Learn How to Level up Your Investor Game with Tribevest CEO, Travis Smith

Hey, welcome to the Brick and Bloom Podcast. Follow along as co-hosts Shona and Pasha document their real estate investment journey, providing transparent and honest views of the process with a healthy dose of inspiration and candor. Let them unpack and demystify the different pieces of investment strategies through expert interviews. Whether it's flipping, multifamily, long-term, short-term, or vacation rentals, their goal is to educate and inspire others to financial freedom and wisdom.

Hi everybody, we are super excited, um, to introduce our, um, guest today, Travis Smith, the founder and CEO of Tribe Best. Um, you are listening to Brick and Bloom Podcast with Shona and Pasha, and we are very, very honored to be talking to Travis today. Welcome Travis, it's great to have you.

Pasha and Shona, thanks so much for having me. Been looking forward to this.

Well, we are very excited. And as one of our guests, we have personal experience with TribeVest that honestly— and we've shared this and talked to you about this, Travis— you've been really a catalyst, definitely part of my investment journey, helping me really demystify a lot of the components of investing and how to group invest. Streamlining that process from helping set up an entity through LLC, through helping with the operating agreement and just creating a centralized space where investors can collaborate and have aligned investment goals. So for me, you've been tremendous and I feel so fortunate to have come across your path. So we'd love to learn a little bit more about you and how— tell us about yourself and how did you start Tribest and what is Tribest?

Awesome, Pasha, the feeling is mutual. It was, you know, I think how we met was you were telling a story of tribe vesting on our tribe vesting stories series, and I was super inspired by your journey. And yeah, just really glad to be here on this this podcast. Thanks for having me. Again, I'm Travis Smith, founder and CEO of Tribe Best, and we're building a platform that empowers people to pull together, come together, and, and invest in things that they wouldn't or couldn't on their own. And we've talked about it before, you know, anytime you're getting into a new asset class, there's a lot of mystery behind it. And then there's other barriers of entry. There is certain things, a know-how. Likely if you're leveling up your investment to a private investment or real estate, there's capital thresholds or requirements. And a tribe— and tribe investing is just a fantastic way to pool your resources, align with like-minded investors so that you can journey together, you can level up together and participate in new forms of investing. And that's what we're building. We're building a platform that has streamlined that entire process. We didn't invent group investing. It's been around for a long time. The wealthy have been doing it for centuries. They just have attorneys at the ready. Maybe they've been doing it in their family for a long time. And it's been a very proven strategic way to go about investing for a long time. The problem is, if you don't have that advisor at the ready, the attorney at the ready, where do you start? You know, and TriVest has just demystified, de-risked, and we did that by reverse engineering, again, a very proven process of investing together. And that's the TriVest platform. We make it really easy, inexpensive, so everybody out there can level up and empower people to invest in things they wouldn't or couldn't on their own. So that's a little bit about my tribe, BEST. And, you know, as I think you know, this, the story started for practical reasons. My brothers and I wanted to invest in real estate. It was hard to do it on our own. We didn't have the guts to do it. We didn't have the confidence. We didn't have the know-how. And, and that's when we started to kick around this idea of maybe doing it together. And that was 13 years ago.

I love that story. I mean, you just— your, um, that inspiration to come together has obviously opened the door for so many other new investors as well. I wanted to add a little color, um, to what, uh, you were just talking about. Um, how I came about TribeWest was, um, we, uh, my partner and I had a pretty big property that we wanted to invest in. However, with a hard money lender, we had to come to the table with the down payment, which was pretty significant. I would say it was like $500,000-$600,000. And to ask one investor to come up with that amount of cash would just— it was just not realistic. So I was just really scratching my head. It's like, how do I get multiple investors I feel like I have access to that cash and that capital, but I didn't know really how to make sure everybody was protected in their lien position. And somebody recommended TriVest and it just made so much sense. It's like, okay, here's a hub and a platform where I can bring multiple investors, get to that $500K, $600K to put a down payment because we're under one entity. You guys handheld us the whole way. You helped with the wiring and transferring the funds into the bank account. And, you know, again, it just was a very seamless process and we were able to show up as one entity, um, uh, on that, uh, on that loan. So that's how I came about it. And just, again, it's a very real application and just, uh, again, I don't know how I would've figured it out cuz I didn't know how to like get people, you know, all under, um, right.

