Grow Your Cashflow

Grow Your Cashflow helps accredited investors ($3M+ net worth) build diversified passive income portfolios through strategic, cash-flowing alternative investments. Our mission is to simplify investing, empower financial freedom, and enable our clients to live life on their terms.

What We Do:
→ High Cash Flow Investments: Deliver consistent monthly income by focusing on opportunities in real estate, private equity, and other alternative assets.

→ Strategic Partnerships: Partner exclusively with top-tier operators to ensure stability and expertise. We invest in every deal alongside our clients, aligning interests and building trust.

→ Hands-On Guidance & Transparency: Provide end-to-end support—from deal analysis to execution—helping investors navigate the complexities of alternative investments confidently.

Key Achievements:
→ Helped clients generate over $120,000/yr in monthly passive income.
→ Curated a portfolio of 6+ vetted investment opportunities in 2023 alone.
→ Built partnerships with operators managing over $5 billion in assets.

How We Help:
→ Eliminate the stress of managing volatile markets by offering reliable, cash-flowing investments.
→ Build portfolios tailored to each investor’s financial goals.
→ Empower investors to reclaim time and freedom while building wealth.

👉 Ready to start building your financial independence?

Message me directly or sign up for your free Passive Income Starter Kit (link in bio).

Founder & CEO

Pascal Wagner Holdings

Pascal Wagner Holdings is my personal investment and advisory portfolio, focused on high-yield real estate investments, high-growth startups, and alternative assets. My portfolio reflects a strategic approach to wealth building through diversified investments and trusted partnerships.

Advisory Roles
Serve as Board Member/Observer for:
→ Forecastr (forecastr.co) – Financial forecasting software for startups.
→ Cubby Beds (cubbybeds.com) – Transformative sleeping solutions for children with special needs.


Investment Portfolio
Pre-IPO and Angel Investments:
→ Forecastr – Financial modeling for startups.
→ Enaia – Innovative tech solutions for scaling startups.
→ SpaceX – Space exploration and advanced transportation.
→ Stripe – Online payment processing for internet businesses.
→ PadSplit – Affordable shared housing for workforce tenants.
→ Sheets & Giggles – Sustainable eucalyptus bedding products.
→ Machinery Partner – Equipment marketplace for small contractors.
→ Favs – Community-driven e-commerce recommendations platform.


Real Estate Investments (Co-Living Capital):
→ Built a portfolio of 11 co-living properties in Atlanta, Georgia, generating sustainable monthly cash flow.
→ Developed rental models achieving 90%+ occupancy rates by transforming underutilized assets into vibrant, cash-flowing communities.


Real Estate Funds:
→ Oil & Gas: LCP Chocwell 10A.
→ ATMs: Real Asset Investor – Fund 5.
→ Self-Storage: Reliant Capital Management – Fund 3.
→ Debt Funds: DLP Capital – Debt Lending Fund, Preferred Credit Fund.
→ Multi-Family: Rise at Suncrest, Cardone Capital – Fund 20, Quantum Capital – Highland Park & Penn.

Founder

Techstars

As Fund & Portfolio Manager at Techstars, I led the deployment of $150 million across three years, investing in over 200 high-potential early-stage startups. My role involved creating scalable systems to identify, evaluate, and invest in top-tier opportunities, ensuring strategic allocation across diverse industries and geographies.

Key Achievements:
→ Capital Deployment: Oversaw the allocation of $150 million in venture capital investments, driving portfolio growth and targeting startups with exceptional scalability and market potential.

→ Deal Sourcing & Evaluation: Developed a comprehensive system to analyze thousands of startups, enabling efficient decision-making and ensuring investments focused on the most promising companies.

→ Board Participation & Founder Mentorship: Provided hands-on support to portfolio companies as a board member, guiding founders on growth strategies, fundraising, and operational improvements.

→ Portfolio Value Creation: Played a critical role in securing equity positions in high-growth startups, aligning investments with Techstars’ strategy and contributing to a high-performing portfolio.

Fund & Portfolio Manager

Walkthrough (a PlanOmatic brand)

After buying & selling 4 properties, I realized how backwards and outdated the real estate industry was. 

I searched on Google & Yelp for photographers, inspectors & appraisers only to find many of them couldn't help me within the next 3 weeks to meet a deadline. After 15 phone calls and hours of searching I finally found someone who could meet with me in 2 weeks but they would only accept checks and took their sweet time getting everything I needed back to me. 

In the age of being able to instantly book a ride (Uber) or vet different places to stay (AirBnB), I knew there was a great opportunity to bring the industry to the 21st century. 

To solve these problems, at Walkthrough we enabled agents (and any other home owners) to book the services they needed, when they needed it, and at the best price without sacrificing quality. All of this was done through an easy online app, filled with reviews & instant booking.

We built what I wish I had when I bought & sold my first few properties. I went on to sell the company to a national photography firm called PlanOmatic in 2019. 

---Here are a few things I accomplished---
‣ Pre-sold $5,000 in orders from customers before any code was written or product existed.

‣ Grew Walkthrough from $0 to $10,000+/mo in revenue in 6 months and ultimately to above $55,000+/mo from 3,000+ customers.

‣ Scaled the company from just an idea to 47 team members and launched 6 markets. 

‣ Tested 27+ acquisition channels before focusing on a channel that repeatedly converted at a 33% conversion rate with a ~$30 CAC.

‣ Raised $2M+ in funding, directly managed 3 engineers and an 8 person operations team, as well as negotiated & led the company to an acquisition.

‣ 3x company learning speed by introducing the ‘Northstar' growth framework and running 1 experiment per team member per week.

‣ Used the weekly ‘Traction’ framework to align the Support team to reduce ‘time to ticket resolution’ from 40 hrs down to ~4.5 hrs in less than 12 weeks.

Chief Executive Officer

Online Ad Labs (Acquired by PosterBrain)

I helped ecommerce businesses who advertised on Facebook get a higher return on their ad spend. 

Some of these companies we're pretty awesome to work with like Barbell Shrugged, The Amazing Seller, Inflowstyle, and the multimillion dollar brands Masterclass, Mahabis, & BC-Loans. 

