Today’s guest is Travis Smith.
Travis is the Founder and CEO of Tribevest, a platform that makes it easy and safe to invest as a group and do deals together in as little as 48 hours. He started his career with Morgan Stanley but realized financial freedom was easier as a group.
Show summary:
In this episode of the How to Scale Commercial Real Estate Show, Travis Smith, Founder and CEO of TribeVest, discusses his platform that allows investors to invest as a group and do deals together. Travis explains how TribeVest differs from traditional syndication and fund-to-funds models, focusing on empowering individual investors by leveraging their tribe. He shares that TribeVest is now working with lead sponsors and their investor networks to create accessibility and raise more capital for deals. Travis also addresses the challenges of consistency and compliance in the industry and highlights TribeVest's partnership with sponsors to ensure aligned and compliant documents.
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Intro [00:00:00]
The Origins of Travis [00:01:14]
Building a Massive Business [00:02:08]
Creating a Fund Manager Program [00:05:14]
The challenges of working with the SEC and sponsor consistency [00:12:57]
The benefits of using TribeVest for fund managers [00:14:19]
TribeVest's partnership with lead sponsors and economies of scale [00:18:10]
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Connect with Travis:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tribevest
Twitter - https://twitter.com/tribevest
IG - https://www.instagram.com/tribevest/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/tribevest
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/travissmithmovethechannel
Web - https://www.tribevest.com/pro
Connect with Sam:
I love helping others place money outside of traditional investments that both diversify a strategy and provide solid predictable returns.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HowtoscaleCRE/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samwilsonhowtoscalecre/
Email me → sam@brickeninvestmentgroup.com
SUBSCRIBE and LEAVE A RATING. Listen to How To Scale Commercial Real Estate Investing with Sam Wilson
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-scale-commercial-real-estate/id1539979234
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4m0NWYzSvznEIjRBFtCgEL?si=e10d8e039b99475f
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Want to read the full show notes of the episode? Check it out below:
Travis Smith (00:00:00) - We've been mastering group investing for the last four and a half years. We've built out all the the the platform, the infrastructure, all those services. And now kind of the next thing is and again, we're doing this by partnering with the sponsors and saying, hey, you know, to safely, you know, go out there and work with, you know, with other entities, it's important those other entities are set up in a legal, safe, compliant way. And Tribez is the company that makes that so easy.
Sam Wilson (00:00:36) - Welcome to the How to scale commercial real estate show. Whether you are an active or passive investor, we'll teach you how to scale your real estate investing business into something big. Travis Smith is the founder and CEO of Tribe Vest, a platform that makes it easy and safe to invest as a group and do deals together in as little as 48 hours. Travis, welcome to the show.
Travis Smith (00:01:00) - Sam Thanks for having me and really looking forward to this. Thank you.
Sam Wilson (00:01:04) - The pleasure is absolutely mine.
Sam Wilson (00:01:05) - I, too, am looking forward to this. Travis There are three questions I ask every guest who comes on the show in 90s or less. Can you tell me where did you start? Where are you now and how did you get there?
Travis Smith (00:01:14) - Oh boy, Where did I start? So the origins of Travis go back 15 years. And my brothers and I were trying to figure out how to break into real estate and true wealth building, finding financial freedom. We kept running into, well, how and where and how do you learn how to invest in real estate? And then the big problem is capital. So my brothers and I came together, formed an LLC, started pulling capital together and did our first deal, did our next deal, did our next deal. And we look back and we realized that by forming and funding our investor tribe, we unlocked a future none of us could achieved achieved on our own. So that's where I come from. Where am I now? Is that the next one?
Sam Wilson (00:02:08) - Yep.
Sam Wilson (00:02:08) - Where did you start? Where are you now and how did you get there?
Travis Smith (00:02:10) - All right. And where am I now? I'm building a we're in the early stages of a massive, exciting business where we're helping others and we're empowering others to come together, pull their capital so they can participate in private deals, real estate, things they wouldn't or couldn't on their way on their own. And I think, you know, where I'm at right now is super excited to talk about specifically how we're working with lead sponsors and their investor networks to be more effective at creating accessibility and raising more capital, to do more deals to to do more good. And how I got there, how I got there. Here is just an incredibly blessed family, unconditional love and support and can do and insane amount of persistence is how I got here.
Sam Wilson (00:03:17) - That's great. I love it. Yep. Persistence. I think that's the that is the the ingredient that that many either lack or it's probably one of the tougher ones to generate is persistence for a lot of people.