The same. You would've figured it out. You know, after we would know you a little bit, you would've figured it out. But you know, you're hitting on the burden on that organizer. We call them the founder. You know, there's always the person that kind of initiates this and is leading the charge. And, you know, but the burden is so, so high on them in that they do have to figure out all these things. Any of these one things on their own, not that hard. But when you really start to say, gosh, what are— what's everything we need to do to pull this all together? It does get overwhelming and often it's a non-starter. And so, yeah, we've brought all those things under one place. And then I think the other thing that you kind of appreciated is, you know, how do you communicate with all these members and these people that are participating in it? And to just to have that transparency, uh, where anybody can log in and, and see, you know, their contributions and, and all the records and documents and bank accounts. And, uh, it just fosters, uh, trust and good, good feelings. And, um, so, so you can focus on the fun, right? You don't have to worry about all those other things. Um, everybody's You got a place to go, answer all their questions, see how, you know, where the finances are. And then again, focusing on the fun, which is the deal. That's, you know, where we're stimulating our brain in terms of how do we get, you know, find the right deal? How do we get creative with the deal? Those are the things that we should be putting our energy into.

Yeah, that's so true. And I feel like it definitely fosters a real strong collaboration and community. And it's super intuitive. That's what I felt too. I wasn't bogged down with trying to fuss and figure out the application. And that was kind of more in the background because it allowed you to really focus more on the investing and the, and the tribe. So, um, speaking of that, um, how would you describe the difference between group investing and also single-player investing? Because, um, I, I bet that's a big question for a lot of people, right?

Yeah. You know, so, uh, investing is a, is kind of a big broad term, right? And it's, it's fairly loaded because everybody's kind of got their own idea of what investing is. And, um, so anyway, when you think of, of single-player investing, um, you, you know, you have to do that. You, you have to be a single-player investor. And, um, you know, a lot of things that make sense for single-player investing is investing in the stock market and 401k, you know, contributing to your 401k. Um, you know, there's— you need to be single-player investing. Uh, but what TribeVest enables, and we're trying to inspire, is with a platform like TribeVest, you don't always have to go it alone. You don't always have to go it alone. So it's not that You know, you shouldn't be a single-player investor or a multiplayer investor. You need to be both. And, and what the multiplayer investing, group investing represents is being able to, uh, you know, level up. You're gonna hear me say level up I don't know how many times on this interview, so forgive me already, but that's really what's happening, you know. We think 20% of your investable capital should be going into, you know, a tribe or tribes, because when you're putting your money in with your tribes, you're doing something you wouldn't or couldn't on your own. And just, you know, by that definition, with 20% of your money, you're, you're leveling up with your tribe. So that's how we look at it. It's, it's not that it's You know, multiplayer investing is better than single-player investing. We can kind of get into the what's the difference and what do you gain from both. But really, it's the idea that, you know, in addition to single-player investing, you need to be looking at doing different things with a group of people. So that's, that's how we look at it.

That leads me to think about how How do people find their tribes? Like, how does somebody get started?

Yeah, great question. So, you know, you just think about, you know, your inner circle and then kind of like drawing a circle, you know, wider and wider, but like immediately family. We have a lot of great family tribes coming together. They are investing in vacation homes. Of course, now with short-term rentals, it's not that big of an extravagance. In fact, a vacation home can be a great investment and a shared place for family to come together. Then there's family that are trying to share experiences and wealth of knowledge with their family in different generations. So like for my brothers and I, uh, it's our favorite thing to do in the whole world. It's, it's like what brings us together the most. We're spread all over the country. It's kind of that one consistent thing that we're doing. We're getting together. About half the time we're talking about the business, the other half we're catching up on each other's lives and, and families. Of course, when we family, uh, when we do a family, uh, trip together. We have business meetings, which is a nice little tax write-off. So, you know, family is a great way to do it. And then your friends, you know, people that you know, like, and trust. And I think when you get out, you know, what they all have in common is there's this common thread of people being interested in wealth building. They're interested in real estate. So those people seem to find one another. They're— and I think like the communities that are out there, we've talked about a few of them, you know, the Flipstress, Left Field Investing, who I've been, you know, introduced you to. We3 is another group of hundreds of women that are investing in crypto and different blockchains. Blockchain technologies. So like those people that are interested in those things and more like curiosity, don't know how to do it yet, they're finding these communities and those are great sources for, you know, finding the tribes, finding your tribe members.

Oh, that's so cool. Um, it's true. I, I do feel a lot of people, um, are curious about it but don't know how to really kind of take that first step. So I think one, it's talking about it and showing that there are options like like TriBest for sure. So—

100%. What we do is, you know, I feel like those, those communities are the things that bring the people together, right? And that's that common thread, the likeness. And then when they're there, they're trying to figure it out together, right? Like that's the community. And then TriBest is just one more tool out there. Like, hey, if we're trying to do this together, we're already supporting each other. We're already helping each other out. You know, hey, maybe we should like do a deal together. And that's where Tribest comes really handy. It really, you know, it's just another layer that brings the community even tighter together.

