Ryan Williams
CEO and Co-Founder of Cadre
“As a leader, I need to be grounded but also be a dealer in hope. And for our team, what that meant is, let's not get too high, let's not get too low. Let’s stay true to our principles. Let's stay true to the approach in many ways that got us is here. And let's take everything minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.”
Summary
In this episode of Leadership Matters, Alan and his good friend Ryan William talk about Ryan’s unconventional path and the leadership qualities that he believes should be shown at all levels, not just the C-suite.
Ryan’s appetite for innovation and innovation started at the age of 14 when he started a business in high school selling athletic apparel. He attended Harvard, where he found it hard to break into the finance world. He then founded the Veritas Financial Group, the largest co-educational finance organization at the university to improve the financial literacy of future students. Ryan then went on to work for Goldman Sachs and then The Blackstone Group.
He believes that during moments of social upheaval, leaders must address these issues and show a willingness to talk and listen with candor and compassion
Mentions & Resources in this Episode
Cadre is a digital marketplace for commercial real estate investing.
Veritas Financial Group is the largest co-educational finance organization at Harvard that provides students the opportunity to improve their financial literacy and gain valuable, hands-on experience in the world of finance.
Guest Bio
Ryan Williams is a technology entrepreneur best known as the CEO and co-founder of Cadre, a New York-based technology company. He was named to Fortune's "40 under 40" list for 2019, Forbes' "30 under 30" list for 2018, "Crain’s 40 under 40" list for 2017, is one of Commercial Observer’s "30 under 30," and has been profiled in Forbes, Ivy, technology and real estate trade publications. In February 2019 he was on the cover of Forbes' "FinTech 50" issue.
In 2020, Williams published a widely-linked op-ed in CNBC recounting his experience being supported by a Black-owned and Black-founded bank early in his career, and his commitment to increase diversity among participating banks and real estate operators in the future. As one of few African American real estate technology founders and CEOs, he has often advocated for actionable change in his industry and society.
Follow Ryan on LinkedIn and Cadre’s blog.
Clips from this Episode
“I am encouraged & inspired by the folks that are coming up & coming of age”
On how Cadre is using the current pains & social unrest to bring people in the company together
Episode Transcription
Alan Fleischmann
You are listening to Leadership Matters on Sirius XM. I'm your host, Alan Fleischmann. I'm very pleased today to introduce you to someone who I think is really transforming not just the real estate and tech industries, but actually entrepreneurial activity and leadership throughout our country. Ryan Williams is the co-founder and CEO of Cadre, a technology-driven real estate investing platform. It's an online marketplace dedicated to democratizing access to commercial real estate investment. Cadre’s mission is to provide more individuals the opportunity to invest in institutional-grade real estate, a traditionally inaccessible, opaque, and really illiquid asset class. But really, what I want to do is, in addition to having you hear about what he's creating Cadre, is to really get a sense of the CEO. I get to work with CEOs all the time as we interview people on the show, who are really great leaders, I can't name a CEO or leader that I've ever met, or that I know and get to work with, or get to know well, or that we've had on the show, who is more impressive to me. And frankly, he has more leadership qualities than Ryan, and he's a humble guy and a great guy. But he truly is one of those great leaders you want to be in the trenches with if you're in a time of crisis. His life story does not mirror the average tech founder or CEO and that might be why he's different. And at 32 years old, he's earned great stripes along the way and is honestly in many ways, is as impressive if not more impressive than anyone twice his age. He grew up in a family with modest means in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He began his entrepreneurial career at the age of 14 where he founded a sports apparel company which he later sold. He worked his way through Harvard. And while he was there, he founded the largest pre-professional business organization at the school, the Veritas Financial Group. And during his senior year, Ryan started a real estate single-family fund, acquiring, renovating, and selling more than 20 single-family homes, while acquiring more than 500 multifamily units in the southeast region of the United States. After graduating from Harvard, Ryan joined the technology media and telecom group at Goldman Sachs and went from there to the real estate private equity division of the Blackstone Group before he co-founded Cadre and became a CEO in 2014. He's 32 years old, as I said, and he has won widespread recognition as one of America's most promising young CEOs, appearing on the cover of Forbes, being named one of Forbes 30 under 30 in 2018, and appearing on CNN, Yahoo Finance The New York Times and Fortune, where he's taking the lead in some of the toughest discussions in our country about social and economic justice. In July, Ryan and Cadre, his team, released a powerful statement of action around diversity, equity, and inclusion. And in early August, Ryan signed on to Betterments FinTech equality coalition to push FinTech companies to address racial inequalities. He's African American, he's 32 years old. He doesn't come from the rich and famous, but he has created something of leadership that, frankly, is unparalleled in our country. And it is truly a pleasure for me to welcome you to Leadership Matters. Welcome, Ryan.
Ryan Williams
Thank you, thank you for that kind introduction, as well, I really appreciate and am happy to be here with you today.
