Thomas would be a great fit for your podcast. He's been CEO of a commercial real estate company, Practice Real Estate Group, focused on healthcare properties for over a decade. PRG helps doctors and private equity-backed healthcare platforms with a de novo strategy to find and acquire (via lease or purchase) the right real estate for their businesses. Some of his early clients starting de novo practices are now the private equity-backed platforms that continue to open de novo locations and acquire the smaller practices wanting to join the group practice ecosystem. Thomas is also one of the founders of a healthcare practice M&A sell-side advisory company, Practice Transitions Group. He's helped many of the doctors who started and grew their single-location or group practice exits to private equity-backed roll-up strategies. Many of the private equity-backed groups that acquire the practices are also clients on the real estate side of the business. Thomas was one of the founders and has scaled both businesses almost simultaneously. He understands what it is like to start businesses from scratch, work and lead a team, and he has helped clients ultimately exit their businesses. He's seen the emotional side of all parts of the lifecycle through his own companies and his clients' companies. Thomas has also been and still sits in the seat of an agent/broker/advisor, as well as having experience as the general partner and limited partner of multiple principal-side real estate special purpose entities.
I used to lead a team that did commercial bridge loans, mostly for mixed-use and apartment buildings. These projects never fit into a neat box. I remember we once reworked the entire underwriting process just to get an approval in days instead of weeks, letting the sponsor jump on a deal. Honestly, for any complicated development, it just comes down to clear communication and telling people what happens next.
I've been in residential real estate for twenty years, and the tricky deals have taught me more than any business book. Most of my work is in housing, not commercial, but the skills are the same. Figuring out how to get realtors and contractors on the same page for a renovation? That's a crash course in running a business. I've found people connect with those specific stories. If you need someone who can explain how selling houses builds entrepreneurial muscle, I can do that.
I built Lakeshore Home Buyer from nothing, so I know how important it is to move from residential to commercial. Now I teach investors through Crushing REI, and I've found the most helpful stuff is about how to grow their portfolio and put deals together. I always suggest starting with smaller group deals to get a feel for how commercial works. That's what helped me get started. If your listeners want concrete steps on using their residential background to get into commercial real estate, I can walk them through it.
With a 30-year background in non-profit leadership focused on community development before I ever bought an investment property, I'd bring a unique perspective to your show. I can discuss how the principles of case management and client advocacy directly translate into structuring more creative and compassionate real estate deals. In my business, we focus on simplifying the process and creating true win-win scenarios that serve families first, a strategy that has proven to be both fulfilling and highly profitable.