Pay It Forward: 'Don’t Obsess Over Timing. When You’re Ready, Make The Move,' Says Scott Sherman Co-Founder of Tricera Capital
'I have learned that there’s no one right path to get to where you want to go in your career. Your first job will not be your last. It’s about progressing along the way to get to where you want to go, especially in real estate.'
Scott Sherman, Co-Founder & Managing Principal at Tricera Capital, Miami, Fl.
Scott Sherman is the Co-Founder & Managing Principal at Tricera Capital located in Miami, FL. Sherman focuses on urban retail and office investment and development in the Southeast. Prior to co-founding and building Tricera Capital, Scott completed in excess of $2 Billion of acquisitions at Thor Equities – focusing on urban retail and mixed-use assets.
What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle in your particular role/? How have you overcome those obstacles? Building a company, Tricera Capital, from the ground up has been the biggest challenge of my career. All aspects of accomplishing that, from forming the right team to finding the right deals, capitalizing the company and our projects and building for the long term, bring significant challenges on their own. When combining all of those elements, the challenge gets exponentially more daunting. It makes accomplishing all of this that much more rewarding too.
What about your role as founding principal are you most happy with? Experiencing the success of our early projects and acquisitions, delivering returns for our initial investors, getting positive feedback from others in the industry and building Tricera’s reputation are all tremendously gratifying and make the long hours worth it.
What is the best piece of advice you have received that has helped you succeed in your industry? The best advice I have received, and I would express the same to others, is that there’s never a perfect time to go out on your own or to execute on a deal. Don’t obsess over timing the market perfectly. When you’re ready, make the move.
Would you advise your son or daughter or any younger person to begin a career in CRE? Why or why not? I want my kids to do whatever makes them happy in life, but I would certainly recommend commercial real estate to them or any young person considering a career in the industry. I would tell my kids to work for someone else first to get good experience and other perspectives before considering joining the “family business.” Commercial real estate in general is a great industry and career path.
Please share the best lessons learned or a surprising component about your unique journey. I have learned that there’s no one right path to get to where you want to go in your career. I started out as an accountant at EY (formerly Ernst & Young) and got to where I am now. I mentor a lot of students at the University of Florida, and I always tell them that your first job will not be your last. It’s about progressing along the way to get to where you want to go, especially in real estate.
In your opinion, what takeaways did we learn from the COVID crisis? The biggest takeaway from a commercial real estate perspective was to be proactive when unforeseen events happen. For example, at the onset of the pandemic we offered all of Tricera’s retail tenants immediate rent relief to give tenants breathing room to work with us on a broader strategy to make it through those initial months. That paid substantial dividends for us in the long run.
