Founders In The Lab with Ruben Kanya

We have a true legend in the lab today! Jasper Ribbers, the founder of Legends X and the mastermind behind the well-renowned podcast "Get Paid for Your Pad," says that the future of short term rental space is branding. With over a decade of experience in the short term rental industry, Ribbers did not hold back with his insights on current trends and the future of vacation rentals.

As the creator of Get Paid for Your Pad, Ribbers has helped shape the industry by providing actionable tips and advice for individuals looking to enter the short term rental market. Through Legends X, he has continued to inspire entrepreneurs to build successful and impactful brands in the hospitality industry. That's because Jasper KNOWS his branding, from his brilliant podcast name, to the new "Free Wild" retreats, to the only kind of "Overnight Success" we believe in. (https://overnightsuccess.io/)

On the episode, Ribbers discussed the impact of technology and tools, the importance of having a clear brand vision, and the future of the STR industry. He also shared his thoughts on how hosts can differentiate themselves in a crowded market and maximize their profits.

If you've always believed that branding in the short term rental industry is a true game changer, this episode is a must listen and Jasper Ribbers is your validation, a titan in the industry with an experiment that became legendary. Let's build!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

27:58 Diya breaks down what it takes to jump into commercial multi-unit rentals

KEEPING IT REAL:

06:12 What does Jasper Ribbers do

09:45 Mindset of traveling

11:32 When to rinse and repeat

13:32 Using tools and technology

16:47 How to quickly evolve in STR

20:34 Building an independent brand

23:19 Buying properties overseas

27:55 About Legends X mastermind

32:16 Week-by-week programs

39:04 Attention span and unique experiences

49:53 Overnight success brands

51:28 What’s next for Jasper Ribbers

54:38 Legends X and Free Wyld

NOTABLE QUOTE:

17:48 “To be successful in the future of the short term rental space, we’ve got to have a real vision for the brand that we wanna build.”  – Jasper Ribbers

CONNECTING WITH THE GUEST

Website:  https://getpaidforyourpad.com/

Overnight Success: https://www.overnightsuccess.io/

Get Your Airbnb Millionaire Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprint

Get coached on how you can repurpose your existing home or investment property into an Airbnb with me: https://experimentrealestate.com/hospitable-hosts

Guesty Unique Link: https://hosts.guesty.com/?=therealestateexperiment

Hospitable Hosts book: https://amzn.to/3e4LEhE

 #shorttermrental #vacationrental #hospitalityindustry #branding #entrepreneurship

Diya Lui is a highly accomplished Harvard-educated lawyer who has made a name for herself in the hotel industry. With years of legal experience, Diya brings a unique combination of legal and technical expertise to the field, allowing her to analyze hotel deals with a level of detail and insight unmatched by others. Her background, which includes engineering, has given her a unique perspective on the business and the ability to identify hidden opportunities, particularly behind old run-down hotel operations. She saw that the industry severely lacked an expert operator with digital marketing and operations savvy, and Diya jumped at that chance right away.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

27:58 Diya breaks down what it takes to jump into commercial multi-unit rentals

KEEPING IT REAL:

05:43 Diya’s elevator pitch

07:41 Analyzing deals and stay-in preference

12:32 From lawyering to real estate

17:14 Diya’s hotelier zone of genius

22:03 How Diya got into STR space

24:05 Is STR uptrending right now?

26:41 Diya’s property portfolio

27:58 Making the jump to multi-unit rentals

33:41 Hotel loans and licenses

39:00 Hotel loan vs Asset-based commercial loan

43:46 Hotel franchising mastermind

47:17 Multi-family vs Hotels

49:28 Profit margins when improving hotel operations

54:25 $650k to $1.2M in under a year

01:01:09 Exit vs acquisition

01:07:07 Diya’s BIG vision

NOTABLE QUOTE:

46:04 “You have to have worked your way up or you’re born into being a hotelier which is why I am trying to revolutionize this industry.  – Diya Lui

CONNECTING WITH THE GUEST

Website:  https://diyaliu.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diyaesq/

Get Your Airbnb Millionaire Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprint

#str #hospitality #fullservicehotel

Sarah Weaver is a multi-faceted professional known for her expertise in coaching, public speaking, real estate investing, and writing. She is the author of the bestselling book "30 Day Stay" published by Biggerpockets Publishing, which shares her insights on how to succeed in real estate investing. With her extensive experience in the industry, Sarah has become a sought-after speaker, delivering inspiring and informative presentations to audiences around the world. She is also a highly-regarded coach, helping individuals & agents reach their full potential and achieve their goals.

