Why He Left a CMO Role for Real Estate | Ep 68 Path of Progress
In this episode of Path of Progress, Alex Kononov sits down with William Liu, multifamily investor, operator, and co-founder of GiveRise Capital. Together with his wife Anita, William oversees 160+ units and $37 million+ in assets under management — all while prioritizing family, values-aligned partnerships, and long-term wealth.
William’s journey is anything but traditional: from 4 years in the US Army as a Psychological Operations specialist to a 20-year corporate marketing career that took him from ad tech analyst all the way to Chief Marketing Officer in higher education.
A forced W2 exit right before his daughter was born became the catalyst to go all-in on real estate. He shares how he applied his marketing and psychology expertise to capital raising, the gritty lessons from his first 76-unit Class C deal in Irving, Texas, and how they quickly scaled to an 82-unit Class A property in Richardson just nine months later.
This is a masterclass in infrastructure building, navigating a soft market, creating supplemental loans, and turning military precision + corporate systems into a thriving family real estate business.
📌 Key Takeaways:
✅ From Army PSYOP to CMO — how 20 years of marketing became the ultimate capital-raising superpower
✅ The “forced exit” moment that made him choose family and assets over corporate stability
✅ First deal: 76-unit Class C in Irving, TX — buying from an upside-down seller and managing concessions in a tough market
✅ Second deal nine months later: 82-unit 2017 Class A in Richardson — value-add office-to-unit conversion + supplemental loan strategy
✅ Why values alignment and spending full days with potential partners beats any LOI
✅ Applying investor funnels, CRM, and content to syndication (exactly like performance marketing)
✅ Property management vs. asset management — the lesson that changed everything
✅ Building community through Subtle Asian Real Estate and targeting Asian-American investors in their 30s–40s
✅ Cash conservation mindset in a soft Texas market and why “cash is king” right now
✅ Long-term vision: more multifamily, debt funds, private equity, and creating generational wealth
📚 Book Recommendation:
– The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
– Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
🌐 Connect with William Liu:
📸 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/will.girldadinvesting/
💼 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/willliuh/
📧 Email → william@giverisecapital.com
🌍 Website → https://www.giverisecapital.com/
🎧 Listen & Watch the Full Episode:
📺 YouTube → https://youtu.be/SSp4L8W7YlE
🎧 Spotify
🎧 Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/path-of-progress/id1782550599
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