The son of a psychoanalyst and writer, New York native Jason Sander didn’t grow up surrounded by your typical Wall Street types. But there he landed, working for established companies like Merril Lynch and Bear Stearns before transitioning into the real estate world, where he has had huge success in raising capital.
It was after sourcing the capital for the 10th largest acquisition in New York City—180 Maiden Lane—that Sander decided to start his own venture, SandCap LLC.
“I never dreamed of having my own company,” the WeWork Soho West member admits. “I worked for some of the top real estate companies in New York and enjoyed it very much. But on the capital raising side, it really makes more sense for you to be able to capital raise for a few different clients, rather than just being in-house and working for one major client.”
Branching off on his own also gave him a schedule he could control, which he very much needed at the time.
“I started this company while my father was passing from brain cancer,” says Sander. “So to start building my own company allowed me the flexibility to help take care of him.”
Below, Sander gives his top three tips for others looking to break into capital raising.
1. Hit the books (and the Internet). “Before I reach out to any potential client—whether it’s a real estate company or a major institutional investor—I really do my homework,” says Sander. “I read voraciously everything there is to know about that real estate company or that investor, so that when I actually talk to them on the phone or meet them in person, I know everything to know about them that is publicly available. And I think a lot of people—when they’re reaching out to raise capital for any kind of business—they often forget that not all investors are similar at all. All investors have a different reason for investing in what they invest in—unless you really know that going into each meeting, you will not be successful.”
2. It’s your personality that pays off. “A major bit of advice for everyone,” says Sander, “especially in real estate and Wall Street, where there are a lot of good people and there’s also a lot of not-so-good people, is that it’s always very important to work with people that have the best integrity in the industry because it reflects on you.”
3. Don’t self-destruct. Humility is key, says Sander. “I went to a major conference this past week. There was somebody who may be very successful who was on one of the panels, and he came across as absolutely arrogant—had no self-awareness of how arrogant they seemed—and they probably turned off every single potential investor in the room. It’s just important, no matter how successful you’ve become—don’t take yourself too seriously.”