal to roughly 5,000 units and $500M, the construction materials import business born from supply-chain necessity, and the moment investor money starts chasing the operator instead of the other way around. Then the part Will says he wasted a decade learning: mentors, groups, and networking. Plus Angel Capitalists and his Ruel Foundation work funding cleft-palate surgeries for around 800 children in the Philippines.

In this episode: What does a 50%-occupied deep value-add deal look like day one? When does capital start chasing you? How did a materials import company grow out of renovation pain? What changed when he stopped doing it alone? How does the business fund the mission?

Three takeaways: deep value-add is manufactured equity, paid for in presence. After two good deals, your track record raises the next one. The fastest path is with people: groups, mentors, coaches, not solo grit.

"The difference between making 5K and 50K a month in income is very small if you have freedom. If you have freedom, 5K is almost as good as 50K." - Will Crozier

Connect with Will: Angel Capitalists.

Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.

What this episode teaches an operator: how to raise capital by building a thought leadership platform, and how one piece of seed capital can work across four or five deals in a decade.

Ruben Greth, founder of the Capital Raiser Show and Director of Investor Relations at Bakerson, started by pointing a camera at people smarter than him in a Phoenix meetup and raised $600K for small multifamily at the bottom of the crash, around $20K a unit. He and Abel Pacheco walk through JV capital versus syndication LP capital, what a partnership breakdown taught him, Bakerson's move from 2,000+ wholesaled houses to multifamily syndication, and the buy-fix-hold model where investors get their seed capital back at year three through refinance while keeping ownership and cash flow.

In this episode: How did YouTube interviews turn into $600K raised? What separates JV partners from syndication LPs? What happens when a capital partnership breaks? How does the refinance and equity recycle model work? Why is a podcast a capital raising pipeline?

Three takeaways: a platform that educates raises money while you sleep. Structure determines the relationship: decision-making JV partners are not passive LPs. Returning seed capital at year three turns one investor dollar into four or five deals of exposure.

"One piece of seed capital can get you into four or five deals over a 10-year period of time, which increases your returns exponentially." - Ruben Greth

Connect with Ruben: the Capital Raiser Show.

Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.

What this episode teaches an operator: how the discipline of professional sports converts into real estate execution, from house-hacking to multifamily syndication to buying land ahead of a legal wave.

Hakeem Valles played tight end for the Detroit Lions, New York Giants, and Arizona Cardinals, then took the same discipline into building: a house-hacked quadplex in Arizona, a duplex in Detroit, an 82-unit St. Louis syndication that fell apart and taught him more than the wins, and 40 acres in Michigan positioned before cannabis legalization. He and Abel Pacheco also break down his content machine: TikTok from 55 to 142,000 followers in five months, and why the follow-up is where the fortune actually lives.

In this episode: What does NFL adversity training do for an operator? How do you pick a market with demographic research? What did the deal that fell apart teach? Why buy land ahead of legislation? How does free attention on TikTok convert to investor relationships?

Three takeaways: the skills that survive a locker room survive a market cycle. A dead deal that teaches you underwriting is cheaper than a bad deal that closes. Attention is free real estate right now, and the fortune is in the follow-up.

"If I told you you could buy real estate in New York City in 1940 for pennies on the dollar knowing it was gonna be New York City, you would do it every single time. I'm telling you that this is gonna be the same exact thing, except this real estate's free." - Hakeem Valles

"The fortune's in the follow-up." - Hakeem Valles

Connect with Hakeem: on TikTok and LinkedIn.

Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.

What this episode teaches an operator: what actually happens after a multifamily deal closes, the asset management KPIs that matter, and the income and expense levers that move returns at scale.

Sandhya Seshadri, founder of Engineered Capital and Ace Operators with $140M+ in assets under management, is back for her second show. She and Abel Pacheco go deep on the unglamorous half of the business: managing lender requirements, holding property management companies accountable, executing the business plan, and the KPIs she watches (collections, occupancy, delinquency, expense ratios). Plus her Dallas edge: 33 years in the market, from crime rates and school districts to the path of progress around the CHIP Act fabs and the DFW Airport corridor.

