MB487: How This Deal Maker Scaled to 700 Units and Raised $20M—With Chad Schieler
Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing
Michael Blank
4.7 • 577 Ratings
🗓️ 1 September 2025
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In just a few years, Chad Schieler went from zero to over 700 units, ditching his high-paying W2 job to build a real syndication business from scratch. And he did it the hard way - solo, self-funded, and battle-tested.
In this episode, Michael Blank sits down with Chad to unpack the gritty, unfiltered truth behind the rise of Focus Capital. They dive deep into the growing pains of scaling fast - partnership failures, capital raising fears, management misfires, and what it really takes to build a machine that lasts.
If you think you’re ready to go full-time, this episode will either snap you out of it - or show you the way forward.
Head over to https://thefreedompodcast.com/500 to submit for a chance to win free merch and be highlighted in episode 500!!!
Key Takeaways
From W2 to 700+ Units: Why Chad Walked Away
- Built a career in credit card processing—but hit a wall with taxes and purpose.
- Real estate started as a tax strategy and turned into a full-blown mission.
- Why chasing a deeper “why” made walking away from comfort worth it.
The Truth About Partnerships
- Chad’s first syndicated deal looked perfect—until it nearly fell apart.
- Why being $4K short led him to take control of the entire business model.
- How too many “chiefs” in asset management created chaos—and the fix.
Raising Capital When It Doesn’t Come Naturally
- Chad self-funded his first four deals—then hit a ceiling.
- The mental shift that helped him want to raise capital.
- How his best capital raiser came straight from his LP base.
Scaling a Real Business (Without Burning Out)
- The struggle of hiring when revenue is lumpy—and what worked for Focus Capital.
- Why Chad hires 12 months ahead of revenue (and how it paid off).
- The non-negotiables that protect his time and family life.
When Bigger is Actually Easier
- Why 100+ unit properties are less stressful than small ones.
- The mistake most investors make with property management on smaller deals.
- How Chad’s early inspection and financing mistakes shaped his future deals.
Connect with Chad
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Resources
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Join the Nighthawk Equity Investor Club
Review the Podcast on Apple Podcasts
Get the Book, Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing by Michael Blank
For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session487/
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, dealmakers, welcome to the show where it's all about financial freedom with real estate. |
| 0:03.8 | Let's do this. |
| 0:10.5 | I said, what if you could skip all the single family stuff and jump straight into big apartment |
| 0:15.4 | deals and actually scaled to hundreds of units in just a few years? |
| 0:19.2 | And that's exactly what today's guest, Chad Schiller, |
| 0:21.2 | has done. He started out trying to solve a tax problem. And now he's built a portfolio |
| 0:25.7 | close to 700 units while running his own investment company. Before we get into that, |
| 0:30.6 | quick shout out to Jordan McNeely. Amazing. He's one of our dealmaker mentoring students, |
| 0:34.9 | and he just officially closed his first deal within three months of joining the program. Not only that, he's already doubled his investment in the program, and based on the deal alone, he's on track for a 20x total return. So huge congrats, George, and you're just getting started, and I cannot believe what you've done in such short time. This is all while, basically, he's an operator of a, I'm sorry, of a data center and he just had a young child. |
| 0:57.1 | And he did it all done despite that. |
| 0:58.7 | So that's awesome. |
| 0:59.9 | So for you listening, leave us a review on iTunes for this podcast. |
| 1:05.1 | And maybe I'll shout you all in the next podcast. |
| 1:07.1 | I love to hear your review of the podcast if you enjoy it. |
| 1:10.8 | All right. So today I'm catching |
| 1:12.2 | up with Chad Sheeler. Chad Stewart is kind of a wild ride because he left a high paying career, |
| 1:16.8 | which is hard to do because high income earners are kind of comfortable. And he kind of, quote, |
| 1:21.6 | unquote, threw it away. And he dove headfirst into multifamily initially to try to solve a tax problem. And then he got the buck, |
| 1:29.5 | right? And he learned how to build a team. And he went from buying his first fourplex to running |
| 1:35.8 | syndications. We talk about the early mistakes that nearly doubled his capital expenses, |
| 1:41.3 | which is not good when you're first getting started or ever. And anyhow, he overcame his fear of raising money and turn it into kind of a superpower right now |
| 1:49.0 | because he's raised $20 million now. And he was very averse and resistance to raising money. |
... |
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