From Meta to $35M in Real Estate: Georgy Marrero's Leap to Freedom

Steven Weinstock: [00:00:00] Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Wealth Clock with Steven Weinstock. I've been investing in real estate for over 20 years. Started off with single family homes, moved on to multi-family properties, and recently launched my own real estate investment fund. This show is brought to you by my company, we Capital and the Goethals Capital Fund. Where we buy properties in cash lock in deep discounts. We eliminate mortgage risk in year one, and we refinance later on in order to scale. Today's guest has a very fascinating career. His name is Georgy Morero. He went from earning nearly $800,000 a year at Meta. Some of you may know that as Facebook, he was working on generative AI and reality labs and he walked away from tech entirely. But I guess he will tell us if he's still involved in some tech [00:01:00] to build a real estate portfolio now valued at over $35 million. He's the founder of equis Capital, multifamily investor. He also is a former Amazon Alexa ML machine learning engineer, and he started coding at a young age. He built his first business at 14. At 14. Wow. Okay. I guess we'll get into that. And you were making six figures while most kids his age was trying to get beer without an id. We'll talk about why he left a lucrative job in tech, how he scaled quickly in real estate. Most importantly, the mindset that drives him. This is going to be a powerful conversation. Georgy, thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you so much, Steven. Very happy to be here. Okay, Georgy, first just tell us what was the exact moment you decided to leave Facebook or [00:02:00] Meta? Georgy Marrero: It w it was really a gradual thing, but I guess when a lot of different PE pressures aligned I decided to take the leap. But the motivation, the core motivation of leaving was we was really the seek of freedom. I was trying to get more autonomy and it was something that I had at meta. But slowly I stopped exercising or having, and at one point as I had a split life between being a, an engineer in AI and also a part-time real estate investor, I looked at my portfolio and the new deals that I had, which were turning more into development and other more interesting stuff, and I realized that I didn't have to be in the nine to five grind and I could just be doing real estate more full-time. Steven Weinstock: So you have this great job people are envious of you. How'd your family and friends react by saying, Hey, I'm leaving this great job and I'm going [00:03:00] to try something different. Most of the people that Georgy Marrero: know me they didn't find it surprising. The people that didn't know me, they. I found it surprising, especially the people that were already in Big Tech. They understood why I left. They, some of them that are still in tech sent me messages saying, you made it, you broke from the golden handcuffs. I, of course called my mother. She was one of the first calls and she just told me that she trusted my instinct, whatever I was doing. Steven Weinstock: You're making some serious coin over there. Definitely. More than most people your age. Now you're in a group of other, engineers. So I guess everybody's in your boat and they're jealous of you that you left as you call it, the golden handcuffs. But from a perspective with everybody else looking in, you have this great job, a great job, security. You're leaving to collect rent. This [00:04:00] is a tremendous pivot. A lot of people who complain about their W2 jobs aren't making that much to begin with, or they just really hate it. And here you're working for a company that's famous. You're on the cusp of tech. And it must have been a real a real change. Georgy Marrero: Yeah, no you're absolutely right. And it's probably something that I wouldn't recommend to the normal person. I've always been, less risk averse than my peers. But one of the thought that we're inside of my head as I made the decision was that if I were if I achieved it once, I can achieve it again. If I, one of the questions I asked myself was, what's the worst that can happen? I leave meta and then I go back and get another job for, $400,000, maybe half of what I was making. And that's not something to cry about. That's actually pretty good. Steven Weinstock: Now, when you made this leap and gave your two weeks notice, so to speak.[00:05:00] Were you already involved in real estate? Were you already an owner? Were you a passive investor on the side? Tell us, how you had the cohones to literally leave this great job and go to something else? Georgy Marrero: Yeah. My, my story is similar to your Steve Steven in which. I started with single family homes and, a few years in, I realized that it was a slow path to achieve anything very meaningful. It was definitely more of a hobbyist thing to do for me. I slowly transitioned. Into multifamily and understood the leverage that just playing a game that was a bit bigger where I could focus in a particular role allow me to do. But I think the most important thing that doing real estate at such a [00:06:00] larger scale taught me was, the art and science of being an