In this episode: What begins the day the deal closes? Which KPIs tell you the truth about an asset? How do bulk Wi-Fi, washer and dryer installs, and retention beat chasing new leases? How do you renegotiate vendor contracts at scale? Why does hyper-local knowledge win deals?

Three takeaways: closing is the starting line, not the finish. Retention is cheaper than a new lease, every time. Small daily operational steps compound into the returns investors actually feel.

"People celebrate the closing and acquisition of a deal. Well, this is where the operations begins. This is where the real work begins to deliver value to make the place better for residents, but also return money to investors by executing the business plan." - Sandhya Seshadri

"It doesn't happen overnight. It's not a get-rich-quick scheme. It's a lot of consistent, daily, tiny incremental steps towards that goal, and not being distracted." - Sandhya Seshadri

Connect with Sandhya: Engineered Capital and Ace Operators.

Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.

What this episode teaches an operator: how a build to rent developer leads through construction setbacks, rising rates, and regulatory delays, and which under-used programs (grants, tax credits, opportunity zones) operators leave on the table.

Andy McMullen, founder and managing partner of Legacy Acquisitions, is back for his second show. He and Abel Pacheco go inside The Crest, their partnered 98-unit build to rent community in Lafayette, Louisiana: rain delays, the water quality board, and why build to rent holds up in this rate environment as the affordability gap widens the renter pool. Then the operator's core: leading through adversity, Legacy's values, and stress-testing underwriting when the market turns.

In this episode: What setbacks hit The Crest and how were they handled? Why does build to rent fit a high-rate market? How wide is the renter pool getting as affordability slips? Which government grants, tax credits, and opportunity zone programs do operators overlook? How do you build a team that holds under pressure?

Three takeaways: the renter pool grows every month the affordability gap widens. Secondary and tertiary markets hide funded programs most operators never claim. Adversity is where a team's real values show up.

"For the man who does not know where he's sailing, no wind is favorable." - Andy McMullen, quoting Seneca via his mentor

Connect with Andy: Legacy Acquisitions.

Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.

What this episode teaches an operator: how a $50K first equity deal grows into nearly 2,000 units and $200M in transactions, and why action, not knowledge, is what dissolves fear.

Matt Faircloth of the DeRosa Group is back for his second show. He and Abel Pacheco trace the arc from his first equity deal in 2010 to a portfolio across four states, then go deep on the operator's inner game: finding your core genius, building the team around your God-given talents, and how to keep making offers in a high-rate, low-competition market. Recorded mid-2023, the market read holds up: less competition is the operator's window.

In this episode: How did the first $50K deal actually come together? What does scaling to 2,000 units change about your role? How do you find your core genius and delegate the rest? How should operators handle fear? What does a high-rate market reward?

Three takeaways: courage comes after the action, not before it. Scale forces you out of every seat except the one only you can fill. High rates thin the competition, which is exactly when offers get interesting.

"You are going to be afraid, and that's okay, right? You're going to feel fear. If you're waiting to have the fear go away before you get started, you will never get started. The courage comes after the action." - Matt Faircloth

"Action is what dissolves fear. Not knowledge, not relationships, not lots of phone calls, not research, not reading books. Action is what dissolves fear." - Matt Faircloth

Connect with Matt: the DeRosa Group.

Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.

What this episode teaches an operator: how deep focus in one lane compounds, how to structure deals for optionality in a rising rate environment, and how a self-described ADHD kid went from living in a van at 28 to $70M in multifamily assets.

