"The Power Of The Pivot" | From $35K on His First Cold Call to a $1,000,000 Wholesale Fee

In this episode of the Pick Up The Phone Podcast, host Josue Llanas (CEO of Vancom) sits down with Houston real estate powerhouse Chai Phansalkar to dissect a career built onrelentless pivoting, massive wholesale deals, and an immigrant's unwavering drive. Chai shares the full story of how he went from an engineering student at the University of Houston to a seasoned investor with over 600 real estate transactions — including a single wholesale deal that generated a $1,000,000 assignment fee on a 180-unit apartment complex.

This is not just a success story. It is a masterclass in real estate strategy for 2026 and beyond.

Chai reveals the exact tactics he used to thrive through every market shift — from his first cold

call that landed a $35,000 deal, to building a new construction empire with zero bank leverage

🏠 In this episode of the Pick Up the Phone Podcast, host Josue Llanas (CEO of Vancom) sits down with Houston real estate powerhouse Chai Phansalkar — investor, lender, and developer behind Stepup Capital and Rising Tides Lending. Chai shares his raw, unfiltered journey from an engineering student who came to America from Pune, India with nothing but a dream, to closing over 600 real estate transactions — including a single wholesale deal that generated a $1,000,000 assignment fee on a 180-unit apartment complex.

This is NOT your typical real estate success story. Chai gets brutally honest about the failed businesses, the fear that almost stopped him, the $55,000 non-refundable bet, and the pivots that saved him every single year. If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to build a real estate empire from scratch — this is it.

💡 KEY TAKEAWAYS: ✅ How Chai landed a $35,000 deal on the very FIRST cold call his VA ever made ✅ The $55K non-refundable earnest money bet that led to a $1,000,000 wholesale fee ✅ Why 2026 is the BEST time to buy real estate — more opportunity than 2021 ✅ The "over-rehab and under-price" strategy that made $90K on flips in 2025 ✅ How Chai built a 16-unit development in Houston with ZERO bank debt ✅ The 50/50 profit-sharing structure that replaces banks entirely ✅ Why wholesaling alone is a trap — and how Chai built an ecosystem instead ✅ The Sub2 community Zoom that had 545 students attend on the second call ✅ How Chai went from firing all his staff during COVID to buying 50 homes that same year ✅ The one-stop shop vision: land, construction, hard money lending, and accounting under one roof

📌 CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Introduction: 600+ Deals & a $1M Wholesale Fee

01:09 - From Pune, India to Houston: The Origin Story

05:03 - Discovering Wholesaling Through Lifestyles Unlimited

09:35 - Direct Mail Mastery: 300 Letters, 7 Calls, 1 Life-Changing Deal

13:03 - When Mail Marketing Died: The Pivot to Cold Calling

14:04 - The Secret to a 10+ Year Business Partnership with Praash

17:13 - The $35,000 Deal from the VERY FIRST Cold Call Ever Made

24:05 - The $1,000,000 Wholesale Deal: The Full Story

33:46 - Teaching Underwriting in the Sub2 Community with Pace Morby

40:06 - The COVID Pivot: Buying 50 Homes in One Year

43:20 - Launching a Hard Money Lending Company (Stepup Capital)

47:07 - New Construction: How One Contractor Changed Everything

54:03 - Blueprint: A 16-Unit Development with ZERO Bank Debt

59:38 - BOLD PREDICTION: Why 2026 Is the Best Time to Buy Real Estate

01:05:00 - The Art of the Pivot: Adapting Every Year

01:09:13 - How to Connect with Chai & Final Thoughts

🔗 CONNECT WITH CHAI PHANSALKAR: 📸 Instagram / TikTok: @ChaiFans 🏦 Stepup Capital (Hard Money Lending — Texas): http://stepupcapital.com 🌐 Rising Tides Lending (Brokerage — Nationwide): http://risingtideslending.com

🔗 CONNECT WITH JOSUE / VANCOM: 🌐 Book a Free Strategy Session: http://vancom.io/schedule