In this episode, James Malarkey — entrepreneur, restaurateur, real estate professional, and heir to one of Oregon's most iconic family business legacies — joins the Portland REI Meetup to share the unfiltered story behind Malarkey Roofing Products, a company his grandfather built from a $600 loan into a $50.6 million enterprise before selling in 2022. James gets real about growing up on an 800-acre ranch in Scappoose, surviving a 1.62 GPA, selling marijuana after high school, clawing his way back to Oregon State, and eventually carving out his own identity as a real estate professional and property manager — completely separate from the family name.

In this episode, Kelsie LPJohnston of Raspberry and Oak Investments joins the Portland REI Meetup to share one of the most jaw-dropping real estate stories you'll hear all year. From growing up around construction in Salem, to escaping China on one of the last flights out before Covid lockdowns hit, to managing a ground-up cottage development as a general contractor while navigating a life-threatening pregnancy — Kelsie breaks down how she built $1.6 million in equity on a deal that cost $2.6 million to build, appraised at $4.25 million, and paid her at the closing table the entire time. She also gets real about ADHD, scaling beyond the GC role, and why she's done doing it all alone.

In this episode, Portland-based real estate syndicator Arie joins the Portland REI Meetup to share how a career in finance, a move from the Bay Area, and a relentless focus on buying well-located properties led him to build a portfolio generating $2 million a year. Ari breaks down why syndicators are taking on too much debt, why bridge debt became the industry's biggest trap, how to know when your market has gone irrational, and what a tech entrepreneur in Santa Clara quietly taught him about long-term wealth building.