Suneet Singal is a trailblazing businesswoman and financial architect hailing from Northern California’s Greater Sacramento area. At First Capital Real Estate, Singal serves as CEO. The California-based businessman operates in a variety of industries, including real estate, renewable energy, consumer retail, banking, and financial technology. Deal structuring, business strategy, and acquisitions are his areas of expertise.
The chief executive officer of First Capital recently celebrated 20 years as a prosperous business owner. This includes serving as the chairman of a well-known equity real estate investment trust and serving as the CEO of an operational real estate corporation listed on the Nasdaq. He has also occupied C-level roles in several other wildly prosperous public and private businesses.
He has previously created, acquired, run, and sold a large number of companies across a variety of different sectors. In addition to being a pro at acquisitions, corporate strategy, and deal structuring, the adventurous CEO is a globally acknowledged expert in structured finance, stock and debt placement, and direct investment.
Singal, a native of California, has devoted a large portion of his career to becoming an entrepreneur specializing in commercial real estate, land entitlement, primary sponsorship, master planning, and transportation-oriented development. These days, he equally concentrates on other endeavors and a combination of real estate and non-real estate holdings.
He maintains tight relationships with an increasing number of family office operators, many of whom have substantial asset holdings. Alongside these family office operators, he provides capital structure advice through intricate local and international transactions.
In addition, he has or has held roles as a director, officer, or primary stakeholder in a number of partnerships, joint ventures, investments, and project holdings. The creative entrepreneur was born and raised in California, and he and his family are still content to call the Golden State home. They currently reside in El Dorado County.
From whence did First Capital Real Estate get its idea?
First Capital moved to meet the growing need for a comprehensive, vertically integrated provider of services to the real estate sector with significant value-adding potential. We are still serving clients in practically every conceivable area, and our needs for these services are only increasing exactly twenty years later.
Importantly, First Capital’s original concept still forms the basis of its current business model. Naturally, this concept has developed over time, and as a result, we have entered several secondary and tertiary sectors. As a result, we serve a wider variety of customers than before across an ever-expanding list of industries.
How do you make the most of your regular day and what does it entail?
Although most business owners will agree that “no two days are ever the same,” I really believe in establishing and maintaining a routine that works for you. Things don’t always go as planned or as expected when you’re an entrepreneur. In daily life, this truth holds true just as much as it does anywhere else.
suneet singal
I still try to stick to a schedule. I usually plan meetings around specific times. In this manner, folks are constantly aware of my availability and know where and when to locate me. I want to make the most of my time with my family before the day is up, no matter what my plans are for that particular day.
It also keeps me productive, whether we’re eating breakfast together or spending time together in the evening. This is due to the fact that I can spend more time with my family and cherish our time together if I don’t have to spend it addressing work-related issues after hours.
How do you make concepts come to life?
When it comes to bringing ideas to reality, I take the initiative. I think it’s best to spend less time pondering over concepts. Start moving immediately if you are filled with trust. Even if that plan finally fails, you’ll know whether you succeeded or failed sooner than if you procrastinate or argue yourself out of what could be a wonderful chance.
Some ideas can be launched with only a little perseverance and initiative. But for larger ones, you’ll probably need to enlist other people’s assistance. In situations like this, I adopt the same strategy: I quickly get my staff up to speed and start things moving as soon as feasible.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I’ve been attracted by the idea of completely autonomous automobiles since I was a little child. We’ve witnessed steadily increasing progress toward fully autonomous cars, trucks, and other vehicles over the past approximately ten years. I believe that the broad adoption of completely autonomous vehicles is imminent, and I find this to be quite exciting.
Which one of your habits helps you be a more successful business owner?
As I’ve already mentioned in passing, I think that because I want the best for my family both now and in the future, my family-centered way of living makes me a better and more successful business. In the meanwhile, I may spend more time with my family after work the more efficient I am in my daily operations.
How would you advise yourself if you were younger?
If I were younger, I would definitely advise myself to balance his goals with his devotion to health. As the majority of entrepreneurs can attest, becoming an entrepreneur can be extremely hard and time-consuming. As a result, I believe it’s crucial to always put your personal wellbeing first, even when pursuing the most important career objectives.
It’s a way of looking at life and business that I have taught my four kids. We as a culture all too frequently downplay the significance of mental and physical health in many facets of our life. I would think that in today’s society, maintaining a healthy work-life balance is more important than it has ever been.
Tell us a factual statement on which you and practically everyone else agree.
Whoa, that’s a really good question. It’s probably everything’s transience for me. Nothing in life is permanent or continuous, not even our experiences, relationships, belongings, or even our own existence. In actuality, one cannot dispute the fact either.