For Sarah, it all started with knowing exactly the kind of life she wants, and that was a lifestyle of traveling the globe. Once Sarah committed fully into real estate investing, she managed to achieve tremendous success in a short period of time. In just 90 days, she grew her portfolio from 3 to 15 units across four states, showcasing her exceptional skills in acquiring and managing properties. She is particularly skilled in utilizing a combination of short-term and medium-term rental strategies to maximize her returns, including self-managing nine furnished rentals.

In this episode, Sarah shares how she utilized the Medium-Term Rental Strategy to achieve financial freedom. By carefully selecting properties and managing them effectively, she has been able to generate significant returns and build a successful real estate portfolio. With her dedication and expertise, Sarah has proven that the Medium-Term Rental Strategy can be a powerful tool for achieving financial independence. Her story is an inspiration to anyone seeking to build wealth through real estate investment. Experiment Nation, if you’re looking to attain financial freedom in a short amount of time, you don’t want to miss this episode.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

38:25 What is midterm rental and why

43:33 The epicness behind Invested Adventures

KEEPING IT REAL:

06:13 Sarah’s entrepreneur family

07:39 What started first for Sarah

10:28 Being an agent

12:28 Sarah’s journey into real estate

15:58 Midterm rentals with travel lifestyle

23:01 Understanding the rules behind mortgages

26:22 Getting stuck during the pandemic

28:35 How do you make decisions

36:54 How to think about Midterm rentals

38:25 What is midterm rental and why

39:35 Getting midterm stay guests to extend

43:33 What’s next for Sarah and Invested Adventures

NOTABLE QUOTE:

“You are never gonna feel ready, so just jump..” – Sarah Weaver

CONNECT WITH THE GUEST

Website:  https://www.sarahdweaver.com/trips

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahdweaver/

Get Your Airbnb Millionaire Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprint

Get coached on how you can repurpose your existing home or investment property into an Airbnb with me: https://experimentrealestate.com/hospitable-hosts

Guesty Unique Link: https://hosts.guesty.com/?=therealestateexperiment

Hospitable Hosts book: https://amzn.to/3e4LEhE

#investedadventures #travellifestyle #midtermrental #airbnb #furnishfinder #luxurytravel #epicadventures #safaritours

Minoan is at the frontier of a new shopping experience they call “Native Retail.” At the forefront of this retail concept is founder Marc Hostovsky who leads an incredible team that is pushing the boundaries and shaping the future of what the retail experience will look like.

We are more likely to purchase a product that we have experienced “in the wild” ourselves from sleeping on a good pillow, linen, mattress, to riding a Peloton bike. Marc and his team believes that these moments in retail are a powerful driver for customers to purchase and they’ve successfully built a market around these experiences.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

25:48 Madison started her company when she was 12

45:36 The story behind Mount’s name and logo

KEEPING IT REAL:

05:10 E-commerce for short term rentals

07:26 Four-walled influencers

13:04 Getting started with Minoan

14:50 The B2B Market

19:21 Top items being sold

21:42 Native retail

27:13 Future marketing goals

30:26 Minoans front end simplicity

30:02 Focus on the team

34:48 Once true in business but no longer

37:40 Seed round funding

40:17 Raising VC money with Excel

49:41 Minoan user experience

54:58 The value of consumer data

58:27 https://www.minoanexperience.com/

CONNECT WITH THE GUEST

Website: https://www.minoanexperience.com/

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/minoan

Get coached on how you can repurpose your existing home or investment property into an Airbnb with me: https://experimentrealestate.com/hospitable-hosts

Guesty Unique Link: https://hosts.guesty.com/?=therealestateexperiment

Hospitable Hosts book: https://amzn.to/3e4LEhE

#nativeretail #ecommerce #shorttermrental #airbnb

Madison is a startup genius, born and raised in a family of entrepreneurs and a third to triplets. So already this is going to be three times more interesting because of her background on tech startups and how she’s transitioned that experience into the short term rental industry, as the founder of Mount. A company she essentially started when she was only 12 years old. At just 25 years old today she is the CEO of a company that is revolutionizing the way we look at our amenities as income producing opportunities in your short term rentals.

