Garrett Pierson

@Tim_Denning The deals that looked impossible on paper closed because someone refused to accept the obvious outcome. Delusional optimism isn't denial — it's the operating system of every builder I've ever respected.

The secret everyone in the top 1% understands is to be delusionally optimistic.

@OneManSaas The people panicking about AI replacing devs are the same ones who thought Google would replace thinking. Automation handles execution. It doesn't tell you which problem is worth solving in the first place. That's still a human job.

the belief that AI will render devs obsolete is like thinking calculators would end math. real skill isn't in what you automate, but in the problems you choose to solve with it. AI isn't the end of coding; it's just a new set of tools in the toolbox.

@jonbrooks Real estate has a way of humbling everyone eventually. Fraud, vacancy, rising costs — these aren't fringe scenarios anymore, they're showing up in deals that checked every box at underwriting. The market doesn't care how many deals you've done before.

I am having phone calls and am in a Facebook group with guys who invested in commercial real estate - retail and multifamily They’re losing millions They've lost their purpose They've fallen out of real estate Fraud, deals going bad, tenants moving out, insurance skyrocketing It’s just a matter of time until it shows up everywhere

@ConnorAbene Competing on price is a race to the bottom and there's always someone willing to lose money longer than you. The clients worth having aren't shopping for the cheapest option anyway. They're shopping for the person they trust most.

Brutal truth: If your only edge is being cheaper than the next professional, you’re walking a tightrope. Price is not positioning. One undercut and you fall.

The 20% better standard is what separates the juniors who get cut in on deals from the ones who stop getting calls. What does that look like in practice? Customized aerials, abstracted leases, a deal room that's already set up before anyone asks. Details win deals and they win trust.

If you are the junior on a deal that was won by a senior, here are some ways to make sure the senior doesn’t resent you at closing. 1. Respond to every email first, even if the answer is “I’ll get right back to you” 2. When the senior says “we” they actually mean you. “We should do an updated market report”. “We should double check the leases. We=your task list. 3. Kick it up a notch. For every marketing piece or effort think how can I make this 20% better? Then do that. Set up the deal room with all DD ahead of time? Create a customized aerial that shows the area better? Get the most epic property photos? Abstract every lease into an excel file with an index tab of exclusives and cotenancy? Make it happen. Remember. You were invited on to a deal you did not win. It’s time to suck up and be teacher’s pet.

@TristenPalori Landlord attorneys who reject without explanation aren't protecting their client — they're just billing hours. A redline with no rationale is useless to everyone at the table and slows the deal down for no reason.

I’ve been waiting for a landlords attorney to give me lease redlines for 3 1/2 weeks. Finally get them today. 95% of our changes were just rejected without comment. 30 minutes of work at best. And attorneys wonder why they are so hated in the industry.

@Codie_Sanchez The awareness is the gift and the burden. You can see exactly why a deal is structured the way it is, why someone is negotiating from a weak position, or why a business is failing — and still have to let the process play out. Patience becomes the real skill.

The curse of being smart... You see the game everyone else is playing. And you still have to act like you don’t.

Many investors believe the property alone secures the loan. In reality, lenders evaluate the borrower just as closely as the deal. #InvestorEducation

I'm dyslexic. That doesn't mean I'm slow. It means my brain is wired differently. And that wiring helped me build companies to the Inc. 500 twice, write 4 books, and close real estate deals. Dyslexia taught me to solve problems differently before I even knew that was a skill. That's not a weakness. That's an edge.

@MultifamilyMad Seller financing at 5% on a retail plaza is a win, but the real deal was made before you ever sat down at that table. Spotting the sign, doing the research, and calling the next morning is the part most people skip. That’s where deals actually start.

