Location Ventures CEO Rishi Kapoor featured in South Florida Business Journal article titled “Executive Profile: Location Ventures CEO on how to successfully raise capital”
Rishi Kapoor came to Miami as a college student and is now the CEO of Location Ventures, a 25-person diversified development company that recently completed a successful capital raise.
The company, which has constructed high-end single-family homes and renovated apartment buildings, is building the Villa Valencia condominium in Coral Gables. It recently raised $85 million from a host of investors to launch URBIN, which will combine coworking, co-living and wellness.
The Forum coworking space will open in Coral Gables this spring within the URBIN project. Additional URBIN locations are in the works in Coconut Grove and Miami Beach.
When he’s not analyzing deals, Kapoor can be found behind the wheel on a racetrack.
What was your first job? Working at my father’s company. I wasn’t allowed to sit at home. I would work at his real estate business or law practice in Atlanta.
Why did you move to South Florida? I was looking at a variety of colleges. I came to the University of Miami in November, and there were people laying out on the intramural fields, people walking around in shorts …. I really fell in love with the business program and the people I met there.
How did your family’s success in business influence your career choices? My dad has been in real estate investing and development for almost 50 years. He started developing industrial space, single-family homes and commercial buildings. I was always fascinated by it. My dad’s legal background was obviously influential for me attending law school. Development refers to so many disciplines. You’ve got marketing, sales, architecture, finance and construction. Having grown up seeing it, it prepared me to do what I do today.
Were you named after Indian actor Rishi Kapoor? The family joke is that all the Kapoors come from the same plant somewhere in India. I used to give my parents a hard time because everyone I meet thinks I’m the Indian actor or the son of the Indian actor. When search engine rankings started coming out, I said I would make it my goal it be the first Rishi Kapoor on Google.
Why didn’t you become a practicing attorney? My drive for creativity would have likely landed me in legal malpractice. The No. 1 thing I want to do in my life is create. It’s a little bit harder to do that in a professional services environment. I’m super happy to have the education, and I use it every day in my negotiations and contractural work.
What are the most important factors to consider when evaluating a real estate deal? I always reverse-engineer. How much gross revenue can you get if you are selling it? If it’s income-producing, how much income you can get out of the site? Then I work backward and look at the cost to buy it, the cost to build it and the cost to operate it along the way.
What is the target user for your co-living and coworking concept? On the live side, we are targeting service professionals, entrepreneurs, artists, city workers and people who are priced out of the most desirable neighborhoods. On the work side, we are targeting similar people, but are very much focused on entrepreneurs, creatives and small businesses.
What was the biggest challenge in raising capital to launch
URBIN? The biggest challenge is getting investors to buy into a concept at first. We know that co-living and coworking is an emerging asset class. We talked to two buckets of capital: real estate-minded folks and venture capital-minded folks. You have to be able to tailor your discussion to those audiences, convincing people that you’ve got a great concept and a great management team.
How can you tell if a potential investor will be a good partner? It is like dating. It’s all about finding the right fit for the investor and the developer. It takes four to five meetings with someone to say yes. There have been some people who said yes in a day, and some people who I chased and courted for a year.
Where can I find you on the weekend when you’re not
working? Spending time with my wife. We have two dogs and we take them to the dog park. When we are in the city, we love to go to the beach. One of my hobbies is racing cars. I often spend time at the track.
What are your favorite travel destinations? I love going to Scotland, London and Hawaii. We like to hike and be out in nature, and let it be our quiet reflection and recharge time.
Click HERE to read more from the South Florida Business Journal article.
