$35K → 14 Deals → $140K Profit: The Complete Breakdown
This isn't a pitch. It's a forensic breakdown of every dollar spent, every deal closed, and every tool built to get here. Six months, zero employees, full transparency.
Month-by-Month Breakdown
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
Deal flow accelerated as systems matured. December matched November despite holidays.
Where the $35K Went
| Category | Amount | % of Capital | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads | $14,200 | 40.6% | 6.2x |
| Content/SEO | $3,800 | 10.9% | 4.1x |
| VA Team (2x20hrs/wk) | $4,800 | 13.7% | ∞ |
| Software/APIs | $2,100 | 6.0% | Critical |
| Legal/LLC/Insurance | $3,200 | 9.1% | Required |
| Reserve/Misc | $6,900 | 19.7% | Buffer |
| TOTAL | $35,000 | 100% | 7x overall |
The Marketing Funnel (Real Numbers)
Google Ads Performance
| Total Spend | $14,200 |
| Total Leads | 847 |
| Cost Per Lead | $16.76 |
| Qualified Leads | 203 (24%) |
| Deals Closed | 11 |
| Revenue from Ads | $88,400 |
| ROAS | 6.2x |
Offer Check Tool (Organic)
| Total Spend | $0 |
| Total Checks | 156 |
| Leads Captured | 89 (57%) |
| Qualified Leads | 34 (38%) |
| Deals Closed | 3 |
| Revenue | $51,600 |
| ROAS | ∞ |
The Offer Check tool has the highest conversion rate because these sellers are already skeptical of a competitor's offer. They're pre-qualified and actively shopping.
The Tech That Made It Possible
Every tool below was built in-house. Total monthly cost: ~$100. Comparable enterprise software would cost $2,000+/month.
Lead Intake Worker
Receives leads from 7 sources, enriches with property data, posts to Slack in <500ms
Offer Check Engine
Grades competitor offers, detects predatory pricing, captures leads from verification
AI Analysis (Claude)
Scores every lead, generates objection scripts, recommends approach strategies
Property Valuation API
Multi-source estimates (Zillow, Redfin, RentCast) with confidence scoring
Slack CRM
Entire deal pipeline runs through Slack channels. Replaced $150/user Salesforce.
What Actually Drove Deals
After analyzing all 14 closed deals, here's what mattered:
1. Speed to First Contact
Leads contacted within 5 minutes had 3x higher close rate than those contacted after 1 hour. Our Slack notifications + mobile access made this possible.
2. Transparency as Differentiation
8 of 14 sellers specifically mentioned our "honesty" as why they chose us. The Offer Check tool positioned us as the "good guys" before we ever spoke.
3. Partnership Model > Cash Offers
11 of 14 deals were partnership/novation, not cash. Sellers wanted 85-95% of value, not 60-70%. Our tech made the complex partnership math simple to explain.
4. AI-Prepared Calls Win
Having objection scripts ready BEFORE the call — generated by AI based on lead details — dramatically improved conversion. No more "let me get back to you."
What Failed (Transparency)
❌ Things That Didn't Work
- Facebook Ads: $1,200 spent, 2 leads, 0 deals. Wrong audience.
- Direct Mail: $800 on postcards, 0 responses. Dead channel for us.
- Cold Calling: Attempted for 2 weeks. Hated it. Stopped.
- SEO (so far): 270+ blog posts, minimal organic traffic yet. Long game.
Not everything works. The key is cutting losers fast and doubling down on winners (Google Ads, Offer Check).
The Unfair Advantage
Why did this work when most new investors fail?
Technology as a moat. While competitors use spreadsheets and sticky notes, we have real-time AI analysis, instant property valuations, and automated lead scoring. Our newest team member has access to systems that took months to build.
The same technology that powers this operation is now what we sell to other businesses. The real estate company proved it works. Now we're packaging it.
What's Next
The goal for the next 6 months:
- 20 deals (scaling team, same systems)
- $250K net profit from real estate operation
- 5 PropTechUSA.ai clients using our tools
- Open source the valuation engine
The real estate business funds the tech company. The tech company makes the real estate business better. Flywheel effect.
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