Alan Fleischmann
You know, I love talking to you. And I think we're gonna have a great time. And we've got millions of folks who listen to Sirius XM, and listen to this show because they care about two things they care, they'd like to learn who's doing what in the world. They certainly want to get to know leaders. And there is this issue in our country where we do aspire to find people who are doing good as well as doing well. And you are the epitome of that in so many ways, and you're very humble. And to get you on the show wasn’t easy. So I'm doubly enthusiastic that we can finally have this conversation because your first reaction is always getting back to work or doing something with family or community and getting you to spend time to do a show is not easy. Not so easy for me to get you on the show, I'll say. But back to what I said a minute ago. Your life story doesn't mirror actually the life story of any typical tech executive. Certainly, when you think of the young tech titan from Silicon Valley, they don't usually grow up in Baton Rouge, they're not usually African American. They may be 32 years old. That may happen. But what walk us through a little bit of your path. Were you always interested in entrepreneurship? Certainly you must have been at an early age or you wouldn't have launched your first business at 14. But give us a little bit of it.
Ryan Williams
I think back a lot to sort of how I've been able to get to where I am today. And the first thing is there have been a lot of people who have invested in me, who have given me a shot. Starts with my family. Nobody in my family's ever done anything like I'm doing now and nobody in my family had, frankly, gone to school outside of our, our area, community, and state. Many didn't go to college. And so those folks believe in me even before I had achieved a lot of what I’ve achieved today. I can't help but think how important having folks who believe in you who are not going to constrain your determination, despite circumstances you might be in is to ultimately bring those visions to reality. So I've had family, aunts, uncles, who have believed in me who have told me to do well in school. So as I think back to my journey, and my experiences, I can't help but think that I've had so many people from my family, who have believed in me, who have never constrained my visions, or ideas and I also think that beyond just having, it doesn't take a lot of people, but one or two people who believe in you and who don't immediately shoot down some of your ideas or dreams or ambitions no matter how crazy. You also have to have a perspective, that's unique. To do unconventional things. I grew up in an environment where most people don't get out of Baton Rogue. Where most people who look like me are not ascending to go, not just to college, but definitely not to work in finance or technology or real estate. And so there has to be that glimmer of hope within some of those dark places that can illuminate a path forward for you. And that's really what I had in family members. And then there has to be that perspective that you see these challenges as opportunities, you see the issues around you as potential channels for change. And I think that's really where my entrepreneurial desire and drive came from. I didn't really coin myself as an entrepreneur growing up. I didn't know what the word meant probably until I was a lot older. But I had always seen issues around me, and I'd always seen problems and always ask, What if. What if I could change this dynamic or this dimension? What if I could help connect this business to this person? What if I could make these problems solved in many ways. And so the very first businesses I started were things like basically identifying that there's a real issue and in communities where you got folks who can't afford to buy headbands or wristbands or sports bras, but people play sports growing up. I grew up playing sports and I loved the apparel, the headbands, the wristbands, but I couldn't afford a Nike or an Adidas or a Jordan headband, a wristband, or the like. And I could have said, All right, well, I can't afford it, so I'm just not gonna wear that. Or I can't afford it, so me, my teammates, and I, we're gonna just gonna not have sports apparel. But instead, I asked, Well, what if there was an affordable solution here? And not just an affordable solution, but one that also was quality and could represent me. So I took what was potentially a challenge and a lack of and I tried to flip it on its head and say, Okay, well, I want to figure out how to get this kind of product, but I also want to figure out, how do I create a better product that is true, authentic, and represents myself. And so that was the first real venture that I can think of where I could be genuinely coined an entrepreneur. I ended up going to the wholesale district and buying headbands and wristbands for a lot less than Nike and Adidas and Jordan were charging. And I brought them back to some teammates and friends and ended up selling for a good margin, wearing some myself. And then I kind of took it that next step, and I said, Alright, well, at some point, someone else could just go to the wholesale district and undercut me. So what if I could personalize and customize this product in a way that was unique and distinctive? And that sounded great. But in practice, the way to actually customize headbands wristbands, I learned was to embroider them. But there were really no embroiders that were willing to take the risk of messing their machines up. I put in this terry cloth headband and wristband through their system. But after calling 50 or 60, I ended up meeting one person who was willing to do it. And I started to personalize had been in business, I'd sell my products through email marketing campaign, through a website. And the business took off and funded a lot for me, including part of my college education. And I ended up eventually exiting and selling the business. And while I no longer have the business with me, and I no longer am still operating selling headbands and wristbands, what I still do have is that same orientation and perspective of seeing problems and issues and ask him what if? And why not? And what would it take to change this situation or predicament? And that's something that I think I've carried throughout my entire life. It's something that was critical when I was at Harvard, to your point, in terms of the organizations I started. Because when I got to Harvard, initially, there's an element of intimidation, for sure. Very few people came from my background there very few people.
Alan Fleischmann
How did you get to Harvard? I mean, that's also it's it seemed like there was a long road between where you grew up. Yeah, get to Harvard's out of that happened, also, and then, and then when we should go dive into some of the entrepreneurial things you did while you were there, too.