From Madison’s grandfather, who built businesses in the 1950s, to her grandma’s cooking school, her aunts and uncles’ purse company, to even now her cousin’s restaurants, it’s clear to see that entrepreneurship runs in their blood. Evident in Madison creating her own bike lock when she was twelve years old that set her on an early path to building a business mind. Today, she tells a story about her father coaching their triplet trio in a soccer game and how they’d just connect like that innately

Madison’s background is just as interesting and inspiring as her achievements. And in the lab, we have a feeling that she is just getting started.

GUEST SUMMARY

Get Your Airbnb Millionaire Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprint

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

25:48 Madison started her company when she was 12

45:36 The story behind Mount’s name and logo

KEEPING IT REAL:

04:44 What do you do for a living

06:08 Leveraging more rental amenities

07:31 Who is it for and not for

13:22 Defining the line of guest convenience

16:44 How rental amenity works

18:56 Fees structure

25:48 A family of entrepreneurs

31:08 The triplets

35:52 Sports and entrepreneurship

41:14 Key takeaways from running a business

45:36 The story behind Mount’s name and logo

48:01 How to get started with Mount

NOTABLE QUOTE:

31:17 “I look at failure as a success because it means you tried something that didn't work and you've narrowed down the list from a hundred to 99” – Madison Rifkin

CONNECT WITH THE GUEST

Website: https://www.rentmount.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madison-rifkin-23037712a/

Get Your Airbnb Millionaire Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprint

Get coached on how you can repurpose your existing home or investment property into an Airbnb with me:

https://experimentrealestate.com/hospitable-hosts

Guesty Unique Link: https://hosts.guesty.com/?=therealestateexperiment

Hospitable Hosts book: https://amzn.to/3e4LEhE

#rentalamenities #amenities #rental #airbnb

I have two practitioners today in the lab and they come in with a craft, purpose and partnership. The core pillars when experimenting in vacation home rentals. We use the word practitioners intentionally because we believe in doing the actual work and then offering it as a service. It means they understand the industry deeply having gone through it themselves, starting outside their comfort zones and pushing past their fears.

For both of them, it all started with design. Jordan McDonough and Bri West have been in business offering design for other people's short-term rentals for only six months and they've been crushing it. Jordan is your creative design guru, whose design vision is always aligned with that of Bri, who on the other hand is your ambitious marketer and consultant. Together they partnered to catapult Somerled Designs into what it looks like from the outside, an overnight success. However their key ingredients is their ability to both have a deep foundational expertise of what they do and a partner ship that compliments one another beautifully.

This talk has been long overdue and we’re thrilled glad that we finally got a chance to talk about their background and combining their unique geniuses. These two rock stars have truly carved out their niche, marrying together design intuition and deep market research. Their combo and having that design touch is what truly turned this experiment into a huge success.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

19:59 What it’s like working with Somerled

35:53 Somerled’s Design Philosophy

48:42 The balancing act of Market Research

KEEPING IT REAL:

04:25 Jordan and Brie

06:48 Interior design for STR

10:54 How it started

12:29 Jordan’s strengths

13:42 Brie’s superpowers

14:48 Complementing weaknesses

16:20 The mind of a designer

18:41 It’s all about reps

21:53 The full package service

23:58 Do not cheap out on this

27:00 Budget design range

30:02 Contractors to design

35:00 What’s your favorite piece?

40:44 Are wallpapers a must?

48:42 Market research advice

50:44 When do you go all in?

52:52 Thinking like a business owner

51:11 Biggest measure of success

58:54 Top 3 Favorite Markets

CONNECT WITH THE GUEST

Website: https://www.somerleddesigns.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/somerled.designs/

Get Your Airbnb Millionaire Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprint

#vacationrentals #rentaldesigns #airbnb #str

Zeona is a true real estate experimenter and a skilled investor who’s walked the walk, AND talked the talk. She is the co-host of the INVEST2FI Podcast and the co-author of the “30-day Stay”, which is all about mastering the medium term rental industry.

But her first foray particularly in medium term rentals started during the pandemic. Or rather, COVID lockdowns forced her to rethink her strategy and found that medium term rentals are overlooked but very viable.