entrepreneur. And just the new mindset that I had after doing multifamily allowed me to see that money really was everywhere. And I had a agency. For the tech that I knew to give, as a service. And I also had the the real estate portfolio, which was doing very well. I was doing refinances that were giving me meaningful cash that I could decide what to do with whether reinvest or use for something else. So I found myself in that position where multiple streams of income, gave me options. And as I noticed the upward trajectory of the real estate space I made the decision and, it was a risk, but, a year after I, I think it was the best decision that I could have [00:07:00] made at the moment. Steven Weinstock: So while you're working at meta, you are an owner of single family homes and some multifamily at this point, or? Georgy Marrero: Yeah. Yeah. I had a portfolio of single family small multifamily. A lot of them I just own outright. I also had some joint ventures. In the multifamily space self storage, and I was already under contract for a few other projects and very let's say deep in them. I was also doing a development at the time, although it was very early station, now it's. Almost terminating. Steven Weinstock: And this is all while employed, am I correct? Georgy Marrero: Yes, it was. Steven Weinstock: Now, what's your role in this portfolio at this point while you're employed? Are you actively, are you the gp, are you the lp single family homes? I'll guess that you're just buying them on your own, but as far as some of the larger projects, were you partnering up with others [00:08:00] or were you just the capital? Where were you at this stage? Georgy Marrero: I was both LP and GP in, in, in all of the deals that were larger. Steven Weinstock: Got it. Okay. Becoming a gp while employed is definitely a handful. And did you ever tap any of your network of high earners, high income earners in your field for investors as an investor into your deals? Georgy Marrero: Yes, absolutely. Just by being in the office. And, I was still remote, but people asked me, what do you do this weekend? And me just telling them that I was looking at a property that definitely sparked interests in the people around me. And they did invest with me. We did some joint ventures together. Also the people that I went to school with at uc, Berkeley, some of them were at Google, at Apple, they were hi hire earners as well. And I was telling them what I was doing and they joined me. On the deals. Steven Weinstock: And they came in for [00:09:00] the most part as LPs, they saw you doing deals. They were getting antsy with keeping their money just in the bank, and they figured they'll, invest with you. Georgy Marrero: Yeah, absolutely. They, I explained to them the potential of real estate and the usefulness of having some of your money diversified into real estate. Once I brought it into numbers they quickly understood about the tax benefits and all of that, and they trusted me and gave me their capital. Some of them were more interested in, the more active side. In a few of them. I brought them in as a joint venture partner and taught them the ropes, but for the most part, most. Of my investors from tech were limited partners. Steven Weinstock: What is your, what's your background? Your, is your family tech millionaires, gazillionaires? What's your background? Where you're from? Tell us a little about you. Georgy Marrero: Yeah, so I grew up in the [00:10:00] Dominican Republic and no, my, my family wasn't a wealthy family at all. I remember when I was a kid. I, as soon as I was 12, my mom sat me down and showed me her finances. She made roughly, probably $20,000 a year that was in. Steven Weinstock: And this is in the Dominican? Georgy Marrero: This is in the Dominican, yes. Wow. Steven Weinstock: When did you get to the US? Georgy Marrero: I got to the US when I was 18. Steven Weinstock: Okay. So you came for the most part as an adult. Yes. Did you came for college or you came with your family? Georgy Marrero: I, so when I was 17, I started looking at curriculum for computer science. I started coding when I was 10 years old. Wow. My, my dad bought me a computer when I was seven and my mom put the internet dial up internet when I was eight. [00:11:00] Steven Weinstock: Do you remember what type of computer that was? The first one. Georgy Marrero: Oh my God. I can't remember the brand, but it was one of those big boxes, monitors beige with the screen that came out, and it was huge and heavy. I used to open everything. I had a screwdriver open everything and I was basically offline for four hours until I fixed it myself and I think that's what got me into coding. Steven Weinstock: What was the first property you bought? Georgy Marrero: The first property I bought was a house for my grandmother. Wasn't an investment property, but I underwrote it. If it was essentially I found myself with money for the first time. An amount of money I probably five times in a lump sum bonus, five times what my mom used to earn in one year. Wow. And I just, first thing I did, I bought a house for my grandmother. For some reason she didn't wanna move in it. So the underwriting came in [00:12:00] very useful. I pulled up the Excel sheet and I decided to sell at the price that I had in mind. I sold it to a gentleman and I made 20% in about seven months. And that's really what marked my next acquisitions and me as a real estate ambassador. Steven Weinstock: What what year was this? Georgy Marrero: Oof. This was. Around 2019. Got it. Okay. Yeah, it was a good time to buy. Steven Weinstock: Where was this property? Georgy Marrero: This was in the Dominican Republic, two blocks away from the old neighborhood I grew up in. Steven Weinstock: Today's investments are in the US or in the Dominican, Georgy Marrero: so most of the things where I'm active and my team serves. Near vertical integration, including property management, construction, and all of that is in the Dominican Republic. But I do have a very nice operation still in the us. We just acquired two things this month, and so I do both, but I rely more on partners [00:13:00] and very vetted partners and my mentors, honestly, when it comes to the US and in the Dominican Republic, I've done about six deals, six big deals. And I have two more in the pipeline right now. Steven Weinstock: How does the industry in the dr compare to the US Now? I'm not talking about rental amounts, but I'm just talking about, financing mortgages first lien positions. Is it similar? Is it the same. Georgy Marrero: it is a very interesting market. So first it's a very creative market when it comes to financing. Everybody understands creative financing and offers it. If you ask someone about cap rates, they start laughing at you. It's not a, it's not a concept. Even when you build a multifamily, one of the things that the developers do is they break all of the units and have individual titles for all of them. So it is very much you build and sell or you buy and sell unless [00:14:00] you're going more towards hotels and industrial. I am coming in into the industrial space here in the Dominican Republic because it makes a lot of sense with foreign corporate tenants, for instance. And when it comes to financing, the banks do a lot of due diligence. A running joke is they want you to finish the project and then they'll give you money, which is almost true. But 50% financing on the debt side seems to be the most common. And interest rates are high. They're the double digits. 14% on something stabilized as normal. Steven Weinstock: That's today at 14%, roughly? Yeah, you could What about the three, four years ago? What was it? Georgy Marrero: Similar. It was very similar. Wow. Wow. Okay. I know. So Steven Weinstock: the deal has to pencil in. Georgy Marrero: The deal has to pencil in. I opt to not use any debt when I'm doing things here, but if I use a [00:15:00] debt, it's something very short term and I have a way to pay it. Steven Weinstock: Do you bring us investors to your deals here in the dr. Yes. , Do you ever bump into potential investors who are just afraid of investing outside of the us? Georgy Marrero: Yes, but I've also found some investors that are very excited to invest outside of the us. So I get both, but there is risk, there's title risk, there's construction risk there's a lot of risk. And that's what we have come to understand very well . Build a team that can figure out everything from taxation to all the little nuanced issues that can occur. Steven Weinstock: So you mentioned if you're developing a multifamily they deed or title each unit individually and they get sold off. Are there no corporate landlords in Dominican? Georgy Marrero: I haven't seen it much for the [00:16:00] multifamily, more for office industrial that exists more retails. Steven Weinstock: Is that a rule or is Georgy Marrero: it just the way it's going? It's just the way it's gone and I haven't found the buyer that will wanna buy the entire thing. But HOAs is common, so usually the developer keeps the HOA. Steven Weinstock: So you may have a guy or a company that owns 50 apartments, but they're typically buying one at a time from developers. And his 50 apartments may be spread out on 10 different buildings. Georgy Marrero: Oh, yeah. Recently I had a portfolio sale of 44 apartments in a very big project in punta cana. And that was essentially what it was. Steven Weinstock: Wow. What are you working on, today? Or, what was your nine to five like yesterday? Georgy Marrero: I still have a split life between real estate and tech. But the intersection of tech and real estate has been more common nowadays. [00:17:00] So everything I do in real estate when it comes to acquisition, financing, all the way to operations and management. We're very tech enabled. So I try to bring a lot of my background into it. I have a team of engineers and it's about 15 or so through my company, Noom Shut, and we are essentially AI service provider for real estate adjacent companies. But it started because I was building a lot of tech for what I did. Half of my time is doing that. The other half is working on the real estate projects. But the most yesterday 9 0 5, I was working on one of the developments. I have a luxury villa development here in the Dominican Republic. Steven Weinstock: You mentioned this company is called Nom Shot. Yes. Is that