Ryan Williams
Yeah, well Harvard was definitely something that I had heard of, and I knew of, and I knew it was the best. And so even from a young age, I had my mind set on, I want to go to the best of the best. I didn't really know how to actually get there. And I didn't know, frankly, what it took. But I had set that out as a goal from some of my earliest years when I first started thinking about what I want to do when I finished up high school and got through high school. And so when I was in high school, I went to a public high school, not a school that is a theater or a private high school. But when I got to high school, I thought a lot about what kind of experience I wanted. When I finished up. I did well, academically I focus on my grades, and I studied hard,.I didn't have to study as hard, frankly, as I needed to early on at Harvard. But I did study hard. I focused on my business and growing that. And I decided that I would give it a shot and apply after having a good academic career in high school, and then being well-rounded and playing sports. But for all intents and purposes, it was a very long shot based off of my profile in many ways, but I did decide to go to college, I wanted to go to the best of the best. And I wanted to go recognizing I did have an unconventional profile. And I did have unconventional experiences. And I had a guidance counselor in high school who I sat down with, and I mapped out all the colleges that I was thinking about which ones would give me financial aid and which ones would be more challenging because that was a pretty critical consideration. Because I really didn't have the kind of money to be able to just make that a non-variable in my decision. So my guidance counselor, who himself was African American, and you would think that he would see that here was a student who had done well, who had high ambitions and aspirations, and you want to encourage me to think about really pushing beyond what people will say is possible and apply to the top of the top schools and the like, and instead, his feedback to me was, it'd be a long shot. Nobody, really, with your background or experience has made that kind of jump to somewhere like Harvard. Why don't you think about other state school or a school that is more within your reach? And I remember having that conversation and feeling even more inspired to go out and reset his expectations, because I knew that, yeah, I am unconventional, and I am different, and I do have a different quote-unquote profile. But to get unconventional results and experiences, you oftentimes need an unconventional approach, an unconventional profile. And so I said, Look, I'm going to apply to all of these schools, I've got waivers for my applications because I couldn't really afford to pay for each of the different filing fees, application fees. And I'm going to apply and I'm going to be authentic and I'm going to highlight to Harvard and every other school I applied to why my experiences will add to their college population. And why my experiences as a business leader and an entrepreneur will add a new dimension. And I promised myself as well that when I got into some of the top schools, and I told myself, I would get into Harvard, but when I got in, I would never forget the words from my guidance counselor, and use those. Not as frustration or anger-driven motivation, but as an opportunity to make sure that the next kid that sat in front of the guidance counselor wouldn't have to go through the same conversation, a conversation where the guidance counselor says there is, there is no profile, there is no one that looks like you that's been able to achieve, or get into a place like Harvard from our school. And I think that's also been a lesson I've taken with me today. Just how important it is to pay back all the blessings that you received, the success that you're given, how important it is, especially in this day and age, to balance your own personal ascension and your growth professionally with your community's growth. And when I got to Harvard, one of the first things I did was I went to our admissions office, and I spoke with the admissions officers. And I asked them, What are your target schools? Who are you reaching out to? And I was surprised that most were private schools from what I saw in there. Especially amongst minority students. And one sponsored a trip for my public high school group of African American males to come to Harvard on Harvard's dime. And then to I made sure that every public school where my roommates and friends within the Harvard black men's forum attended was represented in the Harvard outreach proactively. And then when I got to Harvard, I got involved with some other initiatives I started up. And I say all that to say that I've never forgotten where I come from, I've never forgotten that there have been so many people that have come before me. Not all of them are always recognized or acknowledged that have allowed me to be able to make the path in the journey I've been able to make today. And I never want a capable, talented person who comes from a background or experience that isn't conventional or isn't of the majority, to be shot down or to be discouraged from ascending to the best of them can be and with the best of their abilities can achieve. And so that's always been something that's motivated me.
Alan Fleischmann
And I know that from other things you do philanthropically and what you've done, actually, by going back to those roots, as well. So you're listening to Leadership Matters on Sirius XM Radio, business channel 132. I'm your host, Alan Fleischmann, I'm here today with my good friend Ryan Williams, who's the co-founder and CEO of Cadre, which in itself is a fascinating startup, but a startup that has been noted by Forbes magazine and others as having an evaluation north of $800 million and is exceedingly successful even during this pandemic when real estate and is actually reconciling with the reality. What you're building actually has been extraordinary. We're gonna get to Cadre in a minute. We're still in Harvard, this journey that you were on You came from very modest means, honestly, in Baton Rouge, and then grew up, went to high school, and then was determined to go to the best university you could get into a new, despite people saying you should expect something less or you should moderate your goals and your ambition. You did set out for Harvard got in. And you went. I'm sure that was really daunting. And when I add my introduction of you, I mentioned some of the things that you created. You were this entrepreneur, this scrappy entrepreneur at 14, who ended up selling your business. And then you went on to Harvard, where you created things and not just the entrepreneurial things, but you were just alluding to it, you created things that were opening doors for others. There were a lot of firsts. You would think with Harvard, and the how many hundreds of years it's been around, that you would have had a hard time coming up with some first, especially when it dealt with diversity, I would have thought by that point, you came, you’re only 32. Now, what would you what could you have created? But you did. So tell us a little bit of what you created at Harvard. Because it is very telling. And it doesn't seem like Ryan you acclimated to be like Harvard, it sounds like what you did is you just maximized Harvard in order to create some of the things you needed to create.