If you’re a regular listener, you’ll know how much we’ve been loving midterm term rentals recently. This makes this particular episode a special one as we’ve been geeking out over Zeona’s book latest book 30 day stay published by Bigger Pockets! Long overdue we finally got her in the lab!

We cover a lot of ground from niching down to medium term rentals, to using Furnished Finder, and why Zeona believes midterm rentals can strategically work in any property asset. It’s an incredible valuable perspective that really reflects the skills and insight of a seasoned real estate investor like Zeona.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

06:33 How Zeono Got Into Mid-Term Rentals

27:15 How to build your MTR operations

KEEPING IT REAL:

04:05 Introduction

06:34 Niching down to MTR

09:14 Problem solving or passion

12:45 Co-hosting and financial freedom

18:35 Why go into Midterm rentals?

23:19 Furnished Finder

27:15 Automating your MTR operations

30:56 Walking the properties

33:23 Couch surfing and trust

35:03 MTR works in any asset

37:49 House hacking

40:58 Adding a kitchen

42:39 Single of multifamily

46:18 Portfolio building from Zeona

NOTABLE QUOTE:

49:21 “MTR (Midterm Rental) can work in any asset” – Zeona McIntyre

CONNECTING WITH THE GUEST

Website: https://www.zeonamcintyre.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeona-mcintyre/

Get Your Airbnb Millionaire Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprint

#midterm #rental #airbnb

Michael Chang is a recovering investment banker, now turned high scale short term rental owner and operator as co-founder of TrustBNB Vacation Rentals. Mike got his MBA from Cornell in 2009, and spent a decade on wall street as an investment banker. While the pay was great – what he now calls the golden handcuffs, he got over the lifestyle overtime. Today, he  reflects that he should have left in half the time to build the lifestyle business & empire he and his wife Liz built today. Mike perspective in our short term rental industry is unique coming from an individual who is all about numbers, knows his numbers very accurately, and shares with us exactly how he tackles the goals that got him & his wife to $7M+ owned in Airbnb real estate.

Mike immigrated with his family from Taiwan when he was four years old. And the one constant in his life has always been work ethic. This same work ethic he saw from his mother helped him achieve a successful career in mergers & acquisition investment banking with over $40B closed in deals.He then took this knowledge and applied it to a blend of full owning his short term rentals with a combination of rental arbitrage in volume in buildings with proximity to the city. He resides in New York with his wife and daughter and their portfolio expands from Philadelphia, PA.

Fun fact, Mike & Ruben worked at the same investment bank at some point (Jefferies) and both reside in New York city, during this episode they both geek out in the lab with love of short term rental real estate. If you love the gritty details and mindset that it takes to succeed in this industry from someone who’s walked the walk successfully in one of the most respectable industries as an investment banker to a successful transition into short term rentals – you need to listen to this episode. This is one of those gems of an episode that really goes into the granular actionable steps with a touch of serendipity, as Mike happens to share the same values of experiment nation. Experiment. Fail. Learn. Repeat. Enjoy!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

17:34 How Michael Got Into Short-Term Rentals

27:49 How much investment banker makes vs rental host

KEEPING IT REAL:

04:05 Introduction

13:59 Changes from investment banking

17:34 A taste of short term rental

21:07 Life doesn’t start until..

24:21 What game are you playing?

27:49 Investment banker vs rental host

31:31 Arbitrage numbers

33:06 Location criterias

36:05 Who are the travelers to target

37:45 How to avoid bad guests

38:26 How to price the highest

40:58 Every business has a mote

43:49 The biggest misconception of STR

46:11 Airbnb inspiration for all

51:07 Starting out in rental arbitrage

55:11 Always think of win-wins

56:35 Laser focus on numbers

1:01:26 What is next?

CONNECTING WITH  THE GUEST:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhchang/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelchangbnb/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@michaelchangbnb

#investment #banking #rentalarbitrage

Derrick's story started like many investors but took a very unconventional route creating a very unconventional real estate financing company.

Derrick started flipping units out of state with other people’s money with his partners who were also college friends at Harvard based out of Boston. They did this all out of state, hitting the ground running. The other people’s money that they used came from levering the money of their Harvard network to invest in Atlanta. They began scaling their portfolio with quadruplexes, condos, and flipping those too.