Hey, I have a question on that note. I feel like investing can be, I guess, a little bit loaded, right? And there's a lot of different ideas about it that you're really wealthy. And like, I think You know, it's just how do you frame that and say, hey, like it's accessible for everyone. It, to me, it's less riskier than the stock market because it's a secured asset. Do you have any tips on like how to speak to that and how to explain how the, you know, it's very secured. It's, it's pretty safe. You have pretty guaranteed returns. I'm just curious. I feel like people are a little uncomfortable talking about that, especially money, right? Don't mix money and family, but there's so many opportunities. I'd just be curious to hear your thoughts on that.

Yeah, uh, no, boy, you mentioned a lot in there, but I think, you know, real estate, if everybody understood it, everybody'd be doing it, right? I think that's your, your point is, uh, it's a secured asset, it's tangible, uh, it's leverageable, uh, you know, with real assets you get options. right? And to me, if you have options, that's freedom. And, and that's the human yearning I think all Tribesters have in common, is we're all yearning for freedom, uh, for security, uh, for, um, you know, legacy, you know, being able to pass on something maybe not tangible, but just even kind of a mindset to the next generation. And, um, and so, you know, yeah, real estate is a great asset. And, and again, if everybody understood it, everybody'd be doing it. And that's what I think what's so cool about what, what you guys are doing here. And, um, you know, helping to demystify what is, uh, you know, investing in real estate look like, um, and without, without sugarcoating it. Like, just because it's— it does— it's not complicated does not mean it's not hard, right? You guys know it's hard. So anyway, showing out, like, I think I've talked a lot about what I like about real estate, why my brothers and I were so dead set on it. Like, we didn't quite understand why we wanted to get into real estate, we just knew we had to. And then once we kind of experienced, we're like, oh my gosh, this is the difference between the middle class, you know, that has a little bit of a wealth ceiling on it, and, you know, people that have, you know, good educations, maybe good incomes, good W-2s, uh, but they don't, they don't experience that freedom or wealth. And then as soon as we, we kind of participated in a piece of real estate and as an investment, it really unlocked a lot of things. So Uh, yeah, I think, you know, most people think of investing— I say most people, um, you know, they're thinking of investing in the stock market, they're thinking about buying low, selling high, you know, that kind of transactional thing. Totally. And those are easy, those are easy, they're push-of-the-button things, right? But to your point, it feels not— it feels more like gambling, right? It feels like there's too many other variables that are completely out of your control. So I think what we're trying to do is— and you are too— is get together with your tribe and learn what, what other types of things you can invest in, in private assets, real estate, or just really avenues to people leveling up from the middle class to thinking and investing like the wealthy.

I love to just cap that out that you provide the legal side of it too. I think it's easier like, oh, we're all friends, we're just going to put our money into an account, but you don't think through all the exit strategies and who's going to manage it and who's going to be active. And I love that TriVest really includes that piece of it because it's when you're caught up in all the excitement, I don't think you think about that, that kind of stuff, and it's so critical, I feel like.

Yeah, and we— I learned firsthand, right? Like, because my brothers and I, 12 years ago, it was, um, you know, hey, we're brothers, we love each other, uh, like, let's go. And, you know, the truth is, uh, that first tribe, that origin tribe, we did everything wrong. We did everything wrong, including, you know, not have an operating agreement. I mean, it just sounds terrible. I'm embarrassed to say it, but, um, you know, we didn't know any better. And, um, and then, you know, I think what we realized was, you know, because we love each other, that's the exact reason why we needed an operating agreement, right? We wanted— you need to take the emotion out of it And so when those what-ifs do happen, you have a document and it's unemotional and you just say, okay, cool, this is how we're handling this, whatever this is. And so, yeah, a real big part of what Tribe Best does is helps you set this up right. And a big part of that right is making sure you're agreeing on an operating agreement. And then again, you can focus on the fun. And then again, when those what-ifs do happen, and they will, it's just pretty simple. You just go back to the operating agreement and say, "Oh, okay, this is how we're handling it." But yeah, really, really great point.

I think also just hearing you talk, Travis, just in the theme of this interview is accessibility. And I think there is this perception that investing is— there's a barrier to entry. And one thing I wrote wrote down reading a bit about your, your company is that TribeFest customers, half of them are of color. I was just blown away of that. I just— is so inspirational. And just be able to increase access to wealth to marginalized groups. I think that's just tremendous.