Ryan Williams
Definitely. Harvard was an incredible experience for me. I oftentimes tell people it was like a playground of resources and opportunity. And I think in many ways, I would not be where I am without that experience and without going there. At the same time, I think it was W.B. Dubois said you can be from someplace like Harvard, but you don't have to be of Harvard. And I never considered myself of Harvard. I tried to do what I could to be authentic. And bring my own genuine experiences and perspective to the table. When I got there, I was honestly confused. And in some ways, intimidated. I sometimes tell people the anecdote that I had never studied in the library before. And you get to campus and the first week, it's, you're generally just meeting other kids and getting acclimated. But then pretty quickly thereafter, it gets serious and studying takes hold. And so I took a lot of classes, and I would do my homework, and do it in my dorm and get dinner, and that would be it. And then I'd come back, and I'd see these libraries and kids going in there studying. And I remember asking my roommate, like, what exactly does studying entail? Because I had never really had to do it before. And so that was just one anecdote of like this is a serious place where you have to, in some ways, adjust your mentality and approach, but stay true to yourself. And so I figured out how to study effectively pretty quickly. And I figured out pretty quickly why it was so important to do that. And that at a place like Harvard, you need to bring an extra sort of effort. But studying and academics was something I cared about a lot. And making your voice known is important just from an education and information perspective, and being empowered that way. But I ultimately spent way more time outside the classroom than inside while I was at Harvard. And it was the right thing for me to do. Because as excited as I was about some of the classes and courses I was taking, I was way more passionate about building organizations, building teams of people who would tackle, as we had mentioned earlier, problems that could make life better for other people, could level the playing field, or could just create greater access. The headband company, I started with many ways about providing a quality product at a lower price point for more people. When I got there, and it was really that first sort of summer. I was I was thinking a lot about what I wanted to do for an internship and because internships start getting thrown around pretty early there. And what I realized is the most relevant internship for me because I was entrepreneurial and I focused on business was to work in financial services or finance. That was, I guess, 2006 2007 timeframe. And I realized that I knew nothing about financial services, let alone what an investment bank was and I realized that as internships and interviewing started kicking up in that fall, I was going to be completely lost. And I would go to some of these informational sessions, and they were throwing around words like different capital markets and leveraged finance. And I had no idea what they meant. I started researching a lot, myself actually started putting together my own sort of Encyclopedia of financial terms, so I could just be prepared to the extent. I went, and I ended up interviewing, but then I thought more about it, and I took myself out the picture. And I started thinking, well, if I have no idea what's going on, but I see it's a lucrative industry to be in, there's got to be others like me who also have no idea about financial services, maybe their families didn't come from financial services, their parents weren't executives, they didn't grow up and no finance hubs and have access. And I was building this glossary for myself, I was learning about investment banking, and venture capital, and even real estate at that point, because it was pre subprime credit crisis. And that was a relatively large asset class that folks were trading in and out of. And I said, Well, what if I could actually help other people understand financial services? Especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, women, people of color, people who didn't socioeconomically come from money. Then what I could do is I could level the playing field allow more people to go into these internships and interviews with greater access and greater opportunity, especially at a place like Harvard, where it's liberal arts, and so you don't have the same kind of finance background that you could have somewhere like Wharton. And I realized here that I could actually level the playing field, but I wasn't going to do it myself. I started thinking about this whole playground of resources And I said, Well, what if I could get Harvard Business School professors and MBA students who clearly must know about finance because they're at the business school, and connect them to undergrads? And basically allow them to work together to understand finance, in better detail. What if I could create a financial curriculum that would ultimately empower underrepresented minorities and women to be able to thrive and succeed and have a good shot from the outset, getting an internship, but then also really thriving in these environments? And I spoke to a couple of my roommates, both African American males as well. And they both said the same thing. They said, we were about to go into these interviews, and we had no idea what we were going to do. And so if we could start sharing information, sharing insights, and education and getting know some help and guidance from folks in the business school, we'd be all for it. And so the long story short is we ended up developing a financial curriculum, most of it became online over the course of a month and a half. Around that same time, I reached out to more than 75 Harvard Business School professors. And my outreach was, I am building this curriculum to help undergrads better understand finance so that those from underrepresented backgrounds go into interviews with the same type of information that others will. And I'd love for you as an HBS professor and shows you my naivety a bit, but I'd love for you to teach this curriculum that I've created and developed to hundreds of Harvard College students. Now at that point, I didn’t even have all the students aggravated, but that that was going to be the plan. And I want to set up a meeting with you. And here's all my windows of availability, and can we meet tomorrow? And surprisingly, I ended up getting about 20 responses from HBS professors and a few, in particular, ended up supporting us. Initially the business was called Black capital. That was the name of the organization. We ended up changing to Veritas Financial Group to be more expansive and inclusive but the idea was we were building these curriculums that would be taught by professors at Harvard Business School and MBA students to undergrads. The first time that's ever happened. There has never been an organization that connected undergrads to the business school. And we've got about 20 professors, about 70 MBA students to agree. The first professor to agree is a guy named Arthur Siegel, who's a legendary professor in real estate at the business school and then a guy named Nabeel Alhaji who taught our private equity and venture capital course. And then Eric Stafford, taught our financial services course. We ended up recruiting hundreds and hundreds of undergrads and initially, it started out as underrepresented minorities, but now it's every background. And it’s the largest pre-professional organization at Harvard, the first of its kind, and was a tremendous experience, but goes back to a pain point, a challenge, I felt personally. Ianted to address it, but address it in a way that included others. And I thought I did well with that business and organization, they actually have a trading arm. And Goldman and Morgan Stanley and others have supported it, but do good as well. And now I think if you were to go to ask any or most undergrads, they've heard of it, for sure. And most minority undergrads that go into finance, they've been a part of it. And that, to me, is a tremendous legacy and was way more fulfilling and rewarding than anything I could have done academically and also, ultimately, set the stage for me to delve later on in my college experience into real estate investing myself.
