Lender Lounge with Kevin Kim

In this episode filmed at Geraci’s Irvine office, Kevin interviews Michael Schumacher and Chris Meinhardt from longtime client Enact Partners. He learned about Michael’s unique perspective as a construction lender and how he utilizes his experience as a developer, city councilman, and lender to evaluate trends in the market and underwrite quality loans for his investors. Kevin also enjoyed getting to know Michael’s newest partner, Chris, who is a former banker and U.S. Marine. This was a fun one, so be sure to listen in!

For this episode, Kevin sat down with Huy Do, managing partner at PrideCo Capital, during the California Mortgage Association Fall Seminar. Everybody in the industry knows Huy, but very few know the story behind PrideCo or Huy’s background. They talked about PrideCo’s decision to jump into the private lending sector, Huy’s excitement about the industry, and Huy’s philosophy regarding networking, family, and business.

For this episode, Kevin sat down with Dalton Elliott at Lima One Capital. Dalton shared the tale of the founding of Lima One, discussed its growth, and discussed its recent acquisition by MFA. This was a very informative episode on learning how to grow and scale quickly. Their focus on training and culture combined with their obsession with growth has really taken them very far in such a short time. Another great part of this episode was hearing about how Dalton, like many of his colleagues, joined the firm fresh out of college, and remained loyal to the company thanks to these values and focus points. Tune in to learn more!

This time, Kevin sat down with the inimitable Beth O’Brien, Founder of CoreVest Finance. During this episode, Kevin learned about Beth’s “maniacal obsession” with being a true cradle-to-grave lender starting in 2011. Over the past ten years, CoreVest has achieved significant growth, $12B in origination, with multiple securitizations under their belt. Beth has ensured the firm’s ability to scale the business through focusing on standardization. Their “Burgers, Fries, and Shakes” approach to their lending business was an intentional construct from Day 1 in 2011 and remains true to this day – why? It allows their business to scale but also prepares them for securitization at the origination stage. Listen in to learn more!

Eric from Roc360 joined Kevin for a great interview. They took a trip down memory lane, talking about the Private Lending Industry’s evolution from Eric’s perspective and how Roc has grown right alongside it. He learned about Roc’s holistic approach and drive to be a full-service capital provider to the space. Kevin and Eric also talked about the challenges in operating a business during COVID in New York.

For this episode, Kevin had the unique pleasure of sitting down with the CEO and Founder of Temple View Capital and MCM Capital: Steven Trowern. They talked a lot about Temple View’s history and growth over the years and discussed their focus on maintaining a startup mentality. Kevin and Steve also spent some time comparing the pandemic crisis to the global financial crisis of 2008 – and had some laughs around the TARP program of 2009.

This time, Kevin sat down with the man himself – Rocky Butani with PrivateLenderLink.com. Rocky visited Kevin in his office before the California Mortgage Association summer seminar. Together, they discussed the evolution of PLL and where it’s headed. What Kevin found most interesting was learning about Rocky’s love for the space and his deep understanding of its dynamics.

This episode was so much fun! Renee discussed Bloomfield’s view on CRE finance and how they grew their business nationwide. Kevin learned about her disciplined approach as a partner at Bloomfield Capital as Renee explained their strong underwriting, utilization of data, and focused approach to capital used to build their national lending business. Kevin also learned about how Bloomfield expanded their business utilizing data and local intelligence.

Kevin sat down with Chris Hanson of Hanson Capital. He learned a lot about Chris’s story in building Hanson Capital since 2008! His inspiring bootstrap story was a true testament to adapting to the market. Chris also shared how he built their real estate investment business and what data drives his decision-making. Kevin also got to learn a little about the Hanson Capital team and how they built their flat, attitude-focused culture.

What’s better than a podcast on the fly? Kevin enjoyed catching up with Michael Ramin – a long-time friend and much-loved industry leader – when they sat down for an impromptu interview during sponsor set-up at our Captivate event. Kevin got to learn more about Sharestates’ history as a crowdfunding business and multi-disciplined lender.