🎙️ How to Reinvent Yourself - Again and Again - Episode 50

Harvard graduate moves to China, wins the toy of the year, walks away from toy production, creates a super successful private equity fund, and then pivoting to a brand new venture. Meet serial entrepreneur Jordan Cavano. This week on Jewish Grit. [music] Welcome to Jewish Grit. Coming all the way from somewhat warm but beautifully sunny Surfside, Florida. We traveled all the way here to meet with a really special guest, Jordan Cavana. Welcome to Jewish Grill. >> Thank you. So, you have a unique story. I don't think we've interviewed anyone who was born in Uruguay yet. So, you are unique in terms of that. So, tell us a little bit about your beginnings. How did you get to Uruguay? >> So my uh my maternal grandparents and uh and paternal grandparents both immigrated from Eastern Europe. Um my parents were both born there. Um actually my parents had immigrated to New York uh in the mid70s and it's the start of life in America and um my mother went to go visit her family and I was born a preeie. So I wasn't supposed to be born in Urguay. I was supposed to be an American born in New York but that's not the way that >> God had a different plan. >> Yep. And then you moved to the United States at some point >> and then yes um less than a year old we moved to New York for a couple years and then my parents immigrated to uh South Florida >> and you've been here ever since. >> Been here ever since. >> Wonderful. Um I didn't give you a professional title because my understanding is that you are a serial entrepreneur. Is that an accurate description? >> I'm a serial and serious entrepreneur. Yes. >> Okay, great. Let's talk a little bit about entrepreneurism and what it means to you currently. if we walked into your office, what could we expect to find? >> So, I've had three um phases of my professional life. In my 20s, I moved to China and I was a toy designer and manufacturer and I created a high-tech toy company that was selling mass merchants in the US. I won toy of the year in my category in 2003. Um, so [snorts] you would find models of toys that I created. uh from 2008 through uh 2022 I was building a private equity business uh predominantly in the single family housing space. We ultimately became a top 10 player in that space nationally and so you will find a lot of things related to housing um and and everything that goes in the house and you know everything around operating a housing rental platform. Uh and then for the last three years I've been working on Vita Cavana which is the family office of health and this is all about preventive health and wellness for ultra high families and so you'd find a lot of uh evidence-based research a lot of polling data from families we've been talking to um and a lot of exciting stuff that we're putting together as we're launching later this month. >> Okay, I want to go back to China for a minute. How does a guy who went to Harvard end up making toys in China? when I was uh younger and I was uh focusing on undergraduate studies, I went to FIU. I went to their hospitality management program because I was focused on this idea that I wanted to create magical experiences within the context of real estate. You know, Harvard was never part of the plan. I didn't do an [snorts] MBA there. I I did the masters in real estate finance program between Harvard and MIT. And so, I really don't consider myself a Harvard guy. Um I'm more of a of a street fighter, okay? >> Uh and and greedy entrepreneur. So yeah, I mean I think that I think that my formative years and ideas are really what um kind of turned me into this person that I am. >> But but toys, who gave you the idea to make toys? >> So toys came from this notion that when I was a young kid, I I um I kept a log of all these cool toy ideas that I didn't find in stores that I wish they I wish somebody created them. And so I was in Boston. I was talking to a guy from China whose family had one of the largest contract manufacturing businesses in China for big toy manufacturers and I was frustrated with this whole idea of going into real estate banking or not. And he said, "Well, you have all these cool toy ideas. Why don't you come to Hong Kong with me and my family will maybe help us get this thing off the ground." In my time in Boston, I had befriended some of the guys from the MIT Media Lab who are credited with innovating all these amazing things. And so I said to them, "Hey, I'm going to go to China. I'm going to do these things. remember all these toy ideas I was talking to you about? They said, "If you go and you figure out manufacturing, we can help you with technology development." So, I kind of brought the two groups together and you know, the rest is history. We made >> Can you share with us like your best toy? What one toy of the year? >> I had this idea that it would be magical if we could put on this pair of gloves and with body and finger motion technology, you could create any virtual musical instrument in the air. So imagine these these gloves with speakers built in and if