Paul Gozzo now works in Business Development for WRI Capital Group

Paul Gozzo of Jupiter, Florida has transitioned from his role in Acquisitions as an analyst to working in Business Development for WRI Capital Group.  Paul has been investing in Real Estate since he graduated from Amherst College in 1998 and working in research since 2006. The move was a natural progression given Paul’s diverse background and institutional contacts coupled with the rapid growth occurring at WRI Capital Group. “Given my personal and professional experience to date, this move makes sense and I am thankful for the opportunity”, said Gozzo.

Paul Gozzo spends much of his time on the road between Tampa Bay,  Orlando, and Jacksonville, Florida as well as other areas of the Southeastern United States stretching from Dallas, Texas  to Charlotte, North Carolina. “I like to get out and see the assets we are looking to acquire, touch them, and get to know the people we will be working with potentially. It’s a fun space and an interesting time.”

WRI Capital Group provides a suite of services for institution level clients investing in the single-family asset class. Among Paul Gozzo’s roles will be to facilitate relationships with institutions, ranging from Private Equity Funds, to Hedge Funds, and Foreign Investment Groups, looking to enter or exit this space. The asset class itself, single family homes, is over two years old emerging as a new asset class to institutional investors offering upside to alternative investors and further proving itself each successive quarter. According to Gozzo, “It was just a question of time and the right cycle for the opportunity to present itself. The overpriced residential market along with overleveraged owners and the subsequent economic downturn, provided a perfect storm creating an abundance of supply offering an ideal opportunity for institutions to step in and acquire.”

But then what? If an institution weren’t specifically created to invest in this space, complete with the entire necessary infrastructure, how could they possibly allocate capital? According to Paul Gozzo, “Depending on how nimble the investor , how much money he wanted to spend and in how many different markets, it becomes an incredible logistical challenge to execute. Even extremely experienced and  smart institutional investors did not know how to get it done. Meanwhile bigger groups like American Homes 4 Rent, Blackstone’s Invitation Homes, and Colony’s Colony American Homes raised billions of dollars specifically for this space and built infrastructure to acquire, renovate, lease and manage. Other investors  who wanted in, were shut out.  Enter WRI, providing all of the services directly for the institution looking to play in this space. We were designed as  single source solution for institutional investors”

When not one the road, Paul enjoys playing outside enjoying all that calling South Florida home has to offer, including fishing and  golfing. Paul donates his time monthly to helping keep local beaches clean with The Friends of Jupiter Beach and when possible, he serves at St. Georges Soup Kitchen in Riviera Beach, Florida where he helps to prepare and serve a hot meal to over 200 people in need.

For up to date information on Paul M. Gozzo, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, or Pinterest, Weebly, Blogger, or Wordpress.

Paul Gozzo Asks: Fisherman or Angler?

Fisherman or Angler?

“Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”

No, this is not a blog about the famous Biblical truth.

I want to address the question of fisherman vs. angler? See how you match up?

A fisherman “figures it out”. He embarks on a journey to figure out how to catch fish. For most fisherman, the journey begins the day before and often times, weeks out. As Ted Williams, ya that Ted Williams, the Hall of Fame baseball player who was also an accomplished fisherman, once said something to the extent of, “ often times the biggest fish are caught the night before”.

For example, fly fishing for trout in a New England stream or wild Western River requires some knowledge and experience the latter of which is absolutely necessary to actually becoming successful at the fly fishing endeavor. Outside the obvious needs like transportation, rod, reel, waders etc. the fisherman must learn to read the water  to determine the highest probability of where a fish will be and then to study the water to determine where to cast in order to drift his fly naturally by where a fish most likely will be. Of course, all of this is after choosing the right fly, or in many cases the correct version of that fly and appropriate size as well as the size of the tippet at the end of the leader. All of this and more goes into the fishing experience.

Angling on the other hand, is what you do after you hook the fish. A good fly fishing angler will choose both where to cast from, so as to give himself the best chance to naturally present the fly to the fish, and also where he will position himself in the river to then fight and release the fish once it is hooked so as not to disrupt the pool the put the other fish “down” where they will become inactive. That angler thinks of the other fisherman and his potential to catch more fish from the same pool as well as his probability of landing the fish he is actually casting too all before making his initial cast.

On the saltwater, often times it takes 2-3 people working together on a boat to find, hook, and land a fish. Boat preparation takes time and effort. Rod and reels must be prepared including the testing and setting of the drag well ahead of time before the boat even leaves the dock. When a big game fish is hooked, the angle and boat captain will communicate and the boat is used to help reel in the fish. Then of course, a third person is usually needed to net or gaff the fish. This teamwork is fishing. The guy on the rod and reel is the angler.

These days, in our ego driven hey, “look at me and like me on Facebook and pass my picture and love it on Instagram” immediate gratification world, often times people rush to get to the point of that picture so much that they miss the opportunity to fish. They angle. And the two are not the same. I once read a quote that “only a surfer knows the feeling”….well the same can be said here, only a fisherman knows the feeling. The feeling of figuring it out and catching that fish. Hiring a guide who is on the water 300 days a year, who rigs your rod, baits your hook, and tells you where to cast, or even hooks the fish, then lets you reel it in, isn’t fishing. Yes, you are still angling, although it can be argued that a valuable part of the angling equations is missed when you do not actually hook the fish yourself, but none the less you are angling to some extent if you fight and land that fish. Now take your picture and pass it around the world and make sure to leave the part out about how the guide hooked it for you!

Florida Sunset

Caught a video of this awesome sunset in Florida. It set right over these palm trees.

Paul M. Gozzo Watches Florida Waves Crashing

I was able to catch these waves crashing off a beach in Florida. So relaxing.

Paul M. Gozzo is the New Chief Marketing Officer at Lax Wax

Mr. Paul M. Gozzo of Jupiter, Florida has been named the new Chief Marketing Officer at Lax Wax, adding to his existing role as Director of Sales. A former lacrosse player at Paul M. Gozzo quickly discovered that Lax Wax was the best option for improving his game. He says "I apply Lax Wax to the pocket of my sticks in order to protect them from the elements. Lax Wax, without a doubt, gives me better ball control and elongates the life of my stick!"

Now that Paul M. Gozzo lives in Florida, he can be found spending as much time as possible being active outdoors enjoying the tropical weather that South Florida has to offer. Although he enjoys warm weather activities like fishing and golfing, he can still be found playing indoor ice hockey at least once a week as well as lending a helping hand to others through serving the community.

Lax Wax was developed by actual lacrosse players to create the best wax for lacrosse sticks. Lax Wax uses a twist up applicator to easily distribute wax to the pockets, sidewalls, and shooters of lacrosse sticks. Lax Wax makes it easier to control the ball, and increases release velocity.

Since joining Lax Wax in March, Paul M. Gozzo has been instrumental in adding relationships with retail lacrosse stores throughout the United States bringing the total number of retail stores currently selling Lax Wax to over 50, well on the way to the company goal of 100 in 2013. Recently, Paul assisted in negotiating a promotional deal with the Boston Cannons professional lacrosse team. Gozzo is looking forward to adding other positive marketing relationships moving forward as well as establishing a presence at select lacrosse camps and tournaments this summer.

For up to date information on Paul M. Gozzo and his new role as Director of Sales and Chief Marketing Officer at Lax Wax, follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

The original press release for this article can be found at: http://pitch.pe/116YATn