Alex Plotkin was driven to leave what was sure to be a stable career in law by entrepreneurial passion, excitement, and a dream of financial independence. He and a close friend from law school founded PhillySwirl, a now iconic frozen treats brand, out of a garage in South Tampa in 1992. Early on, daunting funding and regulatory challenges forced the pair to live out of their storefront for the better part of two years. No strangers to adversity, the team doubled down on the dream until they scored their first major deal with the Florida Department of Education to sell their product throughout the states over 4000 public schools.Over the next 10 years, their popular product was integrated into the distribution network of the world’s largest retailer and enjoyed a rise to national recognition.In 2006, after 14 years of leading the company, Alex and his partner made the decision to sell the household name, along with its 23MM+ in annual revenue, to a leading manufacturer and distributor, where it exists today – a staple of their product line.After the sale of his company, Alex’s connection to the Bay Area endured. He wanted to continue to make meaningful contributions to his community. In 2009, Alex earned his real estate license anticipating favorable market conditions and pivoted into real property-secured lending and revitalization projects throughout the state of Florida, with a heavy concentration in the counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, and Manatee.Over the last decade, Alex has worked closely with local development partners to close on over 1500 rehab/resale projects while also acquiring an extensive personal rental portfolio he still maintains today.This successful acquisition strategy employed Alex’s profound intimacy with the area derived from 30 years of market research into local development, demographics, and socioeconomic trends – insight he offers to every one of his clients, from first time homebuyer to seasoned investors.People do business with people they like – people they trust – people they respect.