I can see why some individuals may not want to embrace the truth, but it could be more that they are just disagreeing. Having stated that, individuals must remember that both good and bad parts of life are transient. Therefore, even the greatest happy times and accomplishments are fleeting. Similarly, difficult periods and other misfortunes will pass, ideally to make room for fresh, happier experiences.
In my experience, accepting and acknowledging life’s transience has increased my respect for the moment and helped me fully embrace it as it is. It also inspires me to treasure my relationships, seize every chance I have, and give priority to the things that really count.
What is the one thing you do as an entrepreneur repeatedly and urge others to do as well?
Take up hobbies. I workout frequently as I’m passionate about weightlifting and boxing. I think everyone should make time for their hobbies, even if I’m not advocating that everyone start lifting weights or boxing. It makes no difference who they are.
Which particular tactic has assisted you in expanding your company?
establishing connections. Even while it can seem simple or clear, individuals frequently neglect it. Developing your network is a necessary step in growing your company. I’ve noticed that, for whatever reason, individuals tend to avoid networking, especially in the past several years.
Following the coronavirus epidemic, fewer individuals than ever before were using social media. That makes sense, but let’s not lose sight of the benefits, since networking has been essential to both First Capital Real Estate’s and my own success. It is essential that successful business owners encourage networking as a way to expand the endeavors of upcoming entrepreneurs in the years to come.
What was your biggest business setback, and how did you get beyond it?
In retrospect, I would say that there have been occasions when I have ignored business-related issues that were right in front of me. Although they aren’t failures in and of themselves, I believe that ignoring intuition has most likely resulted in lost opportunities.
Having said that, I’ve never stopped learning. Therefore, in that regard, there’s probably nothing to lament. Rather, I find it fascinating to observe how others have taken advantage of chances that I may have, to some extent, overlooked.
Which business concept would you be prepared to share with our readers?
I believe a radical overhaul of the wine business, as well as the alcohol sector in general, is long required. In light of this, I want to see more companies target the wine-loving generations of the future.
I think there’s a ton of room for upscale wineries and vineyards that specialize in low- or no-alcohol wines. While low- or no-alcohol wines are nothing new, their market share is mostly in the lower and intermediate segments. Any significant project aimed at reversing this would need a substantial financial outlay, yet there is no shortage of capital available.
Which $100 purchase did you make most recently? What and why is it that?
I recently paid $80 for a high-quality travel cushion. Now that there are so many excellent substitutes for only $20, I understand why a $80 version would feel like a luxury. But the quality difference is like night and day. The version I chose is important because of its ingenious asymmetric design, which makes it simple for me to find a comfortable posture each time I use it.
Similarly, priority boarding on flights is something I recently started spending far less than $100 for. These days, I never pass up priority boarding when I’m traveling. I used to fly a lot, but I seldom ever utilized priority boarding. But now that I’m convinced on the concept, I won’t pass up the chance to board sooner if it presents itself.
Which software program or online resource best supports your productivity?
I’ve been a devoted Trello user since 2014. I tell someone about it once a week on average. It works well for setting priorities for tasks, projects, and workflows. But it does it in a very graphic and user-friendly manner, in contrast to many other comparable products on the market. It also integrates really well with other services I use, including Slack and Google Drive.
Which one book, and why, do you think the people in our community should read?
Matthew Yglesias, “One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger.” It talks about population expansion and how welcoming more people may lead to enormous economic success. Anyone looking for a provocative viewpoint on population increase and its effects on businesses and society should read it, in my opinion.
Which quote is your favorite?
Like in life, the journey is more important than the destination when it comes to business. It’s about the knowledge gained, the obstacles surmounted, and the personal development attained along the route. It’s about establishing rapport, encouraging teamwork, and developing a common goal. It’s about encouraging innovation, accepting variety, and enabling people to reach their greatest potential. It’s about making judgments that are consistent with your beliefs and ideals and striking a balance between immediate results and long-term sustainability. It’s about being ahead of the curve, always adjusting to a world that is changing quickly, and inventing to satisfy shifting consumer demands. A business’s mission is to improve people’s lives and the environment in which it operates, not only to maximize profits. — Nooyi Indra
Key Learnings:
- Establish a daily schedule that suits you, and don’t be afraid to follow it religiously.
- Put your personal health first at all times, even if you’re working for important career objectives.
- Take the initiative to make ideas a reality. If you have an idea, start working on it now rather than waiting until tomorrow.
- To have a greater understanding of what is important in the present moment, acknowledge and accept the transience of existence.
- Never take a nap on your successes. Rather, always make the most of the chances that are given to you.