After reading "Work The System" by Sam Carpenter I systematized everything and then grew the team to 5 people. It allowed me to live the 4 hour work week, live in Bali and travel all across Asia for 9 months. 

I learned how to hire & manage people, build processes & procedures, and how to fire clients that I didn't like to work with.  Thankfully, I was lucky enough to build something someone else thought was valuable. In June of 2016 I sold the company and moved on to bigger and more inspiring projects.

---Here are a few things I've accomplished here---
‣ Signed & managed 54 contracts with advertising budgets totaling over $1,200,000 delivering on the Facebook & Google platforms.

‣ Grew the team to 5 members and systematized operations to be turn-key, ultimately leading us to an acquisition.

‣ Increased ROI on Ad Spend by 7x for ~80% of the 54 companies we took on (typically reducing their cost per lead from ~$8 to below ~$1) through proper copywriting & detailed customer segmentation.

Elevate Mastermind

After graduating college I realized that a lot of my success would be determined by the people I surrounded myself with. I didn't know many entrepreneurs that could be my support system so I pulled in a few friends to help me organize an event to meet all of the entrepreneurs I had been following on "the internet" for the last several years. 

I rented a huge mansion in Breckenridge to throw our event in the first year, and then found a beach house in Bahamas the 2nd year. Somehow I managed to figure out how to have my favorite entrepreneurs buy tickets to attend an event put on by me - some random guy who just graduated college. The flow of the event focused on building deep relationships so instead of sitting around conference tables, we went on adventures, had snowball fights and went deep sea fishing together. 

I now have a solid new group of people I can call friends that have helped me achieve and become the man I am today.

Co-Founder

NotaryElite

Sick of trading time for money, I went through a program called The Foundation which taught the fundamentals of how to start a software company (i.e. building a product instead of a service).

I got on the phone with Notaries (I don't even remember how I fell into this niche) asking them what their problems were, what solutions to those problems could be, how much they'd pay to have those problems solved, and then somehow convinced several of them to pay me 6 months up front for a discount so I could use their money to build their dream product. 

I called it NotaryElite. It was my first crack at building a software company which answered calls on a notaries behalf and scheduled appointments for them in their calendar while they were unable to answer the phone on the road or in meetings. 

I was super proud of building this company - it took a lot of sweat and hustle to get this off the ground but maybe a little too late, I realized the probability of ever earning more than $10k in revenue per month with our product was extremely unlikely because the market size was too small. 

Lesson learned.

You better believe I'll do my research of market potential before starting any new company in the future.

Pünkt IT Consulting

This was my first step up after selling candy bars between classes for $0.50 profit in high school (which apparently is pretty illegal) to buy my first macbook. 

With the goal of making ends meet and graduating college debt free, I helped local companies build websites, provided them web hosting, and had my first shot at helping companies with Facebook marketing. I even fixed a few computers and ran a computer tech shop. 

It was the first time I learned to sell to businesses, write an invoice, charge ahead of time for my services instead of chasing people for payments, and learned what it was like to trade time for money.

Everyone wants to build passive income, and I figured out how.

With over $250K/year in passive income from 30+ investments, years of venture capital experience deploying $150M at Techstars, and a proven system, I can help you build a reliable cash-flowing portfolio (without spending years figuring it out).

→ In 2020: I started from scratch with $0 in passive income.
→ In 2021: I took on the responsibility of managing my family’s finances after losing my dad, ensuring my mom could retire with peace of mind.
→ In 2024: I built a $250K/year portfolio and helped 10+ executives start their journey to financial freedom.

I’ve worked with busy, high-earning professionals to eliminate stress from volatile markets, create passive income portfolios tailored to their goals, and regain time for what matters most.

Here's how I can help you:
→ Download my Passive Investing Starter Kit—trusted by 1,000+ investors. It’s your first step to building a reliable cash-flowing portfolio. (Link in bio)

→ Join the Cashflow Academy to learn how to create your own investment thesis, find pre-vetted opportunities, and start generating passive income.

→ Explore Curated Investments with exclusive access to pre-vetted opportunities, including multifamily real estate, high-yield funds, and alternative assets with built-in tax advantages.


If you're not ready for any of that yet, no worries! Stick around—I share insights on investing smarter, building passive income, and creating a portfolio that works for you.

See you on the feed 👋.

Pascal Wagner

Want to avoid losing $50,000+ on your next real estate deal?

Here are the 4 assumptions that will make or break your returns — and most investors never stress-test them.

We all (should) know that projections are just guesses.
But these 4 variables have the biggest impact on the outcome of a deal.

From reviewing 1,000+ commercial real estate deals, here’s what consistently moves the numbers the most:

1) Rent Growth Projections

Are they assuming modest rent bumps or aggressive increases?

You can cross-check their numbers in 5 minutes using YoY rent data on Zillow or Reventure.

If their assumptions outpace the actual market, that’s not a business plan — that’s optimism.

2) Occupancy Rates

Are they projecting occupancy above the market average?

If yes, how are they getting there?

→ Lower rents?
→ Better amenities?
→ Stronger execution?

If they can’t articulate it clearly, don’t trust the projection.

3) Exit Interest Rates

What rate are they assuming when they sell or refinance?

A lot can change in 5 years.

If the returns only work when rates fall… that’s not underwriting — that’s hope.

4) Operating Expense Growth

Are they assuming realistic increases for insurance, taxes, maintenance, and other operating costs?

In many markets, the biggest expense lines — especially insurance and maintenance — have been rising 4–8% per year, not the old 2–3% underwriting standard.

If they assume flat expenses, the deal’s in trouble before it starts.

And the best part?
These are all 5-minute checks you can run on any deal.

You don’t need hours of research — just a simple stress test.

A deal might “look great” on paper…
but if the assumptions are off, your actual results can look very different.

Am I missing anything? What else do you check before investing?