After graduating and experiencing the Wall Street experience at Goldman Sachs as a trader, Derrick was taken aback by the speed at which these corporations are able to get access to capital. While he continue to scale his real estate portfolio, he and his partners took on the opportunity of getting quicker financing for real estate deals.

Derrick as co-founder of Nectar took on the challenge of helping investors get fast, flexible, non-debt financing that they need to scale their rental portfolio — without raising equity. Nectar wants to address the amount of time it takes to get financing for real estate across the board: whether it be for a flip, multifamily, long-term rental, or short-term rental without needing to give up equity with partners and/or paying the highest rates to get access to capital quickly. There was an opportunity to make a change in the way the real estate industry gets financing. Derrick speaks from experience as he and his wife Brittany who he also met at Harvard built a $400 million real estate portfolio.

Nectar believes that real estate entrepreneurs deserve to keep their upside and Nectar can help them do this by simply looking at your net cash flow as long-term investor, multifamily, short-term rental investor, and even as a property management owner – the cashflow that your portfolio generates is used as a multiple that Nectar can use to calculate a cash advance to buy your next deal or even furnish & redesign your existing short term rentals. The opportunities on how you used your cash advance are up to you.

Step into the lab with Derrick to see how his unconventional journey as an entrepreneur and real estate investor can help you with unconventional financing that most investors next door are not using without giving up any equity.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

22:19 How Derrick Got Into Short-Term Rentals

24:49 How Derrick’s Business Transitioned

KEEPING IT REAL:

04:07 Introduction

16:02 Affordable Considerations When Buying Properties

16:30 Kinds of Properties Derrick Was Buying

20:10 The Power of Networking

27:45 The Opportunity to Value Add

36:07 The Basis for the Amount of Financing

40:12 What Makes Nectar a Better “Tool”?

43:16 Opportunity to Arbitrage

45:08 Traditional Lending

48:16 The Limit on Money Usage

52:03 Closing

NOTABLE QUOTE (KEY LESSONS):

51:44 “...Doing things small is gonna be hard, and doing things big is gonna be hard. So, just be okay with the journey…” – Derrick Barker

CONNECT WITH THE GUEST

Website: https://www.usenectar.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derrick-barker-3b1590a/

#moneylending #valueadd #financing

The short-term rental industry is a niched real estate industry of its own, and Jeffrey Ilouilan started to solve his own problems as a short term rental host trying to source quality furniture for his multiple units as a short term rental arbitrage operator. During his time he launched multiple units that ranged from luxury homes and apartment buildings.

Jeffrey Ilouilan, then Co-Founded HostGPO  which is a furnished buying group for short-term rental operators.

In this episode, learn how you can source quality furniture for all your short term rentals via group that has already sourced all the supply chain management headaches and logistics for you. HostGPO is able to source the best prices in the industry from of the best well known furniture companies in the industry. Before you launch your next short term rental , become a member of the Host GPO group, you’ll see why in this episode.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EPISODE:

12:04 Being Outside Your Comfort Zone

KEEPING IT REAL:

04:06 Introduction

16:08 Vacation Rental Specific Problem Solving Companies

22:21 Timing Considerations

25:18 Proof of Concept

35:45 Free Shipping

40:54 Working With Local Designers

52:32 The Win-Win Situation

58:11 Closing

NOTABLE QUOTE (KEY LESSONS):

12:04 “...Be outside your comfort zone because your comfort zone becomes bigger…” – Jeffrey Ilouilan

CONNECT WITH THE GUEST

Website: https://hostgpo.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HostGPO?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hostgpo/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hostgpo/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hostgpo/

Get Your Airbnb Millionaire Blueprint: https://experimentrealestate.com/#blueprint

Get coached on how you can repurpose your existing home or investment property into an Airbnb with me:

https://experimentrealestate.com/hospitable-hosts

Guesty Unique Link: https://hosts.guesty.com/?=therealestateexperiment

Hospitable Hosts book: https://amzn.to/3e4LEhE

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealestateexperiment/?hl=en

Apply for an American Express Card with this link: http://refer.amex.us/RUBENKr8et?xl=cp01&mpt=v0

#valueadd #vacationrental #problemsolving