John Gravelyn spent most of his career in engineering, managing technical launches at Ford and then Rivian. He grew up wanting to work on cars, but after buying his first house he realized he loved ownership more than the cars themselves. After succeeding at Rivian and later being laid off, he launched his own company, First Principles Partners, where he helps engineers and other analytical professionals approach real estate the way they approach engineering problems.
Based in central Michigan, John builds deal-analysis tools and calculators that help investors evaluate properties, and he coaches clients to stay in their analytical strengths while partnering out negotiation and management.
Make sure to download our free guide, 7 Questions Every Passive Investor Should Ask, here.
Key Takeaways
- Treat real estate like an engineering problem, then partner out the rest
- Stay in your strongest lane and let others negotiate and manage
- Learn to delegate early, because leverage beats doing everything yourself
- Hire fast, fire fast, and keep working the relationship after the hire
- Get comfortable operating in the gray areas of deals
Topics
From Automotive Engineering to Real Estate
- John spent his career in engineering, working at Ford and then Rivian
- Buying his first house showed him he loved ownership more than the cars
Why an Engineering Mind Is Drawn to Real Estate
- Every property is variable, unlike automotive work built to cut variability
- That uncertainty makes real estate a bigger, more interesting problem to solve
Building First Principles Partners
- After Rivian, John got his real estate license to help analytical people invest
- He helps engineers buy a first home, then scale into owning more property
- Growth turned out to be more of a marketing challenge than he expected
Shifting from Engineering Rules to Investing Reality
- In engineering a number is fixed, but in deals terms are negotiable
- Showing clients the numbers and probabilities helps them act in the gray areas
Analysis, Acquisition, and Management
- Analytical investors should own the analysis and avoid negotiating emotionally
- Partnering with an agent and operators keeps their time on their strengths
Learning to Delegate and Leverage
- Moving into engineering management forced John to delegate and influence
- Being the central point of a vision creates more leverage than doing it all
- He frames this as the who not how principle
Vetting and Working with Partners
- John runs an initial vetting, then relies on hiring fast and firing fast
- He treats partnerships as dynamic and keeps improving the relationship
- He has been burned, but believes most people want to work with good people
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Round of Insights
Failure that set John up for success: His layoff. Depending on his mindset on a given day it felt like the best or worst thing, but he ultimately sees it as the greatest thing that happened to him.
Digital or mobile resource: Google Gemini.
Book recommendation: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
Daily habit: Getting up and playing with his two and a half year old twin boys first thing in the morning.
#1 insight for finding great partners: Listen, and pay attention to how the other person listens. It is a two way street that works both ways.
Favorite restaurant in Lansing, MI: Leo’s Lodge.
Next Steps
- Learn more about First Principles Partners here: thefppartners.com
- Decide whether you want control or scale, then build around that choice
- Stay in your strongest lane and partner out negotiation and management
- Practice delegating so you become the central point of your vision
- Vet partners up front, then keep investing in the relationship after you hire
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