Sharing How I Built $250K+/Year Portfolio with 30+ Investments | Best Ever CRE Podcast Host (200K+ Monthly Listeners) | Ex-VC @Techstars, Deployed $150M in 3 Years | Join 1K+ Investors Using My Free Starter Kit👇

A few things I’ve been reflecting on as we head into Thanksgiving:

1) Living in Miami

Miami has honestly been such a gift. The pace, the energy, the weather, the people — it’s a city that makes you feel alive and pushes you to dream bigger. I didn’t expect to love it this much.

2) More time with family

I got to see my mom a couple times this year. Those trips weren’t long, but they meant a lot. The older I get, the more I realize how rare it is to get time like that back.

3) Trips with Ashley

Getting away together — even just for a weekend — has been a reset button for both of us. Some of my favorite memories from this year came from those small windows where it was just the two of us.

4) The team around me

This year, a few people stepped up in big ways. It’s hard to put into words how much that matters when you’re building something that feels bigger than you. I’m grateful for the people in my corner.

5) Taking a bet on myself

I built a mentorship program from scratch and turned it into a real consulting revenue stream. It took longer and required more belief than I expected, but I’m genuinely proud of it.

→ As the year winds down, I’m taking time to reflect, simplify, and double down on what’s already working.

Do less — but better.

And keep improving the things that are already moving in the right direction.

Everyone was loading up their Amazon carts yesterday…

I loaded up on Bitcoin.

Didn’t realize Cyber Monday came with a BTC sale—down almost 5% this week.

Better than 99% of the deals I scrolled past.

Not sure what I was doing all these years. 😂

Ever driven past a parking lot and wondered who owns it — or how much it actually makes?

I recently sat down with Kevin Bupp, founder of Sunrise Capital Investors, to break down one of the most overlooked (and surprisingly profitable) niches in commercial real estate: parking.

Kevin’s team has acquired more than $400M in assets — including 4,000 mobile home parks and $150M in parking garages and surface lots across the country. With 20+ years of experience and multiple market cycles under his belt, he explains why he’s doubling down on this niche… and why almost no LPs are watching it.

Here’s what we covered:
 ✅ Why parking lots often outperform multifamily on a hassle-to-return basis
 ✅ How Sunrise blends mobile home parks and parking assets in one fund to balance steady cash flow with long-term appreciation
 ✅ The macro trends driving supply compression and stable demand in parking
 ✅ How self-driving technology, urban redevelopment, and zoning shifts could transform this overlooked sector
 ✅ Why “highest and best use” can create asymmetric upside for investors
 ✅ The biggest mistakes LPs make when evaluating alternative asset classes

If you’re an LP looking for stable, tax-advantaged income and diversification beyond multifamily, this conversation will show you how institutional investors are quietly repositioning capital toward these low-volatility, cash-flow-driven assets.

YouTube link in the comments 👇

It’s surprising how much your life improves when you stack tiny habits.
 
A few things quietly made my life better this year:
 
1) Walking more
 
When I moved to Miami, I told myself, “Alright, I’m ready to step up and finally get a six-pack.”
 
At the time, I was averaging around 7,500 steps a day. Nothing too impressive.
 
Then I bought a walking pad for my desk and started walking during one meeting a week.
Then two.
Then most of them.
 
Now I regularly hit 12–15k steps a day without thinking about it.
 
I look leaner, I feel better, and it’s honestly one of the easiest habits I've ever built. 
 
(Photos to come soon 😉)
 
Wild how such a simple thing can change your whole baseline.
 
2) Treating social media like a craft
 
This one surprised me too.
 
Posting consistently takes time and effort — way more than people think — but it’s been worth it.
 
Every single client I’ve worked with this year came from social.
 
On LinkedIn, I’ve been growing around 350 followers a month.
On YouTube, my videos now get 300+ views in the first week.
 
It’s been fun to learn, fun to iterate, and fun to feel like I’m finally getting the hang of it.
 
It’s starting to feel like a real skill.
 
3) Building momentum slowly
 
Not everything has to be sprint → burnout → repeat.
 
Some things get better when you show up a little bit every day and let the reps stack.
 
Walking more.
Creating more.
 
Being a little more visible.
Just nudging things forward.
 
None of it is flashy.
But it’s working.
 
Can you tell?

Bitcoin just dropped 30% — from around $126K to the low-$80Ks.

Whenever we get a move like this, I catch myself doing the same thing:

I start digging. Charts, articles, graphs… anything that helps me double-check whether I still understand why I own this.

A lot of my friends say the same thing every time:

→ “I don’t get Bitcoin. It doesn’t cash-flow. What’s the value here?”

I used to ask that too.

But then you step back and look at what’s actually happening around us:

→ The dollar losing ~25% of its purchasing power in five years
→ Government spending exploding
→ Savings getting quietly eroded
→ A financial system that chips away at you slowly

At some point, owning a scarce, non-sovereign asset starts to feel less like speculation… and more like insurance.

Bitcoin isn’t perfect.
It’s volatile.
It’s frustrating.
It doesn’t send distributions.

But it does protect you from something every investor underestimates:
→ your dollars getting diluted while you sleep.

Here’s one of the pieces I revisited this week during the drop:
https://lnkd.in/ebaPBZG5

Did you hold through this move?
Or did it make you second-guess things?

Open article: Part 1: Coup to Code - The End Run Around the Fed by marylandhodl.substack.com

Part 1: Coup to Code - The End Run Around the Fed

Everyone wants more affordable housing. 

But no one wants it in their backyard.

That’s the core issue no one in real estate wants to talk about.

People say they want lower rents.

They say they want to “solve the housing crisis.”

But the moment you try to put an actual solution next to them…

Like co-living, micro-units, or shared housing…

They fight it. 

I’ve been looking a lot into why we have an affordable housing crisis, and the more I dig, the more obvious it gets:

 It's NIMBYism. 

"Not in my backyard." 

No one wants a house next to them that has bedrooms added by dividing living rooms, dining rooms, or garages.

They don’t want micro-units.

They don’t want co-living.

They don’t want anything that looks like it’s meant for someone who isn’t a top-echelon high earner.

