Interview with Warren Ifergane – CEO

Direct Private Real Estate Lender for Fix-and-Flip, Rental, and Construction Loans

Miami, FL

ICG10 Capital

ICG10 Capital | warrenifergane |  icg10.com

What inspired you to start in real estate and how did you motivate yourself to keep going?

When I finished my undergraduate studies, I was hired by a private equity firm that invested in non-performing real estate loans. After becoming an executive, I then started my own real estate private lending company, which has skyrocketed in growth every year. We did $150MM in loans by the end of 2020.

As far as motivation, you must set personal goals that are a bit out of reach, but not impossible. This keeps the momentum. The second you don’t have goals is the second you stagnate. It’s the most important thing.

Comparing your business from back then to now, what has been the main thing that allowed you to expand your business?

I would say efficiency. We tell things how they are, and we don’t try to charge more to a client. The first quote is our last quote. This is similar to a McDonald’s where you know what you are getting and for a cheap price. Consistency and transparency are paramount. Since we have the most competitive fix-and-flip and rental loans in the industry, our business has a lot of repeat borrowers, which helps with marketing costs as well.

What’s the most profitable aspect of your business, why do you think this is and how can others apply this to what they are doing?

We really only have one aspect of the business, and that’s loan origination. That’s the profitable part of the business. If we don’t close, we don’t make money, and neither do our investors.

When did you realize you were successful/made it and how did you feel/celebrate?

I think my first $1 million made me realize I was successful—for my age at the time, that is. Of course, $1 million is nothing nowadays. I measure success both on a wealth basis, but also on a happiness level. Having clients accomplish their projects with our capital is also extremely rewarding as well. And both goals are in perpetuity. You can never have enough money. You can never have enough happy clients.

Looking back, what could you have done sooner to get to that point quicker?

I think the entrepreneurial path of starting my own business should have been done earlier. I lost a lot of time working for others without truly reaping the fruits of my labor. It’s tough, because when you are making a comfortable six-figure salary as an executive, you get used to the predictability of cash flows. Anything that threatens that is particularly uncomfortable.

What should other real estate entrepreneurs reading this be focusing on to expand their own business?

Closing and process. Nothing beats closing deals, because that’s where you make the money, but the process is just as important. Without a streamlined process, you waste your time on deals that don’t close. Period.

How has social media and online marketing affected your real estate business? How much more success have you had now after implementing social media and online marketing efforts?

Social media is a free way to get exposure, and it’s crucial in my business. I try to use it as much as possible to get the word out since our business is mainly online.

Did You Experience Failures? If So, What Did You Learn From Them?

We all experience failures. When I was younger, I was denied jobs at Starbucks, Abercrombie, and many others. When I was older, I was denied jobs at Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, and dozens of others. Now that I own my own business, I get denied on a regular basis with regards to borrowers wanting to close with us. It’s part of life. Rejection and failure are how you improve. Your goal should be to minimize failures by learning from them. You can never get rid of failures entirely. That’s not possible.

What do you consider the main differences between those people who have been successful in your industry and those who have failed?

Making sure the business is a profitable one and putting in the hours to materialize your ideas. Those are the two secrets to success. You don’t become successful by having great ideas with no execution, and vice versa. Worth ethic is number one, always.

What’s Your Approach To Marketing?

My approach is to have great mortgage products, the best in the industry. As a result, I don’t have to sell much. The clients come to you. It’s the same with any other business: when you have a good product, it sells itself.

Final Thoughts

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