you went like this it would play a guitar. It would play drums. It would play all kinds of instruments and it was based on Bluetooth technology and body movements and whatever. I presented this to all the mass merchants. I went to Toys R Us and Walmart and Target and they all said, "This is the dumbest idea ever. This is never going to sell. This is too expensive. Kind of interesting, but not going to work." So I'm on a flight back to China after having spent literally millions of dollars developing this thing. And I and this is all Hashem. And I'm sitting next to a guy um who was a master in the direct response space. Um Rey, I won't mention his last name just to protect his identity. And he says to me, Jordan, listen, what you have to do is you have to drive demand to the stores. So my suggestion is go build a direct response spot, buy time on Nickelodeon and all the channels that the kids and the and the parents of the kids watch and put an 800 number and when people call, say, "Go to the mass merchant near you and you'll find the toy." So, I went and produced an amazing spot, like award-winning director, 800 number. People started calling and we said, "Go to the retailer near you." Legally, we couldn't say it's it's at, you know, Walmart or Target or whatever, but we could say, "Go find it." So, people started coming to the stores and asking. The buyers called 60 days later said, "We need this product." >> Wow. >> And then we placed it and we named our price and we won toy of the year. So, it was it was a great great ending. >> Imagine if you hadn't taken that plane ride. >> Exactly. >> Where did you get the funding to develop this toy? So I started with this Chinese manufacturing partner. They were initially putting up the funding to create molds and prototypes and so on and so forth. And then I I raised a round of capital from people near and dear to me. It wasn't a lot. The business just we started cash flowing within the first 18 months of starting. So it was it was a good deal. >> So why didn't you just stay? You needed a new toy. Like why didn't you stay there? >> So I realized that I I realized that the common thread in all of the things that I've done was always about making people happy. So, I wanted toys because I I loved making people happy around toys. And I got into real estate and housing specifically because I wanted families to have a roof over their head. I'm into health because I want to help families thrive around health. That's my thing. But >> toys was never going to be it long term. It was like I had to scratch that itch and just move on. Plus, I didn't want to live in China. I wanted to start a Jewish family. I wanted to be in the US. And so, it wasn't my long term. >> I was asking that question. Were you married in China? >> No, I was single and uh you know, I was I was just working working 18 hours a day. >> Fascinating. How do you know in life when it's time to move to to pivot to something else? >> Either somebody tells you or Hashem tells you or both. I mean, um, it's as simple as that. I I I don't think that the rule is you got to constantly create things. I think that those that have created the most wealth and long lasting impact have been very diligent and consistent with one thing. I'm just not built that way. Um, call it ADD, call it, you know, I just like to experiment. I like creating things. I like being the founder visionary, going from zero to one. And then I want to bring people in to continue the dream. I I don't like doing things long term. I like constantly creating. >> So you're three years into this new H. What's Vita Cavana? That's >> Well, I'm three years into idea and creating. We haven't launched yet. So I'll probably stick with it for two years and then I'll bring in a CEO to run it. >> And then you'll keep involvement or you'll just sell it off. >> I always keep involvement. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't I don't I don't sell off >> besides with the toys. >> Besides with the toys. Correct. >> Talk to us a little bit about your Jewish journey. So did you go to a Jewish day school here in South Florida? >> Yeah. Yeah. I um so I grew up in a pretty typical Zionistic Latin American immigrant family home, which meant, you know, kosher home, Shabbat meals, very pro-Israel Zionist, you know, upbringing, um education and so forth. Um but not religious, meaning we'd go to Schula and high holidays, but other than that, we weren't religious. So when I moved back from China and in the time that I was starting up my first real estate venture um I had I had two failed engagements um and uh Rabbi Lipkar uh he rest in peace uh pulled me aside one day and said the answer is you got to become Sham Shabbat that's the answer and I said well said Rabbi I'm very logical and so for me we have to let's put there's 52 weeks in a year let's put 52 shabish prohibitions on paper for 52 two weeks and I'll incorporate one more every week and if if that works at the end of the year, you got me. >> And that's what I did. I I slowly started incorporating more and more. >> And