No Salaries, No Vacation Tracking: Our Partner-Only Model with Tom Kaiman, Founder of Mia Rose Holdings

Tom Kaiman is the founder of Mia Rose Holdings, a St. Louis-based real estate development firm with nearly $1B in assets under management and over 3,000 apartment units developed. Before becoming a prolific builder, Tom was a professional hockey player and earned a degree in civil engineering. His unique background in sports, construction, and entrepreneurship has shaped his mission: to build high-quality multifamily housing at a lower cost basis while prioritizing team alignment and community impact.

In this episode, Tom shares his full-circle journey from skating rinks to development sites, highlighting his investment philosophy, construction-first strategy, and passion for long-term wealth creation. He breaks down how Mia Rose self-funds pre-development, structures deals with recourse loans, and aligns team incentives by making every partner an owner. He also discusses the challenges of real estate timing, the power of reading, and why understanding money supply and inflation is critical for every investor. Whether you’re a developer, investor, or entrepreneur, this episode delivers tactical insights and hard-won wisdom.

Connect with Raj:

Twitter: ⁠twitter.com/ItsRajTut

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajtut/

Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/ItsRajTut

TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@itsrajtut

Connect with Tom:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-kaiman-07ba9612/

Timestamps:

00:00 Why Mia Rose spends more on units than amenities

01:13 Meet Tom Kaiman — From hockey to nearly $1B in AUM

02:16 Childhood, family, and hockey career path

04:21 Civil engineering and first job with Walton Construction

05:10 How Rich Dad Poor Dad sparked an entrepreneurial drive

06:48 Building the Maryville University Hockey Center

08:46 Nonprofit structures and public-private partnerships

10:26 A five-year project that changed his view on development

15:02 Applying team-first thinking from hockey to real estate

18:17 No employees — How Mia Rose built a partner-only firm

20:39 Why success is addicting and retirement isn’t the goal

26:12 The Mia Rose development formula: 4 deals a year

31:03 Finding land and vetting city relationships

33:13 Why 150–200 unit suburban walkups are the sweet spot

34:29 Exit strategy and why affordability matters

37:18 Spend in-unit, not on chandeliers

39:00 Lessons from early deals and constant model evolution

42:12 Pre-development risk and self-funding explained

44:22 Why they subordinate development fees

45:58 Friends and family raise — but family office is next

47:16 What makes a deal work today (or not)

49:40 Target returns: IRR, equity multiples, and risk

50:40 How being a builder is their competitive edge

53:02 Staying hands-on in construction pricing

57:07 Direct sourcing and focus trade-offs

59:38 Cutting markup chains without losing control

01:00:00 Flywheel strategy: 4 builds a year, into perpetuity

01:02:54 Hole-in-one advice: Read more, understand money

01:07:00 The 41% money supply stat that shocked Tom

If you're looking to sell us a 40+ unit multifamily property in the St. Louis region, or another part of MO/IL, please email [e-mail]

Connect with us at our Website: https://storyboardliving.com/

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/storyboard-living/

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