Alan Fleischmann
Because you did do some pretty cool entrepreneurial things while you were there. You did your first investments, as I mentioned earlier, while you were still at Harvard, and why don't we fast forward a little bit that your Harvard experience, you were successful at building phases are still very much a part of the institution today. And then you did some really successful investments. And this whole idea of really gentrifying black communities in particular, or underserved communities or vulnerable communities is a big part of—How do you make money by doing good? How do you build community by putting capital toward it, if you have the right eye? That's what you're doing now with Cadre. So maybe just very briefly mention any highlights from Goldman and Blackstone only because it would be weird not to mention them becasue they’re kind of like the Harvard's of where they are in their worlds. And you had your stints there like you did at Harvard. But all that kinda with the arrow towards let's talk about Cadre for a little bit. And then how that all led you to there?
Ryan Williams
Definitely, yeah. So towards the end of my college experience, ended up going down to Atlanta with one of my best friends and roommates, who's from Atlanta, between semesters and I noticed all these foreclosed homes up and down the street. And I asked them what the houses were worth and what they're valued at and what was going on. And he didn't really know, I clearly didn't know, we wanted to answer that question. And we ended up answering it through publicly available data. We underwrote hundreds of homes and built a model where we were able to price these foreclosed and short sale homes throughout the area. We convinced some of my classmates to back us so that we could actually buy some of these and the idea was we wanted to invest in by some of these homes, but also do good. We want to allow more people who otherwise would be foreclosed on or in sort of short sale to stay in the home and maintain the fabric of the society and the community. And we were really pleased with our efforts. We ended up buying dozens of homes, hundreds of residential units, and building one of the larger platforms in residential real estate in the Atlanta metro area. This is all while we were in college and kind of kept that business operating through graduation. It became more of a passive project for me, but something I was still passionate about. I ended up going to work at Goldman Sachs did tech banking there for a couple of years and what I realized that experiences, I enjoyed the transaction, I enjoyed the mentorship to network there. But I would still get on the phone late at night with my roommate in Atlanta and talk about our business and we’d figure out how do we grow our real estate portfolio. And there's clearly a passion there for it and my plan was actually to lead Goldman and scale this real estate portfolio we had been developing post finishing my time at Goldman and I ended up getting connected with Blackstone towards the end of my time at Goldman. They at that time were building their own single-family real estate portfolio. That was my connection there I had no real estate institutional experience except my own business. They were in many ways a gold standard for real estate private equity at that time and was was very frankly excited by their entire team and their approach and I said look I can go to Blackstone and learn from the best and learn exactly what it takes to scale a national and international real estate business and potentially apply that to whatever future endeavors I pursued and that's what I did. I spent a few years at Blackstone and I had an incredible experience working across asset classes and hotel and multifamily and hospitality and full service. It was just a really incredible experience, but I'm an entrepreneur at heart. And as any entrepreneur can empathize with, you're working for someone else, and you see why certain things are being done and you think they can be done better or differently, or to the benefit of a different constituency. You can't ignore that sort of calling and that passion. And so, I decided that I wanted to take a lot of the incredible things I learned from a place like Blackstone, but ultimately build a next-generation real estate investment model real estate's one of the most important asset classes to own to build long term wealth. But most individuals, and even some larger groups, have no idea how to properly or efficiently access commercial real estate. More millionaires are made from real estate than almost any other asset class, but most individuals only understanding of real estate is their homes. And I decided that the best way for me to hopefully level the playing field, some more people could benefit from ownership of the very real estate we were investing in. And underwriting at a place like Blackstone was to build a new model. I wanted to build a more transparent, a more open platform where people could own their futures. And where individuals and institutions alike, could benefit from the ownership of commercial real estate. And that was really the inception of Cadre in many ways was this recognition that there needed to be a different model, there needed to be a more progressive, progressive model that enabled individuals and larger investors alike to be able to own their futures to be able to invest in real estate and do it without all the barriers and fees and lack of liquidity that the existing models provided.
Alan Fleischmann
You know, I guess what's amazing about it is when you think about while this is happening, the advancement of technology certainly played a role in real estate, but your model was different. It wasn't just like, using technology as a way to communicate, or using technology as a way to create programs or brochures. It really was technology as a way to actually create that democratization. And you've been building it up over time, even more so. Youot a lot of investors on that platform, and you're giving them you kind of getting rid of the middleman, which has been the big challenge, the big problem in real estate for so long. So you figured out a solution like you said, when you see an opportunity to seize it, that's the entrepreneur, but it's transformational because I don't think there's anything like it in real estate, and certainly not at the scale that you're creating.
Ryan Williams
No, definitely, yeah. Real estate was one of those last frontiers where it's been primarily relationship-driven. It's about who you know and if you're not in that inner circle, or if you're not in the circle of dealmakers, if you're not one of the largest banks or institutional, then you're left out.
Alan Fleischmann
Like I said earlier, in the world of tech, there isn't a lot of diversity. I would argue, in real estate, there hasn't been a lot of diversity either.
Ryan Williams
Agreed? Yeah. Both industries suffer from a lack of diversity. And my view is that it's an impediment to innovation when you don't have other perspectives at the table when you're not more inclusive. Because you miss trends, you miss opportunities you miss your own challenges that you might not be able to see around the corner. And so these industries have been drastic and stodgy for so long. And the business models as well have. And so I think that in real estate, in particular, there's this tremendous opportunity to apply a new, a better perspective to the benefit of investors around the world. And what we're looking to do is to ultimately democratize access to institutional-quality real estate, to democratize insights, as well so people are empowered to understand their own real estate portfolio. Not just get in the door, but understand everything around them. And hopefully, reshape our global economy create a more equitable paradigm. And we think the best way to do it is to bring a new, diverse and indistinct perspective to the space.
