Why I Started Retained CRE: De-Risking De Novo Healthcare
Healthcare founders have a deep passion for improving health outcomes for high-risk or high-need populations. They've designed incredible care models with a singular focus: deliver high-quality care impacts health outcomes.
The real work begins when you’re trying to translate that passion into functioning clinics. It’s a completely different skill set.
Founders who have tried to go it alone often tell me the story of how they started with a broker and quickly realized they need more. The "real estate snowball" hits. They discovered dozens of other consultants and vendors—architects, project managers, contractors, furniture vendors. Managing it became a full-time job, sucking up time that should have been spent refining their care model and focusing on their patients.
This is the problem I saw and am here to solve: giving founders back the time to build great care. My job is to take the real estate complexity off your plate and prevent unforeseen cost overruns, timeline delays, and decision fatigue that distract from your core mission.
My Journey & My Mission:
My path has been in the trenches of healthcare real estate. I'm a builder. My true differentiator is this: I'm also an operator. A broker, architect, or general contractor can do their jobs brilliantly, but they don't have the operational experience of running the business inside. This is my secret sauce.
I started as a junior broker and shifted to the corporate side, growing from a transaction manager to a VP leading a national real estate department. This wasn't about mastering a process; it was about getting results and learning to look around corners. I learned to anticipate business and real estate risks, and translate complex decisions into a clear path forward.
I have a unique perspective, bridging how leaders think about business success with the daily realities of clinical operations. I know you need to think patient-first, but staff operating efficiency, happiness, and engagement are a very close second—a nuance not every leader fully grasps without direct operational experience.
My experience allowed me to master the process and develop the strategic foresight of a VP-level leader. I anticipate challenges, translate real estate decisions into business language, and ensure physical space supports financial and growth objectives, including a clear path to exit.
From a micro perspective, my mission is to give founders confidence that their most significant non-people expense—real estate—will bring their vision to life. I also understand that for a founder, this physical space is deeply personal—it's the tangible representation of their mission. I help manage the "why" of these decisions so that the heart of your vision is never lost to the complexity of the build.
More broadly, my personal mission is to expand access to care by helping founders build high-quality facilities that buck the trend of generic, institutional healthcare. Health outcomes suffer if patients aren't engaged or can't access care in a timely, comfortable place. I am energized by the trend away from generic, institutional facilities that often fail to serve the whole patient.
The Path to De-Risked Growth
Expanding access isn't just about speed; it's about scaling smartly and sustainably. I've witnessed companies, fueled by huge funding rounds, pursue aggressive growth before stabilizing operations. This can strain resources and deteriorate the patient experience.
An early stage company once approached me, before starting the real estate process, aiming to open 8 new clinics in 5 months. I told them that at their stage of growth, not only was the timeline unrealistic, it wouldn’t be sustainable for their operations or patient care. I'm not here to tell you what you want to hear—I'm here to give you a realistic roadmap that gets your product to your core customers, faster. Scaling smartly also means achieving financial predictability.
I help founders avoid these pitfalls by building playbooks for repeatable clinic development. Consistent brand, streamlined staff training, and predictable overhead and capital costs are critical to long-term success. It emables you to focus on managing patient demand and growth, rather than battling real estate variability.
This is precisely the kind of strategic discussion I love having with founders—building agility into your physical footprint to support your mission and deliver lasting impact.
Our Core Principles
These principles are at the heart of how we partner with founders:
Transparency & Direct Feedback: We provide realistic roadmaps and honest assessments. You'll always know where you stand and what's truly achievable, without the fluff or surprises.
Strategic Partnership: We don't just advise; we become an extension of your team, connecting your strategic vision to flawless, on-the-ground real estate execution.
Patient & People-Centricity: Every real estate decision is filtered through one lens: how does this enhance the patient experience and empower your staff? Because that's what drives better health outcomes.
Sustainable Agility: We build in flexibility from day one. This de-risks your operations and ensures your physical footprint supports long-term evolution and growth.
My goal is to empower that initial, passionate vision. By bringing clarity, strategic leadership, and a proven process to your real estate journey, we ensure your physical clinics not only come to life but become a predictable foundation for delivering exceptional care and achieving your long-term business goals, from your first patient to a successful exit.
Ready to discuss how we can bring your healthcare vision to life and scale your real estate strategically? Let's talk about getting it done.