Officially the coolest spot I have ever successfully negotiated and put a deal under contract. A high top in this guys car garage. Driving with my family one night and saw a “FOR LEASE” sign in a retail plaza. I took down the number, did some research and called the guy the next morning. I asked him if he would be interested in selling and he said he would be. We met at the property that afternoon and I hit it off with this 80 year old man who has owned 135 cars in his life! He invited me over to his house and man cave/5-car garage to negotiate a contract. And that’s what we did! We chatted and had a blast for two and half hours both as car guys and I left with a signed contract and a small retail plaza being added to my portfolio with seller financing at 5% interest! Today I closed on that deal!

@RobertGreene Selective attention is an underrated skill. The deals, conversations, and people you choose not to engage with shape your outcomes just as much as the ones you do. Reaction is a resource. Spend it carefully.

You choose to let things bother you. You can just as easily choose not to notice the irritating offender, to consider the matter trivial and unworthy of your interest. That is the powerful move. What you do not react to cannot drag you down in a futile engagement. Your pride is not involved. The best lesson you can teach an irritating gnat is to consign it to oblivion by ignoring it.

Strong documentation shows lenders you are serious, structured, and ready to close. Preparation is leverage in commercial real estate. #CommercialRealEstate

@Codie_Sanchez Building companies taught me this faster than anything else. The moments I was most “successful” on paper were sometimes the emptiest. The scorecard that actually held up was the one you just outlined.

It's really the small things in life that matter. Are you healthy? Do you have family? Friends to invite over? Work that stretches you? That's being truly rich.

Your primary residence doesn’t generate income, doesn’t depreciate on your taxes, and you can’t 1031 exchange out of it. Calling it an investment confuses emotion with strategy, and that confusion leads people to over-leverage on a depreciating lifestyle asset while neglecting actual income-producing property.

A personal home is NOT an investment

Question for investors: If a lender asked for your Personal Financial Statement right now, how long would it take you to send it? #CRECommunity

4 best-selling books. Inc. 500 list twice. 4 kids. Amazing wife. Multiple businesses. Commercial Real Estate. People always ask how I "balanced" it all. The honest answer? I didn't balance anything. I just refused to choose. There's this myth that you have to pick a lane. Be the "business guy" or the "family guy." The grinder or the present parent. I rejected that. Not because I'm special — because I watched my dad do both. He showed me you don't have to sacrifice one for the other if you're intentional about how you show up. The truth is, the things that make you a better parent make you a better leader. Patience. Listening. Saying "I don't know" without losing authority. Following through on what you promised — even when nobody's checking. My kids don't care that I was on the Inc. 500 list twice. They care that I was at their games. They care that I put my phone down at dinner. And my clients? They don't care about my resume either. They care that I pick up the phone. That I fight for the best deal. That I treat their money like it's mine. The through-line is the same: show up, be honest, do what you said you'd do. That's not a business strategy. That's just being a person worth trusting. Drop a 🤝 if you believe the best business skill is just being someone people can count on.

@bakerbaine Most people spend months finding the right property and five minutes picking their attorney. That imbalance costs more deals than bad pricing ever will. Who you pick for your legal team deserves the same due diligence as the deal itself.

An attorney will either get your deal done… or be the reason it dies. Watched one quarterback a nightmare client and close. Watched another move so slow the deal never had a chance. Choose wisely.

@drgurner Built a SaaS product because I was tired of spending hours on paperwork that should take minutes. Nobody handed me a template for that — I just refused to accept that the painful way was the only way.

If you’re the same as others, you’re coasting. You should always be looking to skip steps, but not skip the work. To scale faster, make bigger leaps, do the audacious thing. Departing from what everyone else is doing, saves years of time. Look around & Shift it up.

@paulg he resume is for getting a job. The startup is for building one. Users care about one thing: does this solve my problem. That's it.

Someone asked if it's a good idea to start a startup when you have nothing notable on your resume. Absolutely. All that matters in a startup is whether users like the product, and users don't care (either way) what's on your resume.

@ConnorAbene Qualification is the deal's first negotiation. Most people treat it like a formality, but it's actually where you find out if you're building on solid ground or wasting everyone's time.

The more I qualify clients upfront, the fewer problems I have later. Who would’ve thought.