The Holy Trinity: Sanjay Chandra on Leading Investors to $7B in Deals

Season 1, Episode 6: Sanjay Chandra is the Principal and Managing Partner at Trinity Investors, a Texas-based private equity and real estate firm he co-founded in 2006. Sanjay has led Trinity investors to over $7 billion in deals, building a portfolio that includes 160 commercial real estate assets and 19 operating companies.  

But Sanjay’s journey didn’t start in real estate. As a first-generation immigrant with an engineering background, he began his career founding American Leather before transitioning into private equity. In this episode of No Cap by CRE Daily, Jack and Alex peel back the curtains on one of Texas's most recognized investors, exploring Chandra’s entrepreneurial journey and his transition into real estate.

 

TOPICS

0:38 — Sanjay’s background
7:59 — Moving into private equity and founding Trinity
14:08 — The private equity business today
16:48 — How Sanjay is approaching portfolio allocation 
22:45 — What makes a good OpCo investment?
25:30 — What makes a good real estate deal? 
28:00 — What Sanjay looks for in partners
31:50 — The risks of the past few years Sanjay wasn’t prepared for
36:30 — The effect of current market conditions on Sanjay’s business
38:25 — Is there a rate cut coming?
41:33 — Sanjay’s thoughts on bank liquidity
45:18 — Sanjay talks UT and why Austin might be a better living city than Dallas
47:59 — Sanjay’s thoughts on Miami
51:09 — Conclusion 

 

We want to thank our sponsor Viking Capital. 

 

For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/

 

About Our Guest

SANJAY CHANDRA

Sanjay serves as a principal and managing partner at Trinity and its affiliated companies in a variety of roles and responsibilities on a full time and active basis. Sanjay brings to Trinity over 30 years of experience as a successful entrepreneur and an active private investor. In addition to his day to day role at Trinity, Sanjay serves as a board member for American Leather, which he co-founded in 1990, and where he was formerly president and CFO. He is a board member for Robokind LLC, ELB Learning, Nuclein LLC, Falcon Structures LLC, Bentwood Kitchens Inc and other affiliate companies, as well as the Longhorn Council of the Boy Scouts of America, where he serves as Vice President of Development. Sanjay is a Special Advisor to Urban Genesis, Capital Boutiq and AllTrades, and serves as Chairman on the Engineering Advisory Board for the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

 

About No Cap Podcast

Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate.

 

About CRE Daily 

CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.