Sam Wilson (00:03:32) - So tell me this just so we can understand. You know, our listeners are a sophisticated listener group. This is about a scale commercial real estate. We spend no time defining terms, anything like that here on the show. So this is as high level as we can possibly go. Tell our listeners why what you do is different maybe than just a regular syndication and or fun to funds model.
Travis Smith (00:03:59) - Yeah. So I'm really excited to have this conversation. First, we aren't the law firm or super expensive solution out there that most. Uh, lead sponsors, Lead syndicators use. Right. Very complex. And we aren't that we aren't that. You got to remember we started with the investor, right? How do we help one investor become more powerful by leveraging their tribe so they can pull capital, their expertise, their network to do more. So you got to remember where we started. We start with the investor. And in this case and in this world, the limited partner and and now where we've come is we help that lead sponsor, right? And we help them by creating a capital raiser program, a fund manager program where they can be efficient with their existing investor network.
Travis Smith (00:05:14) - Right. And how do we do that? We help the lead sponsor roll out a program that makes it easy for their aspiring capital raisers. Fund managers to easily form a fund to fund tribe. And this is new. This is new system. So we now have an attorney on staff. We're building those that, you know, we're creating the the operating agreement, the PM, the subscription and now on try best we can easily help fund manager form a fund manager tribe and and go out to their network and legally safely affordably help the lead sponsor and participate in the lead sponsors deal.
Sam Wilson (00:06:12) - Got it. So if I if I understand the. Kind of flow, if you will. You've got a lead sponsor. That lead sponsor. Of course, has the deal or opportunity. And then you may have a another, which is not uncommon in this business. I can't talk about it on the. Oh, wait, we are talking about on the show, which is that people know there's capital allocation companies out there.
Sam Wilson (00:06:35) - And so you're kind of going with that, you know, maybe capital allocator and saying, hey, look, let's create and tell me if I'm wrong. Stop me any time. Let's create a fund of funds and we'll help you set it all up such that your tribe can then invest in the lead sponsor deal. Is that right?
Travis Smith (00:06:51) - Yes. And let's get more specific. So you know, you're part of some of the same groups were a part of. Of course, we love left field investors and the good work that they're doing. And what we've seen is this movement of of of people coming into passive investing into syndications. Right? Coming in as a limited partner. And they're they don't have a financial advisor. Right. But they're they're going to these communities. They're investing in masterminds. They're listening to your shows. They are very informed. They're very educated. And they're becoming very good investors. Right. They're they're building the relationships with the sponsors. They're doing the due diligence. And before they participate in these these syndications as a as an investor, as a limited partner, they're they've done all these things right.
Travis Smith (00:07:51) - And so now they're having success. They continue to to enjoy and learn how to become a better investor. They're meeting more sponsor building relationships. They're learning how to do more due diligence. And they have a network, right? They have a network that is saying, hey, next deal, you get in, will you like, you let me know because like what you're doing is really exciting. And can you can you teach me? Can you help me? And and as you know, this industry makes it really hard for us to help each other. Right? It's, you know, and and so what you do is, you know, you you tell them about a deal or whatever it is. But we're tribe is of course, we've built a tribe, a pro tribe where you can go out and say, hey, come on in. Maybe there's a $500,000 investment and all of us can come together. We can each put in 25, K or 50 K to get in together. And that's just a simple business partnership, single entity governed by an operating agreement.
Travis Smith (00:09:14) - And we're all on the same terms, all for one, one for all. And that's a really cool product we offer, right? And now what we've done with the fund manager tribe, which is a new, new thing we're bringing to the market, is now how can I even, you know, help more people, right? And then how can I potentially, you know, be in a position where I can create my own fund of funds and and invite more people in, giving them access to bigger, more deals, better deals, while while being appreciated for my time and effort and energy and all the work that goes into that. So that's a little bit of the of the evolution, if you will, is you know, we've we've been mastering group investing for the last four and a half years. We've built out all the the, the platform, the infrastructure, all those services and now kind of the next thing is and again, we're doing this by partnering with the sponsors and saying, hey, you know, to safely, you know, go out there and work with, you know, with other entities, it's important those other entities are set up in a legal, safe, compliant way.
Travis Smith (00:10:39) - And Tribez is the company that makes that so easy. We've turnkey that to make sure anybody you're working with is set up, you know the right way compliantly, you know, crossed all the T's, dotted all the i's. And again just offering that as a as a way to make it more accessible, right? Making that more accessible.
Sam Wilson (00:11:01) - When you partner with the sponsors. I mean, because a lot of times, you know, the structure will be if you're doing a fun to funds deal, maybe you're using the same attorney that the sponsor does, maybe you're not. But the deals I've been a part of on a fund to funds both as a. Faster in an active investor. You know, they remember my question here. Oh, partnering with the sponsor is.