just moon spelled backwards? Bingo. Got it. And you mentioned that you're [00:18:00] creating or working with real estate adjacent companies. So I'm gonna guess that we're talking about either mortgage brokers or construction guys. Title just tell me what you're, gimme some examples of what you're doing, how it works. Georgy Marrero: Yeah. Yeah. Those examples that you mentioned are exactly them. So one, one of our clients is a mortgage broker and it, we help in the operations for new loan origination and essentially in the marketing and sales and also the tech that they use, the underlying tech, whether it's a CRM, but also all of the automations that they need to be just more modern. We bring ideas. That are successful from other industries and we just bring it into real estate because we desperate need it. The other type of companies are service companies roofers builders, and they also need better operations so they can scale. Steven Weinstock: Is this company Noom shot? Are you [00:19:00] focused on the USA Dominican International. Georgy Marrero: So most of our clients are USA. But we're open. Steven Weinstock: What are some of the skills you learned from Meta or from Amazon that carried over to real estate? Georgy Marrero: Asking questions and going very deep and not just being very clear when you speak, but also what, when you think so. A lot of the tests that we use to write for code, we essentially write them for our underwriting or due diligence, and that's essentially crossing all the T's and dotting all the i's. Steven Weinstock: When you're doing some of these deals in the Dominican you mentioned that you're trying to avoid debt from banks. Does that mean you are coming to the closing, so to speak [00:20:00] with. The full capital stack coming from either investors or your own money? Georgy Marrero: Yes. But also being very creative with joint ventures and also seller financing. Steven Weinstock: Got it. Any big wins with seller financing recently that you could talk about? Georgy Marrero: Yeah. We did a land acquisition and. It, seller refinancing was just a small component of it, but essentially we bought half off and we just have the land ready to build right now. It's more, it sounds exciting but given how often that happens here, it's more more common when, Steven Weinstock: when you're speaking to investors you come from a background in tech you have a network of similar minded people, you are able to build trust with them because they know you or they feel like they know you [00:21:00] because of what you did and the way you are. I've spoken to a doctor recently who's has a tremendous portfolio. All his investors are other doctors, and they know him. They're in a club. They know him. They're in a club. And he says that even when he raises money from, non medical professionals, the fact that he has that white jacket gives him some sort of gravitas. And, if he's good enough to be a doctor, he must be good enough to be a real estate investor and, he must be trustworthy, et cetera. And that really helps him with his raise. I'm guessing that the bulk of your investors, or at least when he started out, were people in your field and have you been able to expand to others? Georgy Marrero: Yes, I have noticed what you've described with a doctor and there is that level of affinity when someone who is already in tech who understands how hard it is [00:22:00] to get to one of these companies or even into one of these teams, inside of the companies. They, that gives you instant credibility in, in that field. It doesn't have to be someone in Meta. It can be someone in another company, Airbnb or Uber. I I have other investors that come from other fields and I found that the same credibility from the tech side helps. But it hasn't been in my. My goals lately to just go into another segment. I think that segment still has a lot of people that do not understand real estate or want to do real estate, but haven't found the right bridge to get to it. Steven Weinstock: I would agree with you. That field has high earners people who are working, 50, 60, 80 hours a week. They're making, lots of money and. After a while, they realize how much in taxes they're paying, and they're figuring out a way to diversify. Some of them might be [00:23:00] upset with the stock market or feel like they have too much in there and eventually want to diversify. So yeah, it's definitely a good to draw from in your scenario. Definitely helps. Where do you see. equis , now again I'm gonna keep saying, in my head before I, I read it I call it equis now. It's spelled E-Q-U-I-S. But you corrected me before we started that. It's not equis, it is eis. You have great Spanish accent, Steven, by the way. Okay. I live in Brooklyn. I'm born and raised and live in Brooklyn, New York. But I know zero Spanish except for, gracias and manana. But it would definitely help me out the more Spanish, I know I deal with tenants. Some of the properties who speak Spanish, and years ago it was much tougher these days. Texting them is easy. But thank you for the compliment that I have. A great accent. What do you see your company headed over the next five years? I think Georgy Marrero: we [00:24:00] will possibly have a fund. It streamlines a lot of things. Sure. And especially because our deal flow has na been narrowing when it comes to the type and business strategy. So it makes a fun just, one simple mission, one simple business plan for it. So I definitely see that. And I think with what's coming right now I'm hopeful about the market. We have been doing acquisitions in the last few years, even though it has been a rough market and things are supposed and they're looking like they will soften. So I think we're very well positioned to, deliver very good returns to our investors and get even better deals at what we have been getting lately. I also see more international deals. I do want to continue focusing on the Dominican Republic, especially. Since I have a [00:25:00] very strong team here, so I see us bridging that gap whether it is for us citizens who see the need of going more international or whether it is maybe Latinos in the US who want to contribute to the communities back home. Steven Weinstock: How's your day compared to when you worked at Meta? Let me back up. When you worked at Meta, you were living in the US or you were in the Dr. Georgy Marrero: I was, or was I, so I spent about eight years in California and three years in Orlando. I was first in California when it was Facebook, and then when it was Meta, I was in Orlando. So I was in the us Steven Weinstock: What's your day like today or these days compared to. When you had that W2 corporate job. Georgy Marrero: Yeah. So the challenges are more challenging, and they're nonstop. And they have to be dealt with. But my days are way [00:26:00] lighter. In a sense, even though my responsibilities are more, my days are lighter just the autonomy that I have and the freedom to choose what project, who to work with, who are gonna be my partners that's, it fulfills me a lot. Honestly, some days I'm just running around. Some days I'm at the beach. It really depends. I get to choose and sometimes I choose just working. Steven Weinstock: If you weren't in real estate or tech, what else would you be doing? Oh, Georgy Marrero: man, that that's a great question. Steven Weinstock: As a baseball fan without stereotyping. I know. The Dr. Throws off no pun intended, throws off great baseball players. Georgy Marrero: I played 10 years of baseball. Steven Weinstock: Yes. Way to keep the stereotype going. Georgy Marrero: Alright. Yes. So the hometown I grew up in was, is San Pedro de Mac. That's the home of sammy sosa Robinson Cano. Fernando [00:27:00] Tatis. It's the number one city of the Dominican Republic. And Dominican Republic is the number one exporter of baseball players. Steven Weinstock: Oh, wow. You live in a country where most of us go to vacation. I, myself have been to Santa Domingo. Am I correct? That's in the Yes. Capital. Capital. All right. And I've been to, actually, no, I was supposed to go to punta cana. I did not end up making it there. Tell our audience a little about the Dr. Dominican Republic that, most of us don't know. We just know it as a place to go for a weekend. If we can get a good deal with Spirit Air, we hop on a flight and next thing we're there. Tell us a little about the Dr. There's definitely more Georgy Marrero: than punta cana. That's the first thing, and it's a very nice place to. Enjoy yourself. People are very happy. The food is great. And there's other beaches that are [00:28:00] incredible. There's a lot of business to be made here, not just real estate, but especially in real estate. A lot of people do real estate but they don't have the same level of sophistication that people in the US has. And you know that can be a good thing for a player coming in, wanting to partner up with somebody else. Yeah. Steven Weinstock: What's the most memorable property you've bought? I, Georgy Marrero: that, that house for my grandmother. Steven Weinstock: Even though she didn't end up living in the house, is that correct? Even Georgy Marrero: though she didn't end up living in it, it was it was unfinished. The owners previously, they ran outta money, so I bought it and she was supposed to be the first one to live in it. But I think that started it all for me. So that's the most memorable one. Steven Weinstock: I've spoken to a lot of people in the real estate business and I've bumped into so many that. Got into the business by being what's called an accidental landlord. You have [00:29:00] people who bought a house for themselves for whatever reason they have to relocate or they wanna upgrade and for whatever reason, they either couldn't or don't wanna sell the house. They end up renting it out. And only then when you start getting some rent. Do the numbers really start clicking like, wow, I got this rent. I'm making, an extra a hundred bucks on top and I'm paying down my loan and the value is going up and there's potential tax benefits, wow. Sign me up. And that's really how it started with me when I started. When I started my goal was to buy one single family home and pay it off over a 30 year period with a traditional loan. That would be like an added 401k, an added retirement for myself. And only after two or three months of collecting rent did I