Taking the Leap

Welcome to my newsletter-slash-blog! I'm Edward Sapp, a former Vice President at Brookfield Asset Management (huge investment fund), now embarking on a new adventure as an entrepreneur. In this post, I'll share my background, why I chose to leave Brookfield, and my hopes and dreams for this new chapter in my life. I'll also discuss the influences behind my decision and what you can expect from this blog moving forward. If you're considering a similar leap from a corporate job to starting your own venture, or just curious about my journey, join me as I share my experiences and lessons learned.

Why the Newsletter and Blog?

I recently did something crazy, and I believe leaving a promising job with a bright future to start my own businesses might be interesting to some people. I enjoy helping others and sharing my insights, so I promise to keep things radically transparent. You'll get to watch me build my parachute in real-time, witnessing unfiltered failures and successes. Writing will force me to be intentional, and I hope it will hold me accountable as well. I hope to demonstrate my skills and passions, so you might consider hiring me, subscribing to my products, or just staying in touch. And, If I'm fortunate, you'll share feedback with me that helps me write better, work better, and be better!

I'll be focusing on two main things: (i) building up my own consulting practice from scratch, and (ii) developing SaaS services. So, keep an eye out for insights on managing off-shore teams, software development, marketing, and, of course, real estate investment. By following my journey, you'll gain a unique perspective on the intersection of megafund private equity commercial real estate investing and data-first analytics, with an entrepreneurial twist.

If you're considering a similar leap from a corporate job to starting your own venture, I hope my experiences will help guide you. And, of course, I'd love to connect with others who share my passions or are interested in collaborating on projects. Don't hesitate to reach out! You can find more on my About page, subscribe to my newsletter and email me there, or Tweet me.

More Detail About My Past Life

Brookfield is an enormous company, and I absolutely loved working there! They own a vast array of assets and manage a significant amount of money for numerous important governments, institutions, companies, and individuals. The company is roughly divided into four segments: Real Estate, Infrastructure, Renewables, and Private Equity. I worked in the substantial slice of the business that covers Real Estate and spent time on various teams, such as Multifamily Investments, M&A Investments, Distressed Loan Workouts, Internal Tech Development, and Luxury Retail Real Estate. Several of these roles overlapped at once, and I will always credit Brookfield for giving its junior employees unparalleled exposure across the board.

A critical aspect of the business I worked on was private funds investment. This is where we raise a substantial amount of money into a fund, deploy it prudently and rapidly, and then hold for 3-5 years until we liquidate our holdings, aiming to double our money. The funds I invested out of were called BSREP III and BSREP IV (BSREP = Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners). These are large pools of money where we seek to earn 20% annual returns on the funds we manage on behalf of large global institutions (think Sovereign Wealth Funds, Pension Plans, University Endowments, and a few Extraordinarily Wealthy Individuals). To give you a sense of their scale and why people refer to places like Brookfield as megafunds: BSREP III closed in 1Q19 at $15B, and we invested out of it so quickly that we closed the subsequent fund, BSREP IV, in 1Q23 at $17B. So, we were moving a lot of money very fast, and it was going all over the globe.

To give you a glimpse of my life at Brookfield, I worked on transactions including the $11.4B take-private LBO of Forest City Realty Trust, the $3.4B life science portfolio sale to Blackstone, the $1.2B sale of Simply Self Storage, and the ongoing portfolio management of both Forest City and our global luxury retail real estate portfolio, spanning 7 countries, 160+ retail assets, and 130M+ total square feet. There were countless other deals, both closed and pursued, from counter-cyclical student housing to the glamorous yacht-filled world of coastal marinas. I undoubtedly had my hands full during my time at Brookfield!

I had the privilege to work with some of the kindest, smartest, and most driven people I've ever met. I grew significantly, both personally and professionally, under the mentorship of incredibly generous individuals who invested a lot of time and energy into my development. These people were pivotal role models in my career journey, and I'll always be grateful for their impact on my life.

The Decision to Leave the Nest

Brookfield was, and still is, a dream job for myself and many others. So why did I choose to leave? Ultimately, my choice came down to two factors: time and money. I could remain at Brookfield, earning a substantial income but sacrificing autonomy over my time, or embark on my own, regaining full control over my time but facing an uncertain financial future. Ultimately, I chose to prioritize time.

The stakes are high – I need to maintain my lifestyle in a high cost of living (HCOL) city, but thankfully I have been careful to keep my living standards within my means. As a result, my breakeven earnings target post-Brookfield is only 25.7% of what I would have made this year.

This decision involved a considerable amount of soul-searching and invaluable input from my closest family and friends. If you find yourself connecting with some of the themes I've discussed, you might appreciate a few books that really helped me work through everything:

• Paulo Coelho’s O Alquimista
• Oliver Burkeman’s 4,000 Hours: Time Management for Mortals
• Tim Ferriss’ 4HWW

What’s Next?

As I embark on this new chapter, I've set aside 20 months' worth of living expenses to support myself while residing in the high-cost area of Williamsburg, NY. My goal is to establish a steady earnings base as quickly as possible, so I don't have to rely on my rainy-day fund. As mentioned, I only need to generate 25.7% of my total Brookfield compensation that I would have earned. As it stands, my spirits are high.

This blog will document my journey towards achieving that income while strategically optimizing my work to maximize efficiency and minimize my most significant expense: time. By following along from day zero, you'll gain a unique perspective that, depending on the outcome, will either serve as a roadmap for building your own success or as a cautionary tale about leaving your job to chase your dreams. Either way, you'll acquire valuable lessons along the way. So, why not join me on this exciting adventure?

Feedback

I’m always learning, so please let me know if you spot any mistakes, errors, inconsistencies, grievances, questions, comments, or concerns in any of my content!