Alan Fleischmann
That's amazing, actually. And I guess, I want to get into some of the things you've been doing around diversity and equity issues in a second too, because I think that speaks to the same values that you're driving at Cadre. Not only culturally but the mission of Cadre. But give me a sense of where is Cadre going. Because when you think of real estate early on in the pandemic, obviously one of the industries that was hit the hardest, has been real estate. But I kind of look at you as you—you got a punch that actually turned out to be this expectation that you're going to be hit hard. You kind of reconciled with that quickly, but you rally even quicker. And you've kind of turned this into an opportunity. I mean, no one wants to look at the pandemic as an opportunity. Perhaps that's not the right word. But I am looking for folks who have actually learned to lead through this and advance and I see you in an advancing phase at Cadre. Not on the defense at all. One of your two industries, tech, is thriving. The other one is real estate. They've been a little bit more on the defense. How do you see it? Aand then in a couple of sentences, give us a glimpse of where you're going with Cadre, and then let's dive into how you've also been as a leader and CEO. Because the one thing that I've seen during the same period, certainly after George Floyd's tragic murder, is that you've stepped up and so have your colleagues at Cadre in a away that actually is a platform for not only conversation, but action. We'll get to that in a minute. Just tell us a little bit about the pandemic and how you've gone for the defense of the offense.
Ryan Williams
You're absolutely right in terms of the defense and the offense. I say that we’re, in many ways today, moving from our kind of back foot to our front foot. And I think, for me, as a leader, I've learned a lot through this period of time. I realized that as a leader, I need to be grounded but also a dealer in hope. And, for our team, what that meant is let's not get too high, let's not get too low, let’s stay true to our principles. Let's stay true to the approach in many ways that God is here. And let's take everything minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. And I think that consistent, sort of even-keeled approach, despite the craziness around us, has allowed us to, one, come together as a stronger organization, two, innovate incredibly well. And now, three, began looking forward. And so for us, when we think about the impact to us and our portfolio and our company, we've been, frankly, pleasantly surprised with the performance of our holdings. We took a pretty prudent approach up front. As we mentioned, we're technology-driven. And so we had all the data about our properties at our fingertips. A traditional real estate company is going to take a much longer time to understand where their properties are performing, where their tenants, who is paying, who's not paying, understand macro-dynamics. We literally have a digital database that is dynamic. With the click of a button, we can pull information about every single property we own. And that allowed us to have the insights and information at our fingertips to make prudent decisions. Whether that was making sure we were open with certain tenants who needed rent relief, which is a very small percentage, or whether it was focusing on renewals at some of our property. So our overall portfolio, I mean, our multifamily portfolio is high 90s percent, collections and occupancy, our office is mid-90s percent. Even the hotels we own are stabilized and doing well. And so I think a lot of these outcomes are a function of our consistent approach throughout. Making sure that we leaned into what got us here from a data and tech perspective. Again, and not letting the swings of volatility, turbulence, or unrest push us too far in any one direction. And that's why I think we're positioned now to capitalize on what will be some of the greatest investment opportunities of our generation that will emerge from this period of uncertainty. And we're going to be able to pursue those from a position of stability in the midst of instability.
Alan Fleischmann
You know, we had on our show here on Leadership Matters—we've had as a guest, David Rubenstein, the co-founder of Carlyle, and I know recently, he did a podcast with you where he not only talked about Cadre, but he also talked about how where he's gonna put his money. Aad unlike that the fall out of the financial crisis over a decade ago, this was not a crisis that was started in real estate. And one of the things he pointed out, if you want to get great value, and you want to be part of the next generation of wealth creation, he really spotlightted technology, and as a sector and then obviously real estate, as a sector. You being a beneficiary of both in that podcast with you. That's powerful when you think about it, those who are looking to put their dollars to invest on a platform or those who are looking for long term growth. I imagined you’re going to tell me yes, it's got to be real estate in tech. But it must be very gratifying because, again, I said this earliest, when I introduced you, you look at adversity and you turn it into strength. And you have always done that in your personal life, in your career. It is not only the entrepreneur in you it is something special. And you're doing that now with Cadre. I mean, you're growing and you're expanding, and you're creating and I guess you're hearing other David Rubensteins out there as well, I imagine.
Ryan Williams
Definitely, yeah. Iron sharpens iron. And we've tried to use this as a company to be better. I've tried to use as a leader to improve. And, yeah, we do firmly believe that real estate, the space we happen to be in, will provide compelling stability, and yield and in an environment where there's not much yield and a lot of instability. And real estate, like a lot of other asset classes and industries, a lot of it can be hyper-local, a lot of it can depend on where you're looking for opportunities. And a lot of it can depend on, as David had alluded to, the managers and those you partner with just like in the stock market, a great management team can outperform. And we're pleased and very grateful to have a tremendous network of operating partners, a tremendous team. And I think that makes a huge difference. But there will be compelling real estate opportunities that are stressed today that will become distressed to invest in. And I think our platform is set up, uniquely, to allow more people to participate in the recovery and to participate in the opportunities to come. And we're very optimistic about what those opportunities will entail.
