Trying to work out if capital raiser is a real job or something people call themselves on a podcast

Thirty people who could write a check and take your call is more than most people building a syndication business start with. I've done six months of research and I have four.

Taking your questions in order.

Who pays. The economics come from the sponsor side. Common arrangements are a fee on capital raised paid at closing, a share of the sponsor's promote in exchange for sourcing equity, or a salary or retainer for an in-house investor relations role. All three reduce what the sponsor keeps. The fee version is often paid out of the acquisition budget, which is funded by the raise, so investors do bear it indirectly and it should be disclosed.

What the work is. Building an investor network, presenting opportunities in a way that meets securities requirements, and then reporting to those investors quarter after quarter so they commit again. The third part is where most of the value sits. A first commitment is expensive to win. A repeat commitment from an existing investor is the entire economic case for the function.

How long. Slower than sales cycles you're used to. A prospective investor typically watches a sponsor through at least one deal before writing anything. Plan on the first year producing relationships rather than income, which conflicts with your constraint and is worth confronting now.

On the rules. Receiving transaction-based compensation for bringing investors into a securities offering is regulated, and whether a particular arrangement requires registration turns on your role, how you're paid, and the offering itself. Some people work as employees of a sponsor. Some take equity in the sponsor entity instead of a per-deal fee. Which of those is available to you is a question for a securities attorney before you take a dollar.

The most common entry point is the in-house investor relations seat at an existing sponsor, where you're paid a salary, learn the reporting side, and build a network with someone else's track record behind you.

The salary route rena-expert mentions at the end is the one I'd chase. You're describing a skill without a track record attached, and sponsors are buying the track record as much as the network. Borrow theirs for two years.

Honest question back at you. Would you put your own money into a deal you were going to show those thirty people? If the answer is no, you have a bigger problem than licensing.

@verity that's the right question. I've got nine units and the thing I'd want from someone bringing me a deal is that they're in it.

@kestrel the other thing is that your 300 people are small business owners in one metro, which means they'll all be affected by the same local economy at the same time. If your metro has a bad two years your entire investor base gets cautious simultaneously. Doesn't kill the idea, but it's a concentration you should know you have.

I do property management, so I see what happens after the raise. Sponsors who are great at raising and thin on operations end up with a property that misses budget and an investor base that was sold a story. The person who raised the money is the one those investors call, every time, and they call for two years.

So if you go this way, pick the sponsor by how they operate, not by what they'll pay you. Ask to see a deal that went badly and how they communicated during it.

Worth finding out whether your state's real estate licensing rules touch any part of what you'd be doing, since that varies state to state and some activity around real estate investment offerings brushes against it. I'm going through licensing now and the coursework barely covers this stuff, so ask the regulator directly rather than an instructor.

As one of the people you'd be calling: I'd want to know what you get paid before you finish the pitch, not in a document I sign later.

I'd spend the first six months doing something narrower than raising. Pick two sponsors you'd actually invest with, put your own money in the smallest amount they'll take, and be an LP for a full year. You'll see their reporting, you'll see how they handle a bad quarter, and when you go back and ask for an IR seat you'll be someone who's read four quarters of their statements instead of someone who liked their webinar.

It also answers @verity's question with a wire confirmation rather than an opinion.