Travis Smith (00:11:26) - What you were going to say is the sponsor. You know, typically when you've participated in a fund to fund that, the sponsor, you know, that fund to fund is working with the same attorney that the lead sponsor is working with.
Travis Smith (00:11:40) - Yeah.
Sam Wilson (00:11:41) - Yeah, it was something along those lines. But but essentially we're kind of left as a fund to fund to go out and find our own. If we're not using their attorney, find our own attorneys, draft our own docs, and then come in as an investor. And in this case, you're kind of turning it. This is where I was going with that. You're kind of turning this on its head or it's, Hey, the lead sponsor then comes to you and says, Hey, let's create. Help us create then the correct fund of funds model for our then potential capital allocators that want to do so into our opportunity.
Travis Smith (00:12:17) - That's right. That's right. And and you're right. So, you know, the lead sponsor is, you know, working with SEC attorneys, making sure they're setting up their operating agreement and PPM, the subscription docs, making sure that they're doing all the proper filings. And then and then, you know, again, how do you help your network be more successful out there? And you you hit on all the challenges that come with it, right? Like, man, I have to work with an SEC attorney.
Travis Smith (00:12:57) - Do I need to work with the SEC, the lead sponsors, SEC Attorney What are the costs? You know, and then the challenge is for the sponsor is it's so antiquated that there's no consistency. So it's just hard to know, you know, you know how you know how to work with making sure you're working with the right entities that are set up and aligned and have done all the right things. And that's where Tribez comes in. And how we partner with the sponsor is they know when we're working with their fund to fund managers that their their documents line up with their documents, right? That all the proper filings, the checklist, all those things are consistent in taking care of and compliant. You know, also in terms of operating. Right. I think another challenge the sponsors have is great. I'm working with a great guy. They're awesome. And but are they delivering on at the Standard? We're used to? Like we do a great job at doing communications out. We're very consistent with our distributions, you know.
Travis Smith (00:14:19) - How are you keeping track of all this? ET cetera. ET cetera. And I think without tribe best, that answer varies, right? And where Tribez comes in is there's this single platform with all that infrastructure built in making sure that the, you know, the fund manager tribe is making their their quarterly or monthly distributions in a very professional and consistent way, you know, helping them take the communications from the lead sponsors and distributing those to the, you know, the fund to fund members. ET cetera. So just the consistency that we bring to the market makes makes this accessible and a great way for sponsors to build out and empower their investor network.
Sam Wilson (00:15:13) - Does your. Yeah, I guess so. So this is a sponsor centric platform is what I'm hearing that or begins with a sponsor and maybe it's not like you said it starts with the investor. Obviously that's, that's the most important component of all of it. But the sponsor kind of initiates this conversation with Tribe best. Is that generally the way that.
Travis Smith (00:15:33) - Right? Yeah. You know, so we're working with a very select number of, you know, really the most respected, most well run operated lead sponsors out there. And we can be very selective in who we work with. Um, you know, because it doesn't, we don't, we don't need to be working with everybody, right? Our, our business model allows for us to really focus and partner so we can make sure that we're covering all the bases and again, crossing all the T's, dot and all the I's. But yes, to answer your question, the partnership starts at the sponsor level. And again, certain qualifiers to work with us are, you know, do you have a proven track record? Are you known for your operations and and, you know, all those things? And then the next question is, hey, are you you know, are you looking to be more efficient and effective with your investor network at raising capital and and providing resources for them to be, you know, better participants? And the answer is always yes, but how? And so again, try best comes in and says, look, our program you can kind of roll out to your to your network.
Travis Smith (00:17:03) - And again we provide all all these services and value to make sure you're doing it right in an inconsistent way, which is the hard part. Right. Otherwise it's, you know, to do that. That there's training, there's infrastructure, there's all these other things that you kind of got to do if you're going to do it right and safely. And again, Tribez kind of brings this platform and all those checks, checks, you know, in a and again, a consistent platform way.
Sam Wilson (00:17:38) - One of the things as a fund of fund. Manager I've seen is just the expenses involved in getting set up those fund of funds. If this is a program that you guys are consistently and I'll be honest, I'm going to throw in my little bit of jab at our at our attorney friends. I feel like so many of the documents that we get are just the same set of documents, changing the names with a few tweaks through them and it's like, Wow, I just paid 20 grand for that. That was fun.