Because there’s a stigma:

Micro-units = slumlords, crime, mental illness, drugs, homelessness, and overcrowding.

And because of that, cities make it nearly impossible to build them.

→ Look at Seattle.

Back in 2012, they allowed micro-apartments.

Developers actually started building them to spec.

Then the city slowly raised the minimum square footage you had to have per bedroom…

And then, a couple years in, they changed the zoning to basically not even allow them.

It’s wild.

There are plenty of people (myself included) who would build these structures.

But regulation blocks it.

Not economics or demand. 

But red tape from cities. 
 
→ So how do you solve the problem?

A few ideas: 

1). Stop pretending you can fix affordability without changing zoning.

2). Call NIMBYism what it is: “I want solutions, just not where I can see them.”

 3). Let developers build smaller units instead of forcing luxury square footage.

 4). Recognize that micro-units work in Asia, Europe, New York (and they can work here, too).

 5). Stop raising design requirements after builders already commit to projects.

Until something changes, we’re stuck in the same loop:

People say they want affordable housing....

They’re just not willing to live near it.

Writing on LinkedIn almost every day has been way harder than I expected.

Most mornings I’m asking myself:

“Do I actually have something worth saying today… or am I about to break the streak?”

I’m not doing it to “build an audience.”
I’m doing it because distribution is leverage—and the ability to communicate clearly online is only becoming more valuable.

But the process is messy.

I worry about sounding dumb.
Or watching something that felt sharp in my head fall apart on the page.

I’ve tried writers.
I’ve tried systems.
Still—my best ideas arrive late at night.

ChatGPT helps, but not by writing for me.
It helps me see my own thinking.

I’ll read a draft and immediately feel,
“Wait… that’s not quite right. What did I really mean?”

That’s when the real work begins—pulling on the deeper thread I almost skipped.
And here’s the surprising thing I’ve learned:

Your voice doesn’t appear fully formed.
You find it by publishing imperfect work in public.

It’s uncomfortable.
It’s messy.
But it’s also how you grow.

If you’ve ever considered sharing your thoughts more often, I’d encourage it.

The reps don’t just improve your writing—they sharpen how you think.

You've invested $250K across 5 deals.

But you still don't have a plan.

Some tax plays here. 
A little equity growth there. 
A syndication your friend told you about.

And now you're wondering why it all feels disconnected.

I've been there.

A few years ago, I was doing the same thing. 

Not gambling — just evaluating each deal in isolation instead of as part of a full strategy.

I only invested in things I believed were high quality:

→ Real estate in downtown Denver (because I knew the area)

→ Funds from well-known operators (because I didn't want to lose money)

→ Passive deals through my friend group (because I wanted to spread the risk)

I was investing in what I had access to...

But the market shifted, and the plan I had wasn’t designed for the conditions we ended up facing.

So if you've built your strategy from podcasts and LinkedIn posts, I get it. 

But you're not positioned to win, either.

→ Because when you invest without a plan, your portfolio isn't optimized for what you actually need. 

Maybe you need cash flow now, but half your capital is locked up in long-term equity plays.

That's why you need to ask yourself some hard questions:

→ What do I want my portfolio to look like in 5 years?
→ How do I balance cash flow vs. equity growth?
→ How do I know which deals fit my goals?

At the time, I wasn’t asking those questions yet — because my plan was built for a different stage.

And it left me with capital tied up in deals I wished I could reallocate.

But now I know better.

I'm not falling in love with deals that look good on paper.

Instead, I'm creating a structured portfolio with:

→ Targeted equity positions with clear upside
→ Monthly cash flow from low-volatility debt funds
→ Diversification across operators and asset classes

Don't wait until your portfolio underperforms to realize you needed a strategy from the start.

It’s the end of the year… 

You’ve made great income,
Your CPA mentioned you need depreciation, 
And every operator is promising massive write-offs.

But before you wire that $100K, here’s the truth: not all write-offs actually lower your taxes the way you think they do.

In this solo episode of The Passive Income Playbook, Pascal Wagner breaks down the 3 types of income the IRS recognizes — and how to align your investments so the write-offs you earn actually hit your tax return.

After personally investing $3.3M across 23 private deals, and managing capital professionally at Techstars ($150M deployed), Pascal shares the framework that turned one painful $40K tax surprise into a repeatable system for year-end planning.

Most investors chase “tax-advantaged” deals without understanding which bucket their income sits in — active, portfolio, or passive.

Once you learn how they actually work, you’ll never look at write-offs the same way again.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
✅ The 3 income buckets the IRS uses — and why mixing them up kills your deductions
✅ How to know which type of investment actually affects your taxes
✅ The 3 rare ways to offset active income (and when they actually apply)
✅ Why depreciation only works if your income is in the passive bucket
✅ The real reason wealthy investors “stack” funds and real estate strategically
✅ How to engineer after-tax returns instead of chasing headline IRRs

If you’re looking at deals right now and wondering “Which of these will actually help my taxes?” — this episode shows you exactly how to tell before you invest.

Youtube link in comments👇

Gib Irons

Irons & Irons P.A.

As the managing partner of Irons & Irons, P.A., I am in charge of running the day to day operations of the business including but not limited to implementing firm policy related to cash flow and profitability, staffing, client development, time management, and productivity systems.  
My practice is focused on personal injury litigation and family law.  As a rule, our firm does extensive screening before accepting a personal injury or family law case.  We seek to limit the number of active clients that we are representing at any given time in effort to streamline the litigation process.  As such, our clients enjoy being able to have regular and frequent access to their attorney and exceptional service.  
In the world of domestic and family law, where tension and stress are all too common for everyone involved, and the burnout rate amongst attorneys in astonishingly high, we provide a client based service that caters to high net worth and upper middle class individuals seeking to reach a favorable disposition in their case within a reasonable timeframe.

Managing Partner

Irons Equity, LLC

Gib Irons is an attorney, entrepreneur and real estate investor.  He is the founder and CEO at Irons Equity and oversees operations, acquisitions, investor relations and asset management.
Gib and his wife, Kate have 3 children, Anna-Gibson (9), Miles (7) and Malene (4).  Gib is an avid surfer and fisherman and loves offshore fishing for tuna, dolphin and wahoo.

