Wes Whitman: Even the best climbers climb with parters

On this episode, Kevin chats with Wes Whitman, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Whitman Peterson, a real estate private equity firm that has raised nearly $3 billion in equity across five flagship funds and three sector-specific sidecars and backed operating platforms through 325+ asset-level investments representing more than $40 billion in total capitalization. Wes calls Whitman Peterson a Sherpa team. Great entrepreneurs are elite climbers who have trained their whole lives, and even the best climbers climb with partners: somebody who has been up the route before, who helps you avoid the crevasses, and who can carry a lot of the bags. The conversation covers what GP-aligned capital actually means, how the firm splits capital between operating companies and the real estate those companies create, why they insist on deal-by-deal approval rights, why Wes expects M&A among operating companies to pick up, and how a top-10 global fund manager came to refer operating partners to them. On the personal side, Wes gets into partners for life, why the CEOs he backs build boards they do not need, and why the "who" is the main decision you make.