really start, when you're in it, you really are in it, when you're just thinking about it, it's a different ballgame. And only after two or three months of collecting rent did I [00:30:00] realized wow, like why can't I do a second one and maybe a third? And really it was off to the races after that. And that's how I got into it. I had a corporate job at the time, and I quickly pivoted. I was still young. I was living at home with my parents I didn't have too many expenses, but that's really how I got into it. If you had a week with no phone, no computer, how would you spend it? Surfing. Okay. We have I'm not sure if you see this, but we have what's called Shabbas the Sabbath. Yes. So we have one day a week. We have 25 hours a week. Where we unplug and as a kid, eh, I was a little upset. No tv, no, can't watch Saturday morning cartoons or whatever it was. As an adult, it's like the best thing to ever happen, it's just so amazing. I get to shut off my phone. I get to not talk business. I spend time with my family. It's really, something that as you get older, you start [00:31:00] appreciating a lot more. And I know there's a push with others to try to unplug for, just a few hours at a time. Definitely try it. I'm not here to convert you to any religion. But definitely try unplugging if you don't already, it would definitely change your entire mindset. Besides surfing, how else are you? Chilling. Are you binging Netflix? Are you traveling the world? What's your go-to? Georgy Marrero: I like traveling a lot. I, that's, that is my scheduled time of unplugging. I work very hard during the weekend, sometimes weekends 'cause I'm on a mission, but I always take that time off. This. Winter. I'm taking my mother, my brother girlfriend, and we're just going to Europe. . And I'm already making preparation so I don't have to be present at any of the businesses. Where in [00:32:00] Europe are you going? Anywhere? Fun and exciting. We're going to Spain and mother's request, she wants to go to Rome, so I guess we're going to Rome. Steven Weinstock: Okay. You seem family is very important to you. You mentioned your grandmother, you mentioned this excellent vacation with your family. So that's very important. I guess it keeps you grounded no matter how much money you're making, whether it's at meta or in real estate or with ai. I guess your mother could always still tell you throw out the garbage. Georgy Marrero: Yes. Except, yes. I think there's not a lot of use for money if you don't spend it the right ways. It just so happens that at the core. What I deem most important is family, and it depends on, on, on people. For some people, family can be, the closest group of friends for whatever reason. But I think that mother, grandmother I don't have kids yet, but I [00:33:00] think it will always be at my core. And one thing, Steven, that we're in this business, always ask questions before. Taking money from an investor and in the last, this entire year, the last eight months, the more I ask why. People say family, the reason that they want to invest in real estate and get some passive income and get a little bit more money from taxes and maybe leave their job in the future or have the option to leave their job, and I still continue asking them why. They always come back to me and say, because I wanna spend more time with the family, and that makes me very happy. That's the moment that I get very excited on the call. And I tell them a little bit about my story and that's when we deepen the connection. And I'm very grateful that's the kind of people that I end up doing business with as well. Steven Weinstock: Georgy it was great talking to you. I know you gave me a hard stop. I know you went over the time limit, so I hope whoever's waiting for you can [00:34:00] understand that. But I just wanna thank you for sharing the journey. Tell the audience how they could reach out to you. Company name, you could say your phone number, email, whatever, whatever you want. The LinkedIn profile, Instagram, Twitter handle social security number, whatever you wanna share. We'll put it in the show notes, but say it in your own words. Georgy Marrero: Yes, absolutely. So the best way to reach me would be on my LinkedIn or my Instagram, and you can find me my full name. Georgy Marrero, G-E-O-R-G-Y-M-A-R-R-E-R-O. And send me the m my dms are open. I talk to everyone and I read them all. Steven Weinstock: Okay. Georgy, thank you very much. I will put that all on the show notes. If anyone who's. Listening wants to connect with Georgy, learn more about his work at equis. Did I say that again correctly? equis Capital EQ, UIS Capital. Check out the links in the show notes. If you enjoy this conversation. Make sure to [00:35:00] follow the wealth clock on your favorite podcast platform. We are seeing many more downloads. It's been growing. I just wanna thank everybody for that. Please leave a review share this episode with someone who may be thinking about making a move in the real estate business. I'm Steven Weinstock. Georgy, thank you very much for joining us. It was great, and I'll see you on the next episode of the Wealth Clock. Georgy Marrero: Thank you so much, Steven. Thank you all.