Hi, I’m Tom Braegelmann

I began my entrepreneurial career at the age of six while digging for worms and selling them to the weekend anglers.

Then came the 25-cent spitball shooter empire that crumbled when my brother and I were busted by our second-grade teacher after a classroom spitball war erupted… so much for “making it big!”

Then when I was 11, I talked my parents into letting me grow corn to sell in town, until the cows broke through a fence and trampled the entire field.

A couple years later, my sheep venture collapsed after wild dogs got through the fence and killed both my sheep.

“None of my ventures ever made a lot of money, but I had fun and learned a lot.”

It wasn’t until college that I started my first truly successful venture which eventually led me to real estate. With $200 of my savings, I purchased several hundred tree seedlings and planted them on the family farm – turning it into a thriving landscape and tree farm business.

But living in Minnesota with brutal winters made it impossible to sustain a landscaping business all year round. It was at this moment that I was introduced to real estate.

I started small working on several simple residential fix-and-flip properties. Then, as time progressed and I gained more experience, I started buying properties to hold as well. I also developed land and commercial buildings, and eventually built an extensive real estate portfolio. As my deals got bigger, my business grew – owning close to 40 single-family rental homes, several hundred apartment units, multiple commercial buildings, and a retail strip mall.

“Business was good. Business was booming. Then it all disappeared. The year? – 2008.”

Angry, embarrassed, and paralyzed with self doubt, in addition to losing several million dollars, it took me a couple years to pick myself back up – a moment, I imagine, many can relate to.

But much like how my second-grade teacher ended my spitball empire, or when the cows trampled my corn, or when the wild dogs killed my sheep, 2008 was just another lesson to be learned.

Just like I did when I was a young entrepreneur, I found the will to start again – this time with more knowledge, more experience, and new mission.

Today, as CEO of GCA Equity Partners, and co-founder/manager of Kensington Fund, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to share my experiences in these roles through mentoring private lenders and investors around the country.

I’m especially proud of the outstanding results produced by the members of my 4200+ member Bay Area Private Money for Real Estate Investing club. I started this investment club in 2010 with the idea of freely sharing what I learned about collaborative real estate investing knowing that what goes around comes around. It has proven itself for me ten-fold – and it can for you to.

My commitment is to give back to the community what I’ve learned over my long career and educate how collaborative investing can create sustainable cash flow and a win-win scenario for everyone.