The Origin Story of CapRateCraig

How did we get here and who thought a meme account about CRE brokerage was a good idea??

Author

C A P R A T E C R A I G
September 20, 2024

TL;DR: CapRateCraig started in April 2020 during the pandemic as a creative outlet to bring humor to the CRE brokerage industry. Initially inspired by OG CRE meme accounts, it quickly gained traction by posting relatable, original content about the daily struggles of brokers. Over time, it grew into a community of over 28,000 followers, focused on humor, industry insights, and connection. The future of the account? Continue sharing light-hearted but valuable content while staying true to its humorous roots.

Origin Story

"You merely adopted the CRE meme life; I was born in it. Molded by it"

How did we get here? Where did this account even come from? Why would someone make memes about the commercial real estate industry, specifically the CRE brokerage industry? These are questions people have asked me since starting the CapRateCraig Instagram account, and honestly… questions I’ve asked myself.

How It All Began

The year was 2020, a time as far from "normal" as you could get. The world was shut down, the CRE industry was frozen, and the CRE brokerage world? Full meltdown mode. We were all scrambling to figure out how to keep our businesses and deals afloat while getting the same marching orders from brokers and managers:

"Keep making those calls! People need CRE help now more than ever!"

At the time, I was working as a tenant rep broker focused on office properties. I'd join the brokerage's all-hands call every morning, listen to the same old rah-rah speeches, and start making my calls. But on the other end of the line, I’d hear something like:

"WTF!? You’re calling me about my office lease? I don’t even know what’s happening in the world right now, and that's the last thing on my mind!" ~CLICK~

Around this time, I started feeling the need for a creative outlet. I wanted something—anything—to distract me from the unsettling feeling that had taken over our entire industry. One sleepless night in April 2020, while thoughts of my brokerage business spiraled through my head, I turned to Instagram. I caught up on some of the OG CRE meme accounts I followed, notably Cash Poor Capital, which was my go-to for CRE-centric memes.

Then, at 2 a.m., the idea hit me:

"Someone should do this but focus more on the brokerage side of the biz."

I had always felt our industry needed a humor injection, even before 2020. So, I snagged a free stock headshot of a businessman in a suit, came up with the [REDACTED] name (those who’ve been here since the beginning know)*, and CapRateCraig was born.

The Growth of CapRateCraig

And just like that, we were off! Over the next six months, I posted 6-12 original CRE brokerage-focused memes daily.

Looking back, I have no idea how I produced that much content, but at the moment, it was the most fulfilling creative outlet I’d ever experienced.

Soon, when deals started going sideways, or something odd happened in the industry, I found inspiration for the next meme. What surprised me, though, was that people started connecting. Followers would comment, DM, and share my posts. We’d talk about how we were all surviving during these strange times. The memes weren’t just funny—they were relatable.

That’s when I knew I was onto something.

People in the industry messaged me about how a post perfectly captured their day-to-day struggles. It confirmed what I had suspected: the CRE industry desperately needed levity.

Since then, I’ve continued posting as close to every day as possible. Most of the content focuses on CRE brokerage, but sometimes it’s about CRE in general or the absurdities of corporate life/millennial life.

There have been times when life has gotten busy, and the content slowed down, but the community that has built up around CapRateCraig is what keeps me going. Now, the creative outlet is just the cherry on top.

What’s Next?

"So, are you just going to post memes about CRE forever?"

Maybe... but there’s a lot more I’d like to do with the account. Ultimately, I want to create light-hearted yet valuable content for others in the industry, people considering joining it, or even those just curious about CRE.

At the core of everything I want to do is humor. I don’t want to create another newsletter filled with "super expert insights into the latest headlines you’ve seen 100 times."

There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not what I want to bring to the community.

I don’t know exactly where this newsletter or the CapRateCraig brand is headed, but I have ideas and concepts.

We’ll see where this all goes, but for now, I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done.

Thanks for being along for the ride.

*For those curious, the company-that-shall-not-be-named never reached out to me, but I eventually rebranded to CapRateCraig to create my own original brand.