Alan Fleischmann
That's very powerful. I guess we're gonna be hearing great announcements, I’m sure, from Cadre, from your company. And I guess there, that doesn't mean if you want to invest, it's not hard to just jump on your website and figure out how even now, which is powerful, because people are trying to figure out what they can do to kind of be seeing around the corner, which is important. One of the things I've noticed about you and I want to make sure that we never forget to talk about some tips, but I want to first mention some of the stuff you've been doing during the pandemic and then also how you kind of stepped up and stepped up majorly, individually as a leader and then across FinTech, as I mentioned in my introduction about you around these inequities, there's this systemic racism, that is awakening in our country. Because you've been shy about making race be how you get defined. You want to be defined as being the best at what you do, not the best black man and what you do. But I've also noticed something else. Obviously, you're way ahead of a lot of other CEOs who are double your age of 32. The one thing that I think I've not seen until now, and I've been watching you so closely, is that you went from being the mentee to the mentor. There's something about your voice now, you've said, Okay, I'm not just gonna be there to talk about those who came before me, which we still do. It really has been a transformation where you realize you have to step up and be a voice to fill that void, to be that role model, but more importantly, to exercise and speak to the values that we want our country and our nation or communities to be about. That's a big change for you, I imagine, going from the mentee, who is grateful to being the mentor, who is a role model. And I'm just curious if I'm observing that right.
Ryan Williams
Yeah, as I've grown, I've tried to be more self-aware. Tried to be just more aware, generally, that there are people watching, there are people looking. I think about where I was 10 years ago, finishing up college, around that time, or a year or so out. And I think about the kind of role model I would have loved to have had. Not multiple generations away from your multiple decades away from me. I would have loved there to be someone 5-10 years older than me charting new courses in real estate or tech, real estate in tech, that had a similar experience or journey or understood how important it is to prosper in the face of adversity and could speak truth to power in that way. So I try to think about the kind of role models that I would have loved to have had at certain periods of my life when I was younger and I try to fill those gaps and voids as much as I can. And I also just recognize that I've been blessed in many ways. I've been given somewhat of a platform and I was always taught that to much is given, much is required. And that was something that my grandfather, who was a preacher in Louisiana always said to all of us, and especially to me, even when I was most much younger. And it stuck with me. And s, I've tried to evolve in some ways in that way because I recognize that. And the other thing I'd say is, I'm just really encouraged and inspired by the folks that are coming up and coming of age. Gen Z, or however they're labeled or called. I don't like labels. But I'm really inspired by them, by their courage, by their willingness to speak up. And I have a younger brother who's about nine years younger than me who fits within that generation. And I recognize that in light of all of the volatility and turbulence and unrest that there can be out there, that I can provide some of them a beacon of stability and hope and let them know that even when things were less spoken about related to race, for instance, there were people that were out there and navigating that that pain and frustration a bit more quietly, but effectively. And here's an example of that. And so,I don't want those younger to think that the folks that are older than them, even if it's by a few years, have no connectivity or care, compassion, for their plight and their journey. Because it's not the case. And I think it's the opposite. I've been really encouraged and inspired and motivated in a lot of ways. And I'm just trying to do my part to show that there are these examples of people who've been able to navigate and thrive and succeed, despite the obstacles and let's build on that. And hopefully, I can provide some insight and somewhat of a path for those to come to build on and to be better as well.
Alan Fleischmann
What kind of things are you challenging people to do differently? I mean, I think I've talked about this with you. I've written about how we have to fight against the hateful, we have to educate the ignorant, we have to inspire the indifferent. But there's a whole other group of folks out there, who are I call the uncomfortables, who are people who are natural allies in the fight against bias and racism, but they don't know what to do or they don't know enough. I mean, you're doing a lot of convening, you're creating a lot of conversation, which is really powerful. But what would you recommend to CEOs like yourself, leaders like yourself, what should they do?
Ryan Williams
I mean, I think it's simple, but it's not. And that is, speak about it. Acknowledge if you feel like you have blind spots, and encourage dialogue, but encourage dialogue in a nonjudgmental way. I mean, I think part of what really holds back so many people, and this would be the feedback I get to those younger and older, is this fear of being ostracized and this fear of saying the wrong thing, this fear of you saying the non PC thing. I would much rather sit down with someone who has different views and perspectives than me, and them explain why their views are that way, or how they see the world or where they don't understand certain things and say the quote-unquote, wrong or non PC thing that they think will offend me than for someone to sit there smile and move on. Because there's been an opportunity for shared or collective understanding, or learnings or for us to see that we are, as a people, so much more similar than different. And so for CEOs and leaders, you need to acknowledge and just like live in that discomfort. This is not going to go away. I mean, you're seeing that even with some of the recent news that has come out of Wisconsin, these inequitiesm they've been surfaced for the country and for the world and are very raw way. And you can't just put a bandaid on this and expect it to go away. And so I encourage everyone to get ahead of it while you still can, in many ways, have these conversations, even if it's with individual if you're just trying to learn more and acknowledge if you're not where you need to be. I acknowledge that there are blind spots I have or that we at Cadre could have. But it's really not that difficult to begin to grow in this way. It's not going to be comfortable, and it's going to be painful in some ways, but I think the best way for people to go is to acknowledge and not ignore that there are issues that you as leaders recognize that there are. That you don't have all the answers, but that you want to understand and learn. So that if and when circumstances arise, you're equipped to address it from a place of understanding, versus a place of ignorance or a place of lack of care.