Helping Accredited Investors Passively Invest in Real Estate | Founder @ Irons Equity | Father & husband (and surfer & fisherman, but my wife told me to write that last.)

In 2007, I started my law firm in Greenville, NC.

In 2019, I had a breakthrough.

Being an attorney is taxing.

It's stressful. It's intense. It's a ton of work.

It's all of that — and it's non-stop.

(If you're an attorney, you're nodding your head right now.)

A lot of attorneys work until they die. Not because they want to — but because they don't have an exit plan. 

My breakthrough came when I met a real estate investor during the Big Rock Blue Marlin fishing tournament in 2019.

He started telling me all about his strategy.

- How he invests in real estate.
- How it's saved him 6 figures in taxes. 
- How he built 6 figures in passive cash flow.

I walked off that boat committed to real estate investing.

14 months later, I owned 14 properties.

Today, my mission is simple:

I want to help other high-earners (not just attorneys) experience the same benefits I've seen from real estate investing.

Yes, not paying as much in taxes is incredible.
Yes, the portfolio diversification is great.
Yes, the return potential is wonderful.

But you know the best thing?

Real estate gives you and your family more options for your lives.

And what could be better than that?

Visit ironsequity.com or send me a DM to learn more.

Gib Irons is an attorney, entrepreneur and real estate investor.  He is the founder and CEO at Irons Equity and oversees operations, acquisitions, investor relations and asset management.  Gib is a resident of Greenville, North Carolina.

Gib owns 14 single family condominiums, a commercial building, and a short-term rental (STR) property in Sevierville, Tennessee near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg named “Smoky Mountain Masterpiece.” 

Gib is a passive investor in a 660-unit portfolio in Arlington, Texas, a 344-unit apartment building in Dallas, Texas, and a 295-unit property in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 

In addition to Gib’s real estate investing experience, Gib is the owner and managing partner of Irons & Irons, PA, a multi-million dollar law firm based in North Carolina and established in 2007.

Gib and his wife, Kate have 3 children, Anna-Gibson (9), Miles (7) and Malene (4).  Gib is an avid surfer and fisherman and loves offshore fishing for tuna, dolphin and wahoo.

Your $75K salary becomes $150K.
Then $250K.
Then $500K.

And you know what happens?

Your stress doubles. Your tax bill triples. Your time disappears.

You're making more but keeping less—and you've got nothing to show for it except exhaustion and a fat tax return to the IRS.

The dirty secret of wealth building isn't about making more.

It's about **keeping more** and making your money work while you sleep.

I see this with every high-earning professional I meet:
- Doctors working 80-hour weeks
- Lawyers billing their lives away
- Business owners trapped in their own companies

They're rich on paper but broke on time.

Real wealth isn't just income. It's options.

The freedom to say no. The ability to take a Tuesday morning surf session. The option to retire—or not—on your terms.

That only happens when you stop trading time for money and start putting your capital to work.

Most people wait until they're 60 to figure this out.

Don't be most people.

What's keeping you from making your first passive investment?

I bought $5,000 of American Bitcoin stock at $2.20 per share.

Before you scroll away, hear me out:

I've been watching where Donald Trump puts his money. The goal is to copy every move.

So far, his family is stacking in four areas:

1. World Liberty Financial (WLFI) - They're building a decentralized bank with their USD1 stablecoin, the fastest growing stablecoin in the market.

2. American Bitcoin Corp - Eric and Don Jr. bought a massive Bitcoin mining facility and are mining at scale.

3. Bitcoin holdings - Trump Media (the company that owns Truth Social) has announced plans to buy a reported $2 billion in 2025.

4. XRP and the digital asset ecosystem - They're positioning before the regulatory changes hit.

The stock I bought was down 50% because early private placement investors unlocked their shares and took profits.

While everyone panicked, I saw an opportunity and grabbed it.

Here's my thesis:

These guys have more information than we do.

They're making moves before policy shifts.

They're positioning for the next 5 years while everyone else is still arguing about whether crypto is real.

You don't have to like Trump to recognize the strategy.

When people in power make financial moves, they're not gambling.

They have insight we don't.

Copy-trading isn't a bad strategy when you're copying people who have access to the playbook.

Would you rather fight against them or follow their plays?

My wife made $250,000 in a year while staying at home with my kids.

When I first started investing in real estate, it was chaos.

-> I was trying to run a law office.
-> I was managing my 14 properties.
-> I was juggling multiple contractors.

Then my CPA made a suggestion:

“Gib, would your wife be open to becoming a qualified real estate professional?”

My CPA told me if Kate managed those 14 properties and logged 750 hours in a year, she could become a qualified real estate professional, and we’d be able to improve our tax situation.

Kate was interested, and in 2021, she earned her qualified real estate professional designation.

Now, Kate is critical to our real estate success as a family.

-> Any time we have turnover, she’s at properties doing showings.
-> She’s constantly juggling maintenance people and tenants.
-> And did I mention she watches our 3 kids under 10 years old?

It’s a ton of work — and she’s incredibly good at it.

In 2021, thanks to Kate’s help and her professional designation, we were able to save $250,000 in taxes in a single year.

Not a bad salary for a Stay at Home Mom.

I won't invest in my hometown anymore.

Even though I own 14 properties there.

Greenville, NC is where I built my law firm. Where I bought my first rental properties. Where I proved my investment model worked.

A while back, I bought 14 condos for $75-100K each. They're worth $175K+ now.

With that kind of solid returns, I should be doubling down, right? But I won't.

The numbers don't work anymore.

Cap rates compressed. Purchase prices went up. Rent growth slowed.

What penciled at 8% cash-on-cash in 2019 barely hits 5% today. Not to mention, there are better opportunities exist in Phoenix, Texas, Arkansas.

This is the discipline that separates good investors from desperate ones.

Just because something worked before doesn't mean you keep doing it.

Markets and numbers change. Your strategy has to change with them.

I'm emotionally attached to Greenville. It'll always be home and where I got my start.

