Matt Pestronk- From Wrestling to Real Estate Success (#97)

Bio Matthew Pestronk is co-founder of Post Brothers, a real estate investment, development and management company with singular and unique expertise in urban real estate development. Matthew serves as President of the company, engaged in the sponsorship of 40 Class-A multifamily, mixed-use and retail development projects comprised of over 8,000 units that are operating, under development or disposed plus, over 700K sf of office and retail space, with a total capitalized cost in excess of $4 billion. Matthew shares strategic leadership of the company with his brother, Michael, and is engaged in asset management, financing, and project and capital formation. Matthew has worked in real estate capital transactions for his entire 20+-year career and was a real estate financing executive in New York City prior to forming Post Brothers. Matthew is also very active in his community serving as trustee of Washington D.C.’s Federal City Council and a director of Pennsylvania’s Regional Olympic Training Center plus has board service experience for multiple charitable organizations including the Federal City Council of Washington, D.C., the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, Beat the Streets Philadelphia, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and is the Immediate past Chair of Jewish Federation Real Estate. Show Notes The role of co-founder and president (00:06:00) Matt describes his role in the company, including capital formation, acquisitions, and oversight of capital transactions. Origins, youth, and parental influences (00:07:00) Matt talks about growing up in the Washington area, his parents' background, and their preference for professional careers. Choosing a college and the lessons from sports (00:13:30) Matt discusses his decision to attend Drexel University, his experience as a wrestler, and the lessons he learned about preparation and failure in sports and business. The challenges of collegiate sports (00:14:00) Discussion about the intensity and difficulty of training for intercollegiate sports, particularly in a challenging academic environment. Lessons learned from collegiate wrestling (00:19:30) The speaker reflects on the ability to solve challenges, persevere, and think ahead that he gained from his experience in collegiate wrestling. Getting into real estate (00:24:40) Matt talks about his transition into the real estate industry, starting with an internship at a local Philadelphia company and his realization that he wanted a career where he could have a direct influence on his own success. The index card method (00:25:24) Matt learns a new method of organizing and managing data for the office leasing market from his mentor, Jon Sarkisian Learning the business (00:27:00) Matt describes his experience of learning the office leasing business and the challenges he faced as a young college student. Hiring difficulties and alternative options (00:34:00) Matt discusses his struggles with finding a job in the real estate industry due to his lack of a college degree and how he ended up working for a competitor firm. Short-term and long-term greed (00:42:00) Matt talks about the con...