The Equity Academy you know and love today evolved from a simple real estate investing partnership between two entrepreneurs: Shauwn Digman and Brian Lee
The Dream Team
The founders initially joined forces in order to form a powerful house-buying machine drawing from Shauwn’s monstrous experience with rehab projects and Brian’s ninja-esque marketing skills. The business took off and went through several face-lifts before it became the all-inclusive package that it is today….
Shauwn Digman
With aspirations of being a custom home builder, Shauwn went to school at TexasState University where he received his degree in construction science. After school he built custom homes for two years before purchasing a national real estate investing franchise in 2004. He began buying residential properties in what he calls “the perfect environment.” His degree in construction combined with access to funding, he became very successful, sometimes buying over 14 residential properties a month. “At last count I think I’ve had over 300 purchases where I’ve actually bought a house and sold it,” said Shauwn.
The “Why’s”
At 35, Shauwn’s family is growing. With two daughters (seven-years-old and 19-months), he’s finding that more and more of his time is needed by his family. “There’s gymnastics and soccer and birthday parties we have to go to. Real estate investing gives me more time to spend with my family,” said Shauwn.
Investing has also given Shauwn an opportunity to do activities that he loves. “You have to do things you are passionate about…I like to go hunting and be outside,” said Shauwn. Getting away from the “hustle and bustle” of the city provides a release. “When you are two hours out of the city things are different…I want the freedom to be able to take Friday’s and Monday’s off and maybe not come back until Wednesday,” said Shauwn.
Brian Lee
Brian Lee has had an entrepreneurial streak since he was “old enough to have a lemonade stand.” In high school he employed his friends in a lawn mowing business and in college his t-shirt business went global. “Being an entrepreneur to me is about having control over your life- being able to make decisions for yourself and not having to do something you don’t like doing just because you need to make money,” said Brian.
Passive Income
An avid reader of books on entrepreneurship, Brian was instantly taken with the concept of passive income. “It literally blew my mind. I became obsessed with it.” He immediately began work on a passive income website back when “blogs weren’t cool.” His theme: “creative life and passive income” quickly drew attention in the blogosphere. He got so much traffic that his blog began making money even when he wasn’t there. After five years, the site still gets over 600 visitors a day.
After blogging awhile Brian started a bulk candy business. Brian was excited to find that bulk candy vending was even more passive than blogging. “I only had to pick up the money once every few months and refill the candy,” said Brian. “The cool thing about it was that I kept machines in Austin even though I was living in L.A. at the time.”
After 50 machines he was able to buy his first investment property. “I realized that real estate was even more passive than bulk candy vending because now they just mail me the check- I don’t even have to go pick it up,” said Brian.
Breaking into the Film Industry
Brian describes his business as “the best of both worlds.” He is able to satisfy his entrepreneurial spirit while also pursuing his dream of film production. After breaking into the film industry on a million-dollar Gary Busey movie in Austin, Brian moved to L.A. to work for major television studios. “I learned how to work a camera, how to edit, and how to produce,” said Brian. “And now that allows me to tell stories, which is what I’m passionate about, through film and video.”
The Partnership
Shauwn Digman and Brian Lee met in 2009 when Brian was working for a real estate investing education company. Impressed with Shauwn’s knowledge of real estate investing, Brian convinced Shauwn to join his team. Together they mentored and helped people learn about real estate investing and how to start a successful business. After working together for awhile, Shauwn and Brian began to notice that they possessed very different skill-sets and that together they could build a really strong real estate investing business. “The more we started working together the more we realized that we could form a great partnership,” said Brian.
Complimentary Skill-Sets
While Brian’s skills rested more in web design, internet marketing, and creativity, Shauwn knew more about the “nuts and bolts” and operations aspect of real estate investing. “You have to understand that you can’t do everything,” said Shauwn. “It’s good to outsource and to find people who have different skill-sets than you.”
The co-workers soon partnered together and created a very successful real estate business. With Brian’s “big picture” attitude and Shauwn’s connections in the real estate investing world, they began buying houses. In less than a year they purchased over 24 single-family homes.
The Rapid Rise
Between Shauwn’s connections and Brian’s marketing skills, success came swiftly. Soon, they had more deals than they could take down on their own. They started a small website to let other investors in on the action. Investors from all over Texas were calling, wanting to post their deals on SApocketdeals.com. In essence, Shauwn and Brian became the central nervous system of Central Texas real estate investing.
The Business Grows
The business reached a whole new level in November 2010, when Pocket Deals 2.0 was released. The upgrade added a whole new level of user experience, including deal analysis, text message alerts, and social networking for investors. The demand for deals got so high, the guys decided to rent a charter bus and pack it full of deal hungry investors. Cashflow Caravan was born and it gave people a chance to touch and feel deals that they could buy and profit from.
“We had 50 people on a bus that would actually go out, touching a feeling a real estate investment property,” said Shauwn. “We were able to put lenders and contractors and everyone they needed on the bus to get the full experience of what a real estate investment property looks like.”
Equity Academy
After the success of the Cashflow Caravan, the partners decided to go bigger with Equity Academy- the resource for building wealth and real estate investing. Through their real estate business the partners were able to meet tons of really successful real estate investors.
Brian would capture these experts on camera- sharing experience and knowledge of his guests through video. “We want to be able to put these people in front of others to share their ideas and their passion from what they are doing,” said Shauwn.
The Mastermind Group
As the team comes in contact with aspiring entrepreneurs, real estate investors, and passive income experts they add them to their “think tank” of successful people who get together to share and learn ideas. Whether through videos, podcasts, mixers, or articles, Brian and Shauwn’s goal is to share the experience of investors “that are creating equity in their business and their life.” “Equity means ownership. We’re helping people build ownership in their business…but also to regain ownership of their own lives,” Brian explains.
Real Estate Investing 101
Real estate investing 101 was designed to “cover the life cycle of the deal.” Whether a person has no money and no credit, or has lots of capital to invest with, the four-hour course finds a great investment opportunity for them. After giving them the theoretical tools to be successful in real estate, the team takes them out to physically look at real estate investing deals to put their new-found knowledge in perspective.
The Reality Show
The next step for the group is a real estate investing reality show. “You’ll see us go hang out with these investors,” said Brian. We’ll look at their deals and then…you’ll see us in what they like to do in the free time they earned from their deals.”
Stay tuned for more from the faces behind equity academy.
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