Alan Fleischmann
You're right. This show is focused a lot on leadership, obviously, and how leadership matters, and certainly on CEOs. But I've heard you also say that, when it comes to voices of leadership, it shouldn't just be in the C suite. It shouldn't just be at the leadership level, because a lot of this has been generated by employees who say, this is the culture I want. These are the kinds of things I want to fight for. How am I getting involved in community? I know you're encouraging that at Cadre as part of your leadership, but I think we also we need to tell people to speak up, to make this be part of your culture, demand action, and demand those uncomfortable conversations you're talking about. It makes it easier for the CEO in many ways as well, if it comes from the bottom up, and it comes to the culture too. Yeah,
Ryan Williams
I've been really pleasantly surprised by the number of employees from all walks of life at Cadre that have said that they wanted some acknowledgment of the fact that we're in a turbulent period of history. And that there are these deep pains that are being surfaced for them. And many don't know how to engage in conversation around it. And so when they see that their leaders are willing to have the dialogue, it really can uplift folks. And I think it's it's interesting to think about because while this period of COVID, remote working, and social distancing has been tough on culture, I think one of the best ways for leaders to be able to bring together their teams and to create more cohesion is around some of this pain and social unrest. Having the dialogue. It's a great way to bring people together. It's a great way to have raw emotional discussions that everyone in some way, shape, or form can relate or connect to. Whether that's, personally, you feel like you've been hurt, in some way, shape, or form, or you feel like you're being accused of being one of the people that are hurting others. It's an opportunity while we're all stationary, in many ways, to have a dialogue that's real, that's authentic, about something that everyone's experiencing. And I think for Cadre, it's been tremendous, because we have had these Cadre chats. We've had just ad hoc discussions. We've had Employee Resource Groups formed. And I think that in some ways, our culture has gotten stronger than it's ever been as a result of this collective pain that so many people are experiencing.
Alan Fleischmann
Are they ready to look back at this period—I mean, we're obviously still in the midst of it, we don't know for sure. But I look back at this period of those who advanced, who inspire us, who challenged, and then who excelled by doing so. And then those in the hospitality or in your in the restaurant and retail business, that's a whole different conversation. But those who actually didn't lead. And I think there's an accountability issue right now, who's stepping up and who's not, who's inspiring, who's not. Your whole career has been about doing when others don't expect of you or certainly not living up to your expectations that others have for you, but live up to the expectations you had for yourself. And I know that's the culture of your company of Cadre as well, which is exceed far better than the goals before them. But it is important to remember that you have a role to play and you are taking on a lead role doing your day job. And then also doing your day job means creating a better community. You're a part of that, too. So I am inspired. Any last bits of advice you would give to a young Ryan Williams, who is either a teenager Ryan Williams, or a 20-year-old Ryan Williams, and it doesn't have to be a Ryan Williams, it could be a female version of Ryan Williams or anyone else as well, but a young person who hasn't actually gotten all the luck and fortunate life so far, but has all the dreams? And what would you say to that person? And then we'll hopefully continue this conversation too.
Ryan Williams
Definitely, that's a great question. I mean, I think one of the most important lessons that I've learned is, as I look back now, there have been lows. Like very, very low lows. And there have been very high highs. And both of those moments are fleeting and both of those experiences, in sort of dynamics, eventually pass. And so I think that what's important is acknowledging and recognizing that and never letting yourself get swept away in the moment, the lows or the highs. Recognizing that nothing is ultimately permanent, good or bad. There is a bit of beauty to impermanence, and what life is about, in many ways, is persevering and treating both those experiences with the same level of care, the same level of understanding, and the like. And so I think it's really about recognizing that this too shall pass no matter how good or bad it is. That in life, you have these opportunities to make the best of all periods of time. And that generally, people are good. I've just seen so much good in my life. And, of course, there's always negatives as well. But the number of people that you might not have expected that have extended it a handout or cared for me, that that can help lift you for sure when you're looking forward and things seem daunting. But the biggest piece of advice that I would give the younger Ryan is, no matter what circumstances you're in, this too shall pass. And never let yourself get too swept away with your environment or your circumstances.
Alan Fleischmann
That's great. You know, the next time you come on the show, we're going to talk about some of the tools to your success and the way you handle your schedule. I know you work long hours and you work hard. And you work contentiously. So you're a great role model for your colleagues. If you can do it, so shall they. But you also are great in those rare moments when you do go offline. So the next time we actually come back together, which I want to do, let's have a little bit about the kind of the tools of the trade. I don't believe in work-life balance, you don't either, but you do believe in having both a fulfilled life and having a well-rounded life. So when we come back together next time, let’s cover some of those things as well. But it has been a real pleasure. This has been Leadership Matters on Sirius XM, I've had this incredible hour with you, Ryan Williams. Hearing about you as CEO and co-founder of Cadre, but also how you're creating community and culture through that work and also through expectations that you're raising every day. Especially since this real, national, and global challenge about racism and how we actually create a more equitable society, you are out there on the forefront. It's not your nature to make it be about you. I know you. But I'm grateful that it is and let's get back together again so we can talk about those tools of the trade and life and all that as well.
Ryan Williams
I’d love that. Thank you so much. I love this.
Alan Fleischmann
Yeah, we to look to much more. Keep doing what you're doing, Ryan. It's awesome. Thank you. Bye.