Anthony Vicino is back for his second show. Co-founder of Invictus Capital, Twin Cities multifamily syndicator, and author of Passive Investing Made Simple, he walks Abel Pacheco through the ten-year transformation: rock bottom at 28 with $80K in debt, then picking a lane and going deep. They get into cap rate compression, structuring for optionality (long terms, IO periods, low prepayment penalties), surviving a capital crunch, and why he treats AI literacy as a competitive edge for operators right now.

In this episode: What turned rock bottom into a starting line? Why does picking one lane beat learning everything? How do you structure deals to survive a capital crunch? How is he using AI as an investing tool today? What does the next decade of operating look like?

Three takeaways: depth in one asset class beats breadth across five. Optionality in your debt structure is survival in a rate storm. The operators who learn to ask AI better questions inherit an edge.

"There is no such thing as a good or a bad market. There is merely the right or wrong market given your skills, resources, and business plan." - Anthony Vicino

Connect with Anthony: Invictus Capital, and his book Passive Investing Made Simple.

Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.

What this episode teaches an operator: how to raise capital like the family offices do, why an inverted yield curve does not automatically mean a real estate correction, and how inflation can actively work for a real estate investor instead of against them.

Hunter Thompson is back for his second show. He and Abel Pacheco get into the family office mindset: building internal infrastructure to manage wealth before you think you're big enough to need it, what the inverted yield curve is signaling, the three mechanisms that make real estate a beneficiary of inflation rather than a hedge (the equity multiplier, NOI growth, and debt eroded by inflation), and tax strategy including tax-deferred sales trusts and depreciation timing.

In this episode: What does capital raising look like when you think like a family office? What does the inverted yield curve actually signal? Why can a recession be a buying window for real estate? How does inflation erode your debt while growing your NOI? What is the 100K to Invest Summit and its 22 asset-class niches?

Three takeaways: build the wealth infrastructure before the wealth demands it. A recession and a real estate correction are not the same event. Inflation pays the leveraged owner three different ways.

"This is that opportunity to surf that crashing wave of liquidity or let the opportunity pass you by." - Hunter Thompson

Connect with Hunter: Asym Capital and the 100K to Invest Summit.

Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.

What this episode teaches an operator: how to find and book paid speaking engagements, and how speaking builds credibility, leads, and business growth.

Grant Baldwin runs The Speaker Lab, a training company that teaches people how to find and book paid speaking work. He and Abel Pacheco walk through Grant's SPEAK framework end to end: picking a problem you solve, preparing a talk that delivers, and turning stages into a pipeline for your business. If you have expertise and a story, this is the execution path from idea to booked calendar.

In this episode: How does a speaker actually get paid, and by whom? What is the SPEAK framework? How do you pick the topic and audience where you can win? How do stages turn into leads and deals for an operator? What separates speakers who get rebooked from those who don't?

Three takeaways: speaking is a business with a repeatable booking system, not a lottery. Clarity beats charisma: solve one specific problem for one specific room. Every talk should have a next step that leads back to your business.

Connect with Grant: The Speaker Lab.

Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.

What this episode teaches an operator: how a full-time IT professional built his way from passive investor to general partner, and what changes when you cross to the GP side of multifamily.

Rama Krishna, founder of Usha Investment Group, spent 15 years in software before real estate pulled him in. Today he is a limited partner in roughly 750 units across Florida, Maryland, and North Carolina, a general partner on a 64-unit deal in North Carolina, and the host of the Multifamily AP360 podcast and conference. He and Abel Pacheco talk through the road from writing LP checks to leading deals, and what operators owe the passive investors behind them.

In this episode: How does an LP learn enough to become a GP? What changed on his first 64-unit deal as a lead? How do you evaluate markets across three states? How do you build an investor community while holding a W-2? What does his platform teach about consistency?

Three takeaways: passive investing is the apprenticeship, not the destination, if you want to operate. Your investors' trust is built between deals, not during raises. A platform (podcast, conference, community) compounds relationships the way a property compounds equity.

Connect with Rama: Usha Investment Group, and the Multifamily AP360 podcast.

Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.