Sam Wilson (00:18:10) - Especially when you get a you know, and these are well respected attorneys. It's like, Oh, I can get that to you tomorrow. You're like, Wait, we just drafted this today. Like. Okay. So we really are just changing names. And you're charging me 20 grand with a few tweaks in there for like, okay, you spent an hour on that. Like, are there economies of scale? And again, you know, forgive me if I just put my own internal monologue here on the podcast in perpetuity, but.
Travis Smith (00:18:33) - You're saying what we're all thinking, right?
Sam Wilson (00:18:36) - Are there economies? I know, I know that's bad, but it's just the reality of it. Are there economies of scale that you guys are achieving with kind of finding a model that can be not white labeled? But, you know, it sounds like this you've got the model figured out where it's not reinventing the wheel every single time. And are there economies of scale that you guys are able to achieve with that?
Travis Smith (00:18:58) - Absolutely.
Travis Smith (00:19:00) - And and I think, you know, look, the attorneys are critical part of this.
Sam Wilson (00:19:10) - 100%.
Travis Smith (00:19:11) - And 100%. And making sure you're setting it up the right way and working with the best attorneys is a good idea, is a good idea. And the best attorneys they deserve and make a lot of money. And again, they deserve it because, you know, there's a lot of things you need to make sure you're doing and doing it the right way. But the the question, which is a good one. Are there economies of scale to leverage? Yeah. And we all know. Yes. Yes, there is. And and look, we've been doing that for the last four and a half years. Even if you kind of go back to that traditional, you know, group investing group, you know, investor group model that's governed by an operating agreement, you still need an LLC and and even, you know, without tri best, you still have to like find the right attorney. You know, they're going to draft an operating agreement.
Travis Smith (00:20:18) - You're talking thousands and thousands of dollars for a super partnership, something that's been done hundreds of thousands of times. Right. And so, you know, four years ago, we said, look, let's just work with really bright attorneys, the best attorneys, and form a couple of templates that can be easily configured based not by tribe best, but by the members of that investor group. And now fast forward four years here. You know, we're taking that same mindset and true to being a software as a service platform and a fintech platform. And yes, there are economies of scale and and we do have an SEC attorney on staff. We don't offer legal advice. We're not in a law firm, but we are seeing all those, you know, those consistencies in the market. And so how do we do that in a way where it saves saves the the the ecosystem money so that they can they can they can focus on, you know, doing the best deals, building those best relationships, all those things.
Travis Smith (00:21:32) - And that's that's one of the reasons and how we've been able to keep this at such a no brainer cost.
Sam Wilson (00:21:38) - Right? No, I love that. And it's one of those things that that in the end serves the investor best as well, because obviously those those expenses get baked into those deals that we do. And it's like, okay, if we can keep some of that down and still do it. And again, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to bash all of our attorneys. They've been very helpful. I mean, some of the stuff that we're paying for, of course, is their their insurance policies that then back the work that they do. So, you know, it's and those.
Travis Smith (00:22:04) - Little bit of the nature of the beast.
Sam Wilson (00:22:06) - It is it most certainly is. Yeah you need it it's nature of the beast. But if there's a way to, like you said, create templates that then can be modified on a case by case basis without reinventing the whole platform, that that makes a heck of a lot of sense.
Sam Wilson (00:22:19) - Travis really enjoyed our conversation today here, talking about try best learning kind of your guys's history where you are now and how you guys are really making investments easier and more accessible for both your investor base and kind of simplifying the process. On the sponsor side of things, I think this is really, really cool. I love what you guys are doing and look forward to having a further conversation with you guys about the opportunities you have. But if our listeners want to get in touch with you or learn more about you, what is the best way to do that?
Travis Smith (00:22:48) - Yeah you can follow me at. On LinkedIn is probably the best way. Just, you know, do a search of Travis Smith and Travis let me know you. You heard me on this show and I'd love to connect with you and then you can go to try best.com and we're in the process of really updating our our website but it's always a good place to go and define just more specifics on this fund manager tribe program and our pro tribes again which are very narrow focused to help in the end really smart, good people get more access to the best deals.
Travis Smith (00:23:34) - You know, you can just chat with us on our website and again say, you heard me on this show and we would love to to to talk more about it and help out any way we can.
Sam Wilson (00:23:47) - Fantastic. Travis, thank you again for your time today. I do appreciate it.
Travis Smith (00:23:51) - Thank you, Sam. Good to be here. Thanks for having me.
Sam Wilson (00:23:53) - Hey, thanks for listening to the How to Scale Commercial Real Estate podcast. If you can do me a favor and subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, whatever platform it is you use to listen. If you can do that for us, that would be a fantastic help to the show. It helps us both attract new listeners as well as rank higher on those directories. So appreciate you listening. Thanks so much and hope to catch you on the next episode.
