In this episode, Ryan is joined by Ari Rastegar, CEO of Rastegar Property Company. Ari shares his story of growing up as the son of an Iranian immigrant and working minimum wage jobs before building one of the most recognized real estate firms in Texas. His journey began with flipping a $3,500 lot during law school and evolved into leading large-scale developments across the country.
Ari opens up about the challenges he faced early in life, including speech issues, financial struggles, and feeling like an outsider. With influence from his father and personal mentors, including Tony Robbins and Dr. Joe Dispenza, he found the mindset needed to overcome those struggles. Ari credits personal development as the real engine behind his business growth and believes in constantly investing in himself to serve others better.
We explore Ari’s development strategies, focusing on zoning and entitlements. He explains how taking calculated risks on raw land has led to high-value transformations, like turning 318 acres in Kyle, Texas, into a mixed-use community with homes, schools, parks, and more. Ari also shares how understanding population trends and working closely with cities gives his team an edge.
This conversation goes beyond real estate. Ari talks about being a father, staying healthy, and keeping promises to yourself. He offers advice for new developers, including why apprenticeships and humility matter more than credentials. Whether you’re early in your career or managing large-scale projects, Ari’s story is full of valuable takeaways.
With Groov, you can visually track your lot inventory status. What’s for sale, what’s under contract, and what’s sold, all in one place. And you can even embed an interactive map on your own website to show prospective buyers what’s available. That map stays up-to-date automatically as you make changes to pricing or status inside Groov.
If you’re a land developer or builder and want to see if this could be a good fit, head over to letsgroov.com/demo to schedule a quick walkthrough.
Ryan sits down with Peter Murphy Lewis to talk about how storytelling can help developers and builders attract better talent and build stronger teams. They break down simple, practical ways to use video and real stories to stand out in today’s labor market.
Keith Miller joins the show to talk about his focus on building attainably priced homes at scale in Montana, why he’s using factory-built housing, and what it really takes to bring new supply to fast-growing markets.
Ryan and Charles break down falling homebuyer demand, a heated TikTok debate on millennial housing choices, a proposed property tax hike in New York City, and what a shrinking U.S. population could mean for developers.