That said, nostalgia is a terrible investment strategy.

I'm not selling my 14 properties. They're performing well, tenants are paying, and the debt is cheap.

But I'm not buying more just because it's familiar or convenient.

If you want to know where I'm investing next, send me a DM.

I quit alcohol 17 years ago because of the metal band Korn.

Why it was one of the best decisions of my life:

In 2002 I met the lead singer, Jonathan Davis.

I thought he was the stereotypical party animal like most rockstars.

But he told me something that changed my life:

“I saw my career going down the drain and I had to make a choice:

Music or partying.

I couldn’t do both so I quit.”

He didn’t drink or do any drugs.

5 years later… I quit.

Since then I:

• Have become healthier
• Wake up more energized
• Built 2 thriving businesses
• Got better at handling my emotions
• Created the best relationships with my friends and family

If you’re stuck in the same miserable job or situation and have no idea how to break out…

Look at how much you’re drinking.

I guarantee it’s holding you back.

P.S. -

If you're looking for an opportunity to invest in medical real estate and build passive income. 

Send me a DM.

17 years of being a lawyer taught me this:

You can make $200k+ and still feel trapped.

Attorney life almost broke me before I found real estate:

→ I was working 60-80 hour weeks
→ Clients were demanding and draining
→ Every dollar required my time and energy
→ I was stressed, exhausted, intense, non-stop

Sure, the money was good. But the lifestyle was terrible.

It all changed when I met a guy at a fishing tournament who owned 200+ properties.

He asked me what my exit plan was as an attorney.

I told him I didn't have one.

The conversation that followed marked a turning point in my life.

14 months later, I owned 14 properties. All while still running the law firm.

Today I'm at 1,200+ units.

The law firm is still running. But now it's a choice, not a requirement.

Real estate gave me perks that practicing law never could:

→ Passive income that flows whether I work or not
→ Tax advantages that actually keep more money in my pocket
→ Equity that builds while I sleep
→ Time back with my family

Most high-earners I talk to are in the same trap I was in:

Making $250K-$500K+ per year but completely dependent on showing up every single day.

One health issue. One burnout moment. One big life change. And the whole thing collapses.

Real estate didn't make me rich. It made me free.

And once you have that, you can't imagine going back.

What would change for you if your income wasn't tied to your time?

I left California in my mid 20s.

Honestly, I didn't really want to go.

But with my family, career, and life pulling me in a different direction, I had no choice but to leave.

In the end, I moved to North Carolina and built a law firm with my dad.

Started investing in real estate.

Created a completely different life than I would have had.

Some nights my subconscious replays that decision over and over:

What if I had stayed? What would my life look like? Did I make a mistake?

But here's what I'm starting to accept:

You can't build two lives.

You get one path, and you make the most of it.

Every decision closes doors and opens new ones.

Yeah, maybe California would have been incredible. Maybe I'd be surfing every morning and practicing law in San Diego.

Or maybe I'd be miserable and broke and never would have discovered real estate investing.

I'll never know. And that's okay.

The life I built here gave me my wife, my kids, my law firm, my real estate portfolio, and financial freedom I never would have had chasing some alternate timeline.

Your brain will always wonder about the road not taken.

That's normal. But you can't live there.

The best decision you ever made might not feel like it in the moment. 

Sometimes it takes 10 years to see why that door had to close.

What decision do you still second-guess that might be the best thing that ever happened to you?

The Fed just injected $13.5 billion into the economy.

It's the second largest injection since COVID.

And we're barely into December.

Here's what nobody's telling you about what this means for your cash:

If you're sitting in a savings account right now, you're getting destroyed.

Your 1% interest rate has no chance of keeping pace with what's coming.

That's because they're greasing the pipes before they open the firehose.

More money printing is coming. Way more.

When they flood the system with cash:

→ Your dollars will buy less
→ Inflation accelerates
→ Asset prices rise
→ Savers lose, holders win

I'm not saying this to scare you.

I'm saying it because I've watched this movie before.

The playbook is simple:

✅ Get into hard assets
✅ Real estate that appreciates with inflation
✅ Tangible investments that can't be printed into oblivion

With interest rates heading down, the cost of capital is about to get cheaper. Interest rates are heading down.

If you've been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the "right time" to invest, you're watching it happen right now.

Cash is losing value every single day they run the printer.

Don't be left holding the bag.

Holders of cash will get crushed. 

Send me a DM if you want to diversify.

I invested $1.5M of my own money in 24 months.

Not a single dollar from investors.

Here's what that bought me:

The right to ask for theirs.

Most syndicators are broke.

They're raising capital they can't afford to invest in themselves.

Then they wonder why nobody trusts them.

Here's what I learned:

Skin in the game > Slick pitch decks

Real money talks > Fake Instagram posts

Eating your own cooking > Selling dreams

The breakdown:

$500K → Multifamily deal (Arlington, TX)

$300K → Medical real estate fund

$200K → Phoenix build-to-rent

$500K → Three more deals after vetting 100+ opportunities

What happened next:

Raised $12M in 3 weeks.

Why?

Because investors could see my money first.

Not asking them to do what I won't do.

The truth nobody says:

You can't raise capital without credibility.

You can't have credibility without skin in the game.

You can't have skin in the game without capital.

Being broke is hard.

Risking your own money is hard.

Asking others to trust you when you don't trust yourself is hard.

Choose your hard.

Comment below:

Would you ever invest with anyone that does not have skin in the game?

Here's the wealth-building advice I wish someone gave me at 25:

Your friends will tell you to max out your 401(k).

Your parents will tell you to save 10% of your income.

Your financial advisor will tell you to invest in index funds.

None of them are wrong.

But none of them will make you wealthy, either.

Here's what will:

Own things that produce cash flow.

Not stocks that might go up.
Not crypto you can't explain to your spouse.
Not speculative investments that keep you up at night.

Things that put money in your account every single month, whether you work or not.

Real assets. Real businesses. Real estate.

I spent my 20s doing what I was "supposed to do" saving diligently, investing in my 401(k), working harder.