Yeah, I think what's so amazing is we are all about inclusion, you know, and There's, you know, kind of Robinhood's really cool. You guys are familiar with Robinhood, that app? It's so cool. But like, even just the name.

Oh yeah.

You know, I think it's supposed to include most of us, but it doesn't, it doesn't include all of us. Meaning it's us versus the rich. And, you know, I think what's even— we're taking that one step further and saying you know, everybody is welcome here and everybody is leveling up. Like, if you're leveling up, you're welcome. And guess what? The wealthy, they're not the enemy. In fact, we have a lot to learn from the wealthy. And in fact, they don't necessarily need Tribest, but they're using it. And, uh, they're using it because it's easy, it's streamlined, it's, you know, it's, it's— and, and they're leveling up too. Like, Everybody's trying to level up. And again, it's like human— I don't know— truth. Um, and then of course it scales, it just scales. And so we're very proud that, you know, over half of our founders are people of color. You know, the other thing that we're really proud of is over 35% of our founders are, are women. And that says, you know, a lot too. You look at kind of comparably out there to other investment type applications, it's about 5x what else you're seeing out there. So yeah, I think it just represents empowerment. You know, people, this is a tool to help level up and we include all, all are welcome.

I love that. That is so inspirational. When you talk about level up, I think, One thing you hear a lot about in the investment community is syndication, and Sean and I were talking and we'd love for you to kind of dive into this a bit deeper. What is the difference between syndication and group investing and kind of what are some of the ramifications of both? And can you help unpack that a bit?

Yeah, you bet. So I'm not an attorney, but there's some real simple, clear differences, right? And really clear different applications too, you know. So, um, let's start with syndication. So syndication is when you come together with a group— it doesn't have to be a group initially. Now I'm talking about like the what is called a— let's call it the sponsor or the general partner. These are just terms that are used legally, but there's someone that is kind of leading the charge. And it's usually a big project. It's a bigger project and therefore needs, you know, different— advisors, different expertise, and quite honestly, a lot of capital. And, and so it makes sense to form a syndicate when you're doing a— like, we— I'm part of a syndicate here in a 7-story building apartment, and, and the sponsor comes together, forms this And they got the architects, product project managers, you know, everything you need to kind of do a big project. They're coordinating and figuring out the costs, budget projections, everything. And it is, it is a full-time job. I mean, in a lot of cases you kept smaller syndicates, but in a lot of cases whoever's leading that syndicate is very much a full-time job. And then you have everything worked out, you have the plans, and now you need to finance this thing. And so a syndicate will go out and say, we're looking for passive investors.

Tell us about your superpower, Travis.

You bet. So my superpower is resilience. It's, it's resilience. I think if I'm trying to inspire anybody out there, it's You know, if you can dream it, you can do it. And I'm proof of that. You know, and I'm really driven by proving my, you know, other people wrong. If you, if I kind of go way, way back, I'm that kind of kid that, you know, got cut from the 7th grade basketball team. I made the 8th grade team, but only because they had a B team that year. And then I got cut my freshman year. You know, made the team my sophomore year, JV, sat the bench, you know, and, you know, finally it paid off in my senior year, had a really fun, awesome year. But a lot of people wondered, why the heck did you stick with it? And it's just, that's my superpower, resilience, stick-to-itiveness. Those types of things.

Oh my gosh, I love it. Um, well, Travis, this has been so amazing, and I know everybody listening to this is going to get so much value. I mean, even in our 45 minutes together, it just— it brought up a lot of new information for me. So thank you for your time. Um, so where can people find you, um, and how can they follow you?

Well, tribevest.com. Uh, come check out our website. You can actually build a concept plan and share it with your friends and, you know, and start to socialize the idea before you actually get started. So trivest.com, you can follow me at Twitter at @TribeTrav.com. And, and those are the two best, two best ways to follow me. LinkedIn, LinkedIn's a good place. You can, you can find me there, just put in Travis Smith. With Tribe Best and you'll be able to find me, Link. Let me know you heard me on this podcast. Would love to connect with you.

Amazing, amazing. Well, thank you so much. Appreciate your time, Travis.

Thank you. Pleasure.

Shona, Pasha, really inspired by what you're doing out there. Please keep it up. You guys have, you know, firsthand, uh, taking steps to leveling up, and you have a lot to, to share. You have a lot to share. So I just appreciate what you guys are doing here, and if there's anything I can do to help, I would love to do so. And appreciate the opportunity to be on and part of this show. Thank you.

Oh, thank you, Travis.

Thanks so much.