Listen "Scaling a Property Business from Scratch - Greg Blend & Grant Friedman, Africrest Properties"
Episode Synopsis
In this episode of The Founder Files, we chat with Greg Blend and Grant Friedman from Africrest. From starting with nothing but ambition and a few naive assumptions, they scaled their property business to managing over 3.3 billion rand in assets!
We delve into how they managed to scale their business without initial capital.
We also explore their unique approach to sourcing feedback from tenants and customers at scale, ensuring that property improvements are based on tenant input and preferences.
Additionally, they share insights on building robust systems during rapid expansion and scaling their team effectively to sustain growth and success.
----
This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
----
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
00:00 Introduction
02:37 Welcomes
03:02 Africrest’s Business Model
06:28 The Scale Of Africrest Today
09:12 Africrest Founding Story
13:53 Starting A Property Company With No Cash
20:47 Greg & Grant’s First Property
30:34 Getting Useful Feedback From Customers
36:53 Merging Into Africrest
43:57 Brought To You By Metavolve
45:20 How To Stay Aligned As A Leadership Team
49:52 Making Sure You Choose The Right Partnerships
58:24 Converting Office Buildings To Apartments
01:03:29 Scaling The Business Through Covid
01:11:58 Changes To Handle Rapid Growth
01:21:28 Learnings From Rapid Expansion
01:25:53 The Future Of Africrest
01:28:29 Why Choose The South African Market?
We delve into how they managed to scale their business without initial capital.
We also explore their unique approach to sourcing feedback from tenants and customers at scale, ensuring that property improvements are based on tenant input and preferences.
Additionally, they share insights on building robust systems during rapid expansion and scaling their team effectively to sustain growth and success.
----
This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
----
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
00:00 Introduction
02:37 Welcomes
03:02 Africrest’s Business Model
06:28 The Scale Of Africrest Today
09:12 Africrest Founding Story
13:53 Starting A Property Company With No Cash
20:47 Greg & Grant’s First Property
30:34 Getting Useful Feedback From Customers
36:53 Merging Into Africrest
43:57 Brought To You By Metavolve
45:20 How To Stay Aligned As A Leadership Team
49:52 Making Sure You Choose The Right Partnerships
58:24 Converting Office Buildings To Apartments
01:03:29 Scaling The Business Through Covid
01:11:58 Changes To Handle Rapid Growth
01:21:28 Learnings From Rapid Expansion
01:25:53 The Future Of Africrest
01:28:29 Why Choose The South African Market?
More episodes of the podcast The Founder Files
From South Africa to the World: How AURA Is Revolutionizing Emergency Response - Ryan Green, AURA
13/10/2025
How Humanity SA Built a 7-Figure Business with Zero Experience - Shaun Raaff, Humanity SA
06/10/2025
Life After the Exit: Rebuilding, Reflecting, and Investing Smarter - Ariel Navarro, OneCart
29/09/2025
Powering Africa: How Open Access Is Scaling Clean Energy, James Irons - Open Access Energy
22/09/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.