"We are all part of the family."
When Star Strong Capital first met Johnny Moseley, we were quickly enfolded into the Moseley family, consistent with the company's approach and leading to its contracting business's continuous and expansive growth. They keep it all in the family, both biological and adopted members, like our SSC team.
On a recent visit to the Moseley Multi-Family Offices, we were captivated by Johnny's approach to growth. He leads Monday morning meetings with each lead acting on behalf of their area of interest, creating a 'pod' or team approach. His employees come to the table as owners, family members, and active participants in growing the business.
As most in the construction industry know, success is rooted in the quality and caliber of people. Moseley's success builds on a vertically integrated system and a proven formula: Project Managers oversee Superintendents who oversee the Foreman, manage the field, and ultimately ensure the safety and completion of projects by workers. This top-down approach works for typical construction companies to drive consistency, safety, and overall project success. Moseley has adopted this approach with the added mindset of family.
Throughout its history, Moseley has invested heavily in recruiting and training high-caliber people with talent with leadership skills. The company keeps tight control over quality and production by staffing most of its jobs with its certified in-house crews.
"Our in-house training program allows us to recruit and train field supervisors and labor crews to meet our quality standards," said Johnny.
With an emphasis on team culture and family, Moseley's mission is to deliver remarkable customer experiences and complete superior quality work faster than the industry average times. Customers are pleased with the results.
Moseley had experienced great success in the market by leveraging buying power within a single project. Instead of buying one unit, the company gains "economies of scale."
"As the nation's largest contractor of our kind, we have the scale to leverage our buying power to reduce material costs and pass those savings on to our clients."
With this mindset, it is no surprise that Moseley had become the largest multi-family renovation contractor in the United States. The company focuses entirely on in-unit renovations and has completed over 20,000 apartment and condominium renovations in the last 15+ years. The company works with some of the largest real estate companies in the world.
The past three years have posed severe disruptions to the construction industry, a notoriously challenging industry in the best of times. The pandemic caused well-publicized supply chain issues, driving up costs and creating delays in an already low-margin business. Timelines between the payments for materials and revenue collected from projects extended, causing unbearable lapses in liquidity. As an apartment contractor doing most of its work in occupied buildings, the pandemic hit Moseley's business hard, arriving just as the company was undergoing an overhaul with new software and the addition of new employees.
"Even though construction was considered an 'essential business,' quarantines forced shutdowns on our existing projects and delayed new ones, as residents could not vacate their apartments, giving us the access to do the work."
In the face of these obstacles, the company took on MCA (Merchant Cash Advances) debt to make payroll and pay outstanding liabilities. Johnny was determined to maintain the family-like community he had built, even going so far as to make strenuous personal decisions to keep the business afloat and his best talent retained.
"I love the Star Strong mission. Through this process, the quality of their questions has set them apart from other companies I contacted. My only regret is that we didn't have a relationship last year when I utilized MCA companies. Thanks to Star Strong's support, it was a different experience, and I am glad the MCA's are at an end."
In search of a more steady and flexible financing source, he connected with SSC. Drawn to its team-first approach, strategic focus on growth, and unique use of KPIs to manage and develop employees, SSC was confident that the proper financing structure could help get Moseley's business back on track following the unforeseen impacts of the pandemic. SSC consolidated Moseley's existing debt into a bridge financing loan that would enable the company to weather the pandemic-driven storm.
For Johnny, SSC was the perfect financing partner for the turbulent times.
"Most lenders offer deals designed to make them as much money as possible in the shortest period. The deal Star Strong structured is designed to make Moseley successful. The ability to communicate directly with the key principals and decision-makers was an important part of the reason for going forward with SSC. If we needed to accelerate growth or be able to participate in a particular opportunity, I would go directly to Spring to share the opportunity. We collectively decided if this was a critical area to invest in and what the payback would look like. It's a unique approach that has not happened with any other lender I've worked with."
With the past three years of challenges firmly in the rear-view mirror, Moseley's business is back on an upward trajectory due to its leadership and intelligent and effective capital deployment. Moseley continues to invest in employees and build its team in pursuit of becoming the most dominant multi-family renovation contractor on the planet. With continued partnership and the availability of strategic capital from SSC, Johnny knows he can focus on growth.
"Big banks only care about the numbers. Star Strong demonstrated a level of compassion in helping us navigate difficult times. They helped us find stability, hire more salespeople, increase revenue, and return to a cash-positive footing. Today we are a solid business focused on growing revenues and maintaining our family-like culture, knowing we have a capital partner."
SSC has learned from and employed some of Johnny's exceptional leadership skills. Contact Moseley if you have a renovation project for your multi-family unit project.
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The performance quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Not all investments made by Star Strong Capital LLC should be expected to be profitable.
The information and opinions provided herein should not be taken as specific advice on the merits of any investment decision. Investors should make their own decisions based on such investors’ own review of publicly available information and should not rely on the information contained herein.