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Editor's note: This story is part of our coverage of Pacesetter, the fastest-growing privately held Atlanta companies.
Company: Roots Real Estate Investment Community LLC
The List: No. 23
Principal: Daniel Dorfman, co-founder and CEO
Year established in Atlanta: 2021
Roots Real Estate Investment Community LLC was founded when housing costs were surging in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Company leadership wanted a business model that could help both landlords and tenants.
Over the past two years, Roots Real Estate Investment Community has seen remarkable revenue growth.
In its first year of operation, revenues totaled $38,650. One year later, they grew to $643,807. By 2023 revenues were closing in on $1.5 million.
Roots is a real estate investment trust. As of April, its portfolio comprises a mix of 108 single-family and multi-unit residential rental properties, nearly 100 more than it started out with.
Weighted average growth index
| Rank | Prior Rank | Business name |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Momnt Technologies |
2 | 2 | Rreal Tacos |
3 | 3 | CENTEGIX |
All properties are within a one-hour drive of Downtown Atlanta. Roots buys single-family homes, duplexes and small apartment buildings from other real estate investors. Since the latter half of 2021, the portfolio’s net asset value has grown from just over $1.9 million to just under $26 million at year-end 2023.
Roots’ growth is a result of its unique “Live In It Like You Own It,” program. Roots provides the opportunity for residents to build wealth through renting in the same way as traditional home ownership. They earn quarterly rent rebates they can invest in Roots by taking care of their property, paying rent on time, and being an all-around good neighbor. Giving residents ownership in Roots aligns the incentives of the company’s investors and residents. It creates what the company calls a “win-win ecosystem,” providing opportunity for both groups to build wealth.
“There are over 44 million renting families in America, and we want to empower them all to build wealth in real estate while they rent,” said Roots Co-founder and CEO Daniel Dorfman.
And from the investor standpoint, Dorfman adds, “Given the opportunity to both build wealth and help others will inspire people to invest with Roots on a large scale.”
Cesar Wurm, IHG Hotels & Resorts Commercial Premium Brands vice president, who works with Roots in an advisory role, said “What Roots is doing to bridge the affordable housing gap in Atlanta is unprecedented,”
He said, “They’re innovating by taking what traditionally has been an adversarial tenant/landlord relationship and creating a partnership that enables both residents and investors to see significant returns.”