Ian Ross, Founder & Managing Principal of SomeraRoad, and Host Todd S. Rich, Co-Founder & Partner of Declaration Partners

Todd Rich sits down with Ian Ross, Founder & Managing Principal of SomeraRoad, to explore the mindset and strategy behind building a modern real estate platform rooted in opportunistic investing. Ian shares his “declaration” for SomeraRoad, emphasizing entrepreneurial grit, disciplined execution, and a commitment to continuous learning. The conversation traces his journey from early exposure to real estate and finance through the GFC, to founding his firm and scaling it across multiple verticals. Along the way, Ian explains how identifying dislocation, leaning into complexity, and staying relentlessly curious have shaped both his investment philosophy and company culture. They discuss:→ Growing up in LA and learning the hustle early→ Navigating the 2008 financial crisis on the CMBS desk at Morgan Stanley and later at Jefferies→ Finding the arbitrage others missed at Triangle Capital Group→ How SomeraRoad evolved from distressed debt into development, net lease industrial, and aviation infrastructure→ The opportunities arising from the “One Big Beautiful Bill” SomeraRoad - https://someraroadinc.com/Ian on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianrosssomera/Todd S. Rich on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-s-rich-6a091333/Declaration Partners - https://www.declarationpartners.com/ Topics:(00:00:00) - Intro(00:02:10) - Ian’s Declaration(00:03:22) - Entrepreneurial grit(00:04:06) - Childhood and Early Influences(00:07:11) - Wall Street(00:16:17) - Starting SomeraRoad(00:19:40) - Investment philosophy(00:22:24) - Debt meets development(00:26:48) - Nashville & New York City(00:29:40) - Verticals(00:32:09) – SR Aviation(00:34:08) - Bonus depreciation(00:42:57) - Ian’s vision for the next decade(00:44:43) - Family and balance(00:45:27) – Closing questions