I spent my 30s doing what actually builds wealth buying assets that generate passive income and reduce my taxes.

The difference?

In my 20s, I was hoping to retire at 65.

In my 30s, I realized I didn't have to.

Because when your assets cover your lifestyle, work becomes a choice, not a requirement.

And that's when everything changes.

You don't need to make a million dollars a year.

You need to build a portfolio that throws off $10K-$20K a month.

That's freedom.

Which path are you on the path everyone takes, or the path that actually works?

78% of “rich-looking” Americans are one paycheck away from broke.

That’s not wealth. That’s a costume.

Fake Rich:

-Drives the $150k car they can barely afford.
-Has a mortgage on everything, including the watch.
-Posts from the infinity pool at the resort they put on a credit card.

Bank account? Thin. Passive income? Nonexistent.

Net worth is tied up in depreciating “assets” and leased status symbols.

Real Rich:

-Buys assets before toys.
-Drives the same truck for 10 years because it works.
-Posts nothing… because they’re busy cashing checks.

Bank account? Stacked. Passive income? Growing.

Net worth is built on cash-flowing assets that quietly pay for their lifestyle.

Here’s the truth:

Fake Rich chases the look.
Real Rich chases the cash flow.

You can look rich for a season or be rich for a lifetime.
You can’t do both at the same time.

Right now, my wealth is built on assets that don’t care about Instagram likes — they care about paying me every month.

That’s why I buy medical real estate:
✅ Long-term, inflation-linked leases
✅ Recession-proof demand driven by aging demographics
✅ Tenants who stay for decades because relocation is costly and disruptive

While “Fake Rich” is worried about the next luxury drop, “Real Rich” is stacking boring, predictable, unstoppable income.

When the market gets choppy — like it is now — the “Fake Rich” panic.

The “Real Rich” collect rent.

Which one do you want to be?

--

Send me a DM if you want to learn more about Medical Real Estate Investing.

$500,000 Invested → $550,000 K‑1 Loss

Most professionals think “passive income” sounds too good to be true.

But this was my reality on my very first real estate syndication deal.
→ Deal: Aria Ventura (660-unit Class B apartment portfolio)
→ Capital Invested: $500,000 as a Limited Partner
→ K‑1 Loss: $550,000 — thanks to bonus depreciation

Yes, you read that right:

I invested $500K and showed a $550K loss… on paper.

Here’s what most people don’t realize:

→ The IRS allows something called bonus depreciation
→ When structured properly, real estate syndications can pass that to Limited Partners
→ That creates paper losses—which can offset other gains (or even active income if you qualify)

This isn’t a loophole.

It’s a strategic framework the wealthy have used for decades to:
→ Reduce taxable income
→ Preserve capital
→ Build wealth without trading time for money

I didn’t manage tenants.
I didn’t fix toilets.
I didn’t deal with late-night maintenance calls.

I simply deployed capital into a professionally managed, cash-flowing real estate asset—and let the structure do the heavy lifting.

If you’re a high-income professional tired of the grind and ready to make your money work harder than you do:

→ DM me and I’ll show you how to start building wealth without sacrificing your time.

I started a law firm with my father in 2007.

18 years later, we're still partners.

Most people think working with family is a disaster waiting to happen.  Sometimes they're right.

But that's no excuse to write the whole thing off entirely.

My dad taught me everything about running a business. Not the law school stuff. The real stuff like:

→ How to hire people
→ How to fire people
→ How to handle money
→ How to build systems that scale
→ How to stay calm when everything's falling apart

We built Irons & Irons from zero. No clients. No reputation. Just two attorneys and a plan.

Today it's a multi-million dollar firm. Five attorneys. Three offices. Hundreds of cases a year.

But the best part isn't the revenue. It's that we've never had a major falling out.

Here's why it works:

✅ Clear roles. He handles his cases, I handle mine. No overlap.
✅ Mutual respect. We don't agree on everything, but we trust each other's judgment.
✅ Shared values. We both care more about doing right by clients than chasing every dollar.

Working with family can either be incredible or it can destroy your relationship.

But I believe with boundaries and respect, the former is more likely.

The best part about this is I got to build something meaningful with someone I respect while my kids get to watch their grandfather work. That's a lesson money can't buy.

Not everyone gets the chance to build something generational with a parent.

I'm grateful I took the shot.

Would you ever go into business with your parents? Or is that a hard pass?

I pay 35% in taxes.

I paid $0 on $1M of income last year.

Legally.

Here's exactly how I did it:

I made a $200,000 charitable donation in 2023.
That donation turned into a $1,000,000 tax deduction on my 2024 return.

Let me break down the math:

Tax I would've paid on $1M at 35%: $350,000

Tax I actually paid: $0

Net savings after the $200K donation: $150,000 in my pocket

Here's the $100K example:

Say you donate $100,000.
You receive a $500,000 tax deduction (5x multiplier).

If you're making $1M annually in the 35% bracket:

Tax on $500K at 35% = $175,000
Amount you donated = $100,000
Net benefit = $75,000 you keep instead of sending to the IRS

How This Actually Works:

You donate to a qualified charitable organization

→ They buy raw materials and create a product (medical supplies, accessibility tech)
→ Independent appraisal values the finished product at 5x cost
→ You get a K-1 by March 15th with your charitable deduction
→ Reduces your AGI by up to 50% per year
→ Excess carries forward to future years

The Track Record:

9 consecutive years of successful operation
Zero IRS audits
$90M raised annually in just 8 weeks

Hundreds of high-earners have used this strategy

Yes, there's risk.

The IRS could theoretically disallow it years later.

You'd owe back taxes plus penalties.

But with 9 years and zero audits, I'm comfortable with that risk to keep an extra $150K.
The Bottom Line:

Donate $100K → Save $175K in taxes
Donate $200K → Save $350K in taxes

The window opens mid-September and closes by Thanksgiving.

If this caught your attention, DM me "TAX".

I'll send you more details on my personal experience with this strategy.

--
I am not a CPA, tax attorney, or financial advisor. This is not tax or financial advice. This is educational content based on my personal experience.

