It Was Never About the Property - Faith-Driven Leaders
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Episode Description
On this episode of the On The Rise Podcast's Faith Driven Leaders series, host Nick Stromwall talks with Matt Star — real estate investor, creative-finance educator, and founder of the Telos multifamily mastermind. Matt shares a remarkable testimony: from an immigrant kid told by his doctor he'd die of obesity, to losing 125 pounds, to letting arrogance and a transactional mindset cost him everything and leave him homeless. Anchored in a new faith, he built 130 single-family deals, pivoted to multifamily (now 370 doors), and found his footing by serving others in the Sub To community. Matt unpacks what investors really trust him with, why the best deals are the ones you don't do, and how to run a business as an act of worship.
Summary
A wake-up call reset his life.
Raised in an ethnically Jewish, Russian immigrant family split between Moscow and LA, Matt was on the "good grades, good job" track until 2017, when his childhood pediatrician told him he'd die if he stayed on his path. At 300+ pounds and diabetic, he lost 125 pounds that year.
Success without an anchor bred arrogance.
Helping others get healthy grew into businesses and money — and pride. When his younger brother started out-earning him in real estate, Matt quit everything to chase it, but a purely transactional mindset destroyed it all and left him homeless (living in his Tesla).
He met the Lord at rock bottom.
Sleeping in his car, Matt surrendered desires he'd mistaken for God-given ambition. He realized his business had never been about property — it was about people he'd been treating as dollar signs, which is exactly how others had treated him.
Faith reframed the work.
Anchored in scripture (and his fiancée's prayers), Matt saw that he couldn't do business without another human on the other side — so he resolved to see people the way the Lord did. He built 130 single-family deals, then pivoted to multifamily, now holding 370 doors.
Giving without reciprocity built everything.
Hustling from a Starbucks Wi-Fi, Matt learned seller finance, DM'd 99 people (one said yes), and got into the Sub To community. Still living in his car, he closed 40 deals for other members — building a reputation that turned into teaching, partnerships, and momentum.
Investors trust you with their time, not just money.
Matt reframes capital as the irreplaceable time it took someone to earn it. That conviction leads him to "fall on the knife" — he's lost significant personal capital backing out of deals over the past year to protect his investors.
Telos exists to do business the right way.
Named from the Greek for "it is finished," Telos is a small (45-person), high-integrity multifamily community where a collective of operators shares openly. Matt's view: real communities make everyone better, and "the best deals are the ones you chose not to do."
Serve people, and aim for "well done."
From a resident-focused "Path to Own" nonprofit to tactical-empathy selling (he recommends Never Split the Difference), Matt's north star is service. The highest goal, he says, is "well done, good and faithful servant" — and, ultimately, fatherhood.
Resources
Instagram: @HouseHoncho
Website: https://www.fractional.app/p/TelosMultifamilyMastermindInnerCircleClub
