Ashish Wadhwani is a 2021 graduate of the Canfield Business Honors program and a Houston native. He also majored in Finance with a concentration in Real Estate and a minor in Entrepreneurship. As a sophomore transfer student to Canfield BHP, he was drawn by the small cohort, successful alumni and students, and incredible professors who established personal relationships with students and helped with critical career opportunities. For instance, when he discussed the startup he was working on with Professor Trent Thurman, who taught MAN 336H, his professor introduced him to a pitch contest. Ashish ended up placing in the contest and winning a Capital Factory (a coworking place for tech entrepreneurs) membership. His startup focused on building augmented reality applications for physical therapy, to ease the pain for amputee patients whose brains don’t understand their body part is not there anymore and therefore send constant pain signals. His startup fizzled out, but he learned many key lessons.
Ashish knew he wanted to be in the world of finance and investment, and he found his niche in commercial real estate (CRE). Moreover, Ashish was born into a family of entrepreneurs, where he grew up learning about accountability for decision making. He knew early on it was his destiny to be an entrepreneur himself.
Even as an intern, he wanted a small/medium business feel where he wore multiple hats and got mentorship from senior people in the business. He tried to be in environments where he would be challenged and have accountability, which has been important for his growth.
Ashish interned at a real estate private equity firm during his junior year. This was one of the greatest learning experiences for him, since he was the only intern on an investment team with all associates. He started on the multi-family development team where the company was buying huge apartment buildings, like student housing. Ashish got to see them pitch deals to the investment committee and see the whole investment loop. COVID hit during his junior spring into summer. He continued working at the firm and shifted his focus to senior living due to the elevated activity in the space.
After graduation, Ashish had a difficult decision to make. His family had invested in a sports center, and he had toured a lot of sports operators. Although he had negotiated a deal, it evaporated due to COVID. Despite those struggles, Ashish decided to start a gym business due his constant fascination with entrepreneurship and inspiration from his family. He had the background and training from Canfield Business Honors, exposure from his internship, and an entrepreneurial drive. He began by developing indoor sports facilities (volleyball, pickleball, fitness, etc.) after renting the spaces. As they grew, he added two dozen sports programs. By the end of year 2, he had a lot of programming and managed 40 staff. It was incredibly fulfilling, and he often saw neighbors come to play volleyball.
Then, Ashish started thinking about what he wanted to do next–if he should continue opening new facilities or pivot into real estate. He concluded that the most fulfilling path would not be to continue running these facilities himself. He pivoted to real estate to build, develop, and/or acquire sports facilities for tenants to lease. Since he had the experience of running the facilities, he knew the tenants’ perspectives.
Ashish is currently an investment officer and development manager at Sports Developers. He brings in tenants, financially evaluates opportunities, and creates rent and lease structures. He also liaises with vendors and contractors to push projects forward.
Sports Developers has now developed nearly 200,000 sq ft and has 100,000 sq ft in the pipeline that is being developed. He is working on developing a pickleball gym and is a pickleball enthusiast himself, so it is fascinating to see his interests and passion collide.
Ashish’s favorite part of sports real estate is the people–people are working in sports because they love sports. He enjoys being in the industry and meeting tenants who are very passionate about what they do.
When asked for advice, Ashish urges students to engage with Canfield Business Honors peers because they will be people you rely on in the future. As well, students should get to know professors because they are incredibly knowledgeable, and a good referral can go a long way.
His biggest life lesson? Take opportunities. If it feels right, you’re passionate about it, and you have a good gut feeling, then take it. Build yourself. Don’t be scared where your career is going; you can take risks. Try to consistently be the person that takes initiative, because it will be noticed and the people you impress early on will vouch for you, which goes really far in the business world. Ashish is a firm believer that “luck is at the crossroads of opportunity and preparation.” If you are building momentum and are prepared by doing foundational work, you can take opportunities when they come.