Meet Tom Staub, the CEO and Managing Principal of Red Oak Development Group, a leading real estate firm in Austin, Texas. A self-made entrepreneur, Tom’s journey began at 16 when he started his first company, leading to the founding of multiple successful ventures.
Driven by his early experiences with financial struggle, Tom’s passion for wealth accumulation led him to pursue degrees in finance and securities. He honed his expertise while working with top employers in wealth management, corporate finance, and technology, managing multi-billion dollar portfolios and pioneering innovative strategies.
In 2010, Tom entered real estate investing, quickly gaining recognition for his astute market insights and risk management. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to diversify into asset management and syndication projects, achieving remarkable success and triple-digit returns for investors.
Recognizing market shifts, Tom strategically transitioned into land development, where he achieved notable successes, including tripling investments within 18 months. In 2020, he founded Red Oak Development Group, focusing on creating vibrant communities with a modern touch in Austin and beyond.
Today, as the head of Red Oak, Tom oversees a portfolio of projects valued at $188M, prioritizing project viability, partnerships, and investor relations. He’s a trailblazer in Austin’s real estate scene, aiming to revolutionize development practices and create innovative urban spaces for communities to thrive.
Episode Highlights Here:
Tom
But I’ll be honest, it isn’t like I have access to the talent, I just take the money in, you know, throw over the fence. But frankly, I don’t think you want that. Right. Even if you like, I have other trusts for my family, everything else through, you know, Chase and everyone else. Those are even more cumbersome where and that’s intentional, like you want to have a layer of vetting. You know, God forbid, if you coming up or later something happens, you want to have a third party to kind of keep you in check.
Brett
So talk about this the freedom and flexibility to still do what you would have done. extra amount of capital to work with.
Tom
Yes, sir. So prior to the DST, you know, I guess I make money on the land deals themselves, but I have kept the lights on through consistent income. And one of those ways is I have a substantial portfolio of notes. And those notes are essentially me giving money to flippers that I’ve known for many years. And so I already was doing that I did the DSP. And by the way, those those returns are like 11% in three point, so, you know, 14 15% annualized, but anyways, um, and I essentially just the DSP money and use it for that. So then that’s a completely, you know, ancillary opportunity. You know, we have whatever was left, you know, in the account, Brent said, hey, it’s sitting here in cash, what do you want to do with it? I said, Well, let’s put it in T bills, you know, they’re paying five 6%. So we, you know, again, another avenue, that was fairly easy. You have a on staff advisor that makes it very easy if you want ETF So, yeah, I mean, you have the ordinary capital markets and asset classes at your disposal, right?
Brett
Absolutely. Yeah, the flexibility to keep liquidity and to go into deals, you already are going into it anyways, with that extra, and the scenario is starting from 25 to 50%. And more, depending on the depreciation recapture, depending on if it’s short term or long term and what state you’re in. For Thomas deal was a larger deal in the Austin, Texas area where he was looking at substantial amount of tax. And so the deferred sales trust can can help you to do that. So Tom, you talked about legality, right? So that’s one of them, right? I think the other one that’s big for the entrepreneur, it’s just how does it work with working with as the entrepreneur Tom working with Brett is the trustee, right? And because there is what’s called indirect control, meaning the trustee has to approve of investments, right? But perhaps there was hesitation from going, Hey, I’ve got unilateral 100% control. Now, there’s definitely an extra extra step to keep everything with the integrity because the Trust has to trust yes to approve the investments, but just talking about how that how that’s gone with discussions looking at deals reviewing before like it’s it slowed you up at all? Do you feel like there’s been any, you know, anything that you would share with anyone? Or how’s it? How’s that gone?
Tom
Yeah, I mean, look, I’ll be honest, it isn’t like I have access to the account, I just take the money and, you know, throw over the fence. But thankfully, I don’t think you want that. Right. Even if you like I have other trusts for my family and everything else through, you know, Chase and everyone else. Those are even more cumbersome where and that’s intentional, like you want to have a layer of vetting. You know, God forbid, if you coming up a hallway or something happens, you want to have a third party to kind of keep it in check. There is some level of scrutiny and but that level was more like, great, Tom, I understand you want to use this capital for XYZ, please fill out a document so I can review so that it’s within the lines of what we agreed to in the agreement. Right. So it isn’t like your hurdle. Yeah, I think you’re doing the appropriate, call it vetting or auditing that should be done. So it’s, I mean, if you’re talking about adding 30 minutes to a process that’s that’s the 30 minutes we’ll use.
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About Tom Staub
Tom Staub is the CEO and Managing Principal of Red Oak Development Group, a real estate development firm based in Austin, Texas. A self-made man, Tom started his first company at 16 and has founded several successful companies since.
Tom’s obsession with financial health and wealth accumulation began with his humble beginnings after seeing his family struggle financially. In college, Tom grew more interested in investing and founded an investment club before earning his undergraduate degree in finance and an MBA in securities, law, and corporate finance.
Before his real estate career, Tom amassed an unparalleled wealth of experience in the corporate world while working with some of the world’s top employers in wealth management, corporate finance, pharmaceuticals, and technology. He has managed a $16 billion portfolio of 28 deals, helped multiple companies increase revenue by as high as 80%, and developed a pricing model for the largest pharmaceutical company, resulting in a patent for the logic used, which McKesson Corporation purchased.
In 2010, Tom entered the real estate industry as a real estate investor after recognizing the potential in single-family distressed assets. As a result, he amassed a team, bought real estate in three states over four years, and was invited to speak at numerous real estate investing events. After attracting the attention of 45+ investors who wanted to invest their capital, Tom founded an asset management company focused on private money loans, real estate flipping, and multi-family syndications.
Tom is a savvy businessman who knows when to leverage market shifts. So when the single-family rental market began to grow too competitive, Tom pivoted his focus on larger projects with more significant margins and lower risk. This led him to partner with his father on two successful syndication projects In Ohio and Alabama, which they exited in under 15 months with 3X multiples on equity.
As the market turned again in 2017, Tom and his team switched to land development. They bought 80 acres in Flagstaff, Arizona, to get land development experience. They made some mistakes, but their willingness to assume risks and invest their own capital allowed them to exit in 18 months and triple their investment. After their second successful land development deal, Tom launched Red Oak Development Group in Austin, Texas, in 2020, which includes ViewPoint Engineering Group under their umbrella.
Today, Tom is the CEO and Managing Principal of Red Oak Development Group, overseeing project underwriting, financial planning, debt and equity strategy, company expansion, and project development. Tom has 15 years of business expertise and focuses on project viability, partnerships, and investor relations. Red Oak has funded eight projects and has six active projects with 489 acres and 2,200 lots, with a total valuation of $188M.
Tom is a pioneer among outdated developers in Austin, Lockhart, and Luling, Texas. He aims to build new communities with plenty of green space and amenities that enhance city aesthetics.
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