Grateful today.

Not for the deals. Not for the distributions.

For the time.

Time with Kate and the kids.

Time I wouldn't have had when I was billing 2,000+ hours a year.

Real estate gave me options but the best option has always been choosing family first.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Every successful investor I know has a Not To Do List.

Here's mine and some people will hate this:

I don't invest in deals without skin in the game.

I don't chase cap rates without looking at sponsor track record.

I don't take calls from syndicators who won't show me their actual distributions.

I don't invest in markets I haven't personally visited.

I don't respond to pitch decks that say "strong cash flow" without numbers.

I don't work with sponsors who don't invest their own capital.

I don't sit through webinars that are just sales pitches.

I don't buy into deals where the sponsor makes money even if I lose mine.

I don't invest without understanding the tax benefits first.

I don't take advice from people who've never closed a deal.

I don't fill my portfolio with assets that can't show me monthly distributions.

I don't ever invest in something I can't explain to my wife.

Your time is your capital too.

Spend it wisely.

I donated $200K to charity in 2023.

And took a $1M charitable contribution.

Let me show you the math.

My numbers:

Donated: $200,000

Charitable Contribution K-1 loss: $1,000,000

If I'm in the 35% blended tax bracket on that $1M of income:

Tax I would have paid: $350,000
Tax I actually paid: $0 (on that portion)

Money saved: $350,000

Net savings after donation: $150,000 in my pocket

Here's how someone could do this with $100K:

Donate: $100,000
Tax deduction received: $500,000 (5x multiplier)

If you're making $1M annually in the 35% bracket:

Tax on $500K at 35%: $175,000
Amount donated: $100,000

Net benefit: $75,000 you keep instead of paying to the IRS

The Structure:

-> You donate to a qualified charitable organization.
-> They purchase raw materials and create a product.
-> Independent appraisal values the finished product at 5x the raw materials cost.

-> You receive a K-1 by March 15th showing your charitable contribution.
-> You can reduce your adjusted gross income by up to 50% per year.
-> If the charitable contribution exceeds 50% of your AGI, it carries forward to future years.

The track record:

The sponsor I work with has done this for 9 consecutive years.

Zero IRS audits.

$90M raised annually in just 8 weeks (mid-September through Thanksgiving).

Hundreds of high-earners using this strategy.

Yes, there's risk.
The IRS could disallow the deduction years later.
You'd owe back taxes plus penalties and interest.

The bottom line:

Donate $100K, save $175K in taxes.
Donate $200K, save $350K in taxes.

The math is simple.
The strategy is proven.

This post is just here for educational purposes. 

If you have more questions or want to connect on my personal experience send me a DM. 

Disclaimer:
I am not a CPA. I am not a tax attorney. I am not a financial advisor. This is not tax advice. This is not financial advice. This is purely educational content based on my personal experience. Always consult with your own qualified tax professional before making any financial decisions.

You have anxiety because deep down you know you could be doing greater.

It's really just you against the mirror.

You vs you.

I get it. 

I spent years billing 2,000+ hours as a trial attorney while knowing I was trading time for money in a game I couldn't win.

The anxiety wasn't about the work.

It was about the path.

When I invested my first $500K into real estate, the anxiety didn't disappear it transformed.

Now it's fuel.

It reminds me that sitting still is more expensive than any deal I could lose money on.

So when anxiety hits, I do one of two things:

Go small—knock out the task I've been avoiding.
Or go BIG—take the swing I've been thinking about for months.

For me, going big was putting $1.5M of my own capital into deals before asking anyone else to invest.

For you, it might be making that first $50K passive investment instead of letting it sit in a savings account earning 4%.

Which sounds scarier?

That's the one you need to do.

Our team raised $12 million in 3 weeks.

For medical real estate.

People keep asking how we did it so fast.

Here's what actually happened:

It wasn't one big pitch that convinced everyone.

It was 18 months of building trust before we ever opened the fund.

Here's the truth about raising capital that nobody talks about:

The raise doesn't start when you launch the fund.

It starts the first time you show actual results.

Our investors didn't invest in a deal.

They invested because they'd been watching:

→ Monthly distribution updates (actual amounts, not vague "cash flow")

→ Real tax savings with receipts ($250K my first year)

→ Honest conversations about deals we walked away from

→ $1.5M+ of my own capital already invested alongside LPs

When we opened the medical real estate fund, we weren't asking people to trust us.

We were giving them the opportunity to participate in what we were already doing.

That's the difference.

Most sponsors spend weeks trying to convince investors with projections.

We spent 18 months showing them actual results.

By the time we launched, the question wasn't "Should I invest?"

It was "How much can I invest?"

---

$12M in 3 weeks wasn't luck.

It was proof of concept that took years to build.

Do you want to connect and discuss your 2026 investment goals?

Send me a DM.

$152,000,000,000.

That’s what the U.S. travel industry contributes to GDP every single month.

40+ days of delays, disruptions, and uncertainty.

It’s not just frustrating for travelers it’s a major economic red flag.

Here’s what this shutdown is doing to U.S. travel:

1. TSA + air traffic staffing stretched thin overtime halted, sickouts rising, delays spiking

2. Passport + visa processing slowed or stopped backlogs growing, trips canceled

3. National parks + landmarks closed or unstaffed tourism dollars lost, local economies hit

Why it matters for investors:

→ Travel-dependent assets (hotels, STRs, tourism hubs) are seeing demand shocks

→ Markets reliant on visa/immigration flow = instability risk

→ Infrastructure delays can ripple into CRE timelines and valuations

→ Consumer confidence tied to smooth travel and right now, that’s shaky

This shutdown is a sneaky saboteur.

It’s not loud. But it’s quietly choking off the flow of money, people, and opportunity.

If your income relies on systems that *need permission to function…

You’re playing someone else’s game.

I help investors build streams that flow no matter what—

Passive, tax-efficient, and shutdown-proof.

I break it down weekly in my newsletter:

https://lnkd.in/e3dfUJFp

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Pascal Wagner

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The Battle

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