When you hear the term “encore,” you probably think of a live performance, like a band or a comedian. To a performer, it’s the ultimate compliment. You put on such an amazing show that the crowd wants more and is calling you back to the stage for one more performance. But whoever said that encores are limited to the entertainment world? Why can’t groundbreaking performers in the real estate industry be called back onto the stage to give one more amazing performance?
If you’re Beth O’Brien, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Encore Finance, you can. Twice.
“This is actually my third startup. After years of being an attorney and banker with a focus on commercial and residential real estate, I began to notice certain gaps between the markets.”
Director roles at finance giants Citi, Goldman Sachs, and Auction.com catapulted O’Brien into her first startup, AuctionFinance.com, an online platform helping buyers obtain financing on assets purchased through Auction.com. From there, she founded CoreVest Finance, a leading nationwide private lender specializing in rental portfolio loans, credit lines, bridge loans, and build-to-rent loans for residential real estate investors.
That diverse experience led her to see things that others might not be able to see.
“My business was a classic tale of seeing a need in the industry just adjacent to other things that were being done well and being able to expand a market. It’s no secret that residential mortgages are a huge business. The commercial mortgage business, while smaller, is also quite strong. But both businesses lack the same thing. They both fail to address the needs of the people who invest in residential real estate in a professional commercial sense. In fact, the regulatory framework fails to address this category well.”
While vision can provide you a path, more is required to turn a great idea into something that works. You need to develop connections and relationships with people that can help you make your company a reality through startup capital and other investments.
You also need a good strategy to make that vision happen. And O’Brien’s strategy is all about that next performance.
“We like to think of Encore as an understanding that we are always playing for the next loan. We are not just transacting but building an ongoing relationship. This is why our tagline is ‘Encore — For your next loan’.”
But it was something more that allowed O’Brien to take each of her next steps.
“As Louis Pasteur said, I am fond of quoting, ‘Chance favors the prepared mind.’ I’m not so sure I chose my career path; I always was open to and responded to the opportunities that I saw by being prepared. With good preparation, the right strategy, and the right capital, a business can thrive.”
What else do you need to do to get your name called back onto that business stage?
“You need to be able to respond, react, adapt, and forge forward. Since this is my third startup, I’ve had the chance to learn a lot of lessons along the way. Though they’ve been different, they’ve all presented me with challenges that have required me to make quick decisions. The key is to keep making decisions and react quickly enough to course correct when you do hit a challenge. The most difficult part is telling when a speed bump is a mistake and needs to be fixed.”
Unfortunately, in the business world, mistakes can happen, even to someone as experienced and successful as O’Brien.
“You always think you will not make the same mistakes, and by and large you don’t, but you make different mistakes because the market is different, and the circumstances are different.”
Mistakes are a common part of being an entrepreneur. Some mistakes are fixable. Some mistakes are not. Some mistakes will force your company to close early while others might be the secret to your success. But it’s not the mistakes that make the difference between success and failure — it’s how you respond to them.
“The greatest skill of an entrepreneur, in my opinion, is the ability to course correct in a timely fashion.”
So far, that ability to navigate her ship through the bumpy world of residential real estate mortgages has resulted in a successful business. Even with competing companies sharing the line-up with her, there is nothing but support in the community.
“That has been the biggest surprise so far on this journey. The amazing relationships developed in this industry as we grow together from clients to vendors, bond holders, and competitors. The support for everyone else in the industry is incredibly reaffirming.”
Encore Finance, O’Brien’s current venture, strives to be more than the industry’s typical non-conventional lender – they create lasting relationships through dependable financing solutions tailored to each individual investor. Many of their clients have been in relationship with O’Brien for several years or more.
So, where does she go from here? O’Brien has already been an accomplished attorney, a successful banker, a real estate executive, and an innovative entrepreneur. What else is there for her tackle?
“I am a big cook and grow an amazing vegetable garden that forms the basis of my experimentation. I would like to write a cookbook since one of the most enjoyable things I ever did at work was help compile a cookbook of what everyone was doing during the quarantine.”
If we’re lucky, we’ll all be shouting for O’Brien to return to the stage one last time. If we’re really lucky, she’ll be carrying with her next (hopefully tasty) innovation.