so I came into a modern Orthodox lifestyle two years before I met my wife and she grew up uh you know with multiple generations of uh of the Orthodox tradition uh which I love and respect. my relationship with um you know with with the Jewish religion has always been not very dogmatic but a lot more ritualistic and and spiritual. Uh and so as a result um I I feel that I'm constantly evolving my relationship in and around how I practice Judaism. Um but I love it and my kids are modern Orthodox and yes I went to a Jewish school. Um, I didn't have the opportunity to study in yeshiva after high school, but uh, for sure my son will do it and I wish I had done it because I see how beautiful it is for kids that do it. >> Reflecting back on your 20 plus year career, >> almost 30, but let's say 20 just cuz I want to be younger. >> Or your, you know, your your your life since you were a high school student or maybe even before that. Was there a moment where life didn't follow the narrative and all of a sudden you found yourself, oh my gosh, what what's going to be and you had to somehow climb out of that situation and use some quote unquote Jewish grit to to pull through. >> When I started my my real estate private equity business, I had hired a fellow from New York to help me with finance and these kinds of things. After 6 months in the business, he took my CRM, my database of investors and partners and whatever and started competing with me. And it was very difficult. I ended up taking him to a bedin >> Jewish court >> and uh yeah the Jewish court. And in the end it was resolved but it was tremendously disruptive to what was just about to take off. And I have so many examples of you know I've thank God I've always been a pioneer in what I've done. Uh I've always been a little bit ahead of my time. And so I I created this notion of building new single family home communities um and renting them, but more specifically getting public builders to build for me. And so when I approached a lot of these public builders and started kind of bothering them with this idea, it took years for them to come around. And when they finally did, I had of course, you know, all the big institutional investors and and and operators competing with this idea. So I have so many examples of I was I was feeling like I was about to break through and then you know all these people come and compete or or try to disrupt your business. The way that I've um looked at these things always is of course I've spoken to trusted advisors and rabbis and good friends of mine I think I think Yiddish gives us something that many people don't have which is somehow we're made of stone whether [snorts] whether you know whether you know it or not you have it in you and we're so resilient. Number one. Number two, I think that it's always given me peace. Doesn't matter how religious you are. If you know that, you know, as I say, man, plan, God laughs. Hashem is there and Hashem is going to make happen what's supposed to happen. And so long as you're a correct person and you're doing things right, okay, the people that are trying to disrupt your business, Hashem will deal with them. But at the end of the day, I've always been taken care of. And I've always given 10x more than what I've taken. And that's just my philosophy in life. Whether people need a contact, a resource, money, I'm always helping. I have zero problem doing it. I don't count. I I really don't count. So, it's worked out for me. >> Has your success, your definition of success changed from when you were living in China to where you are today as a husband and a father? >> For sure. I mean, it goes from selfish to selfless as you age and as you have family. I think, you know, it was never about a number for [snorts] me. People in like finance and in real estate, they talk about numbers. When I have X, I'll be okay. When I have Y, everything I guess I never thought about it that way. For me, success is um as my father-in-law said to me very wisely, he said, "You can only have one breakfast a day." So, go chase whatever you want, but at the end of the day, just keep it real, right? You can still only have one breakfast. So, it's really not about the money to live and do what I want to do or what my kids want to do. It's about the impact. How many people can I impact with my activities every day or with my giving or with both? And if I can impact through, for example, the Vita Kaban, it's impacting people's lives through better health outcomes. That's what's important to me. That's the measuring stick of success. Can I impact my kids' lives for multiple generations with the right education, with the right role models, with the right So, it's all about impact. I I don't want to do anything else that only contributes to my bottom line. I don't need anything else. I'm fine. Um, it's about impact. >> How do you teach those values to your own children? >> I don't think you can teach them. I think grit is really what it comes down to. I think that we can sit here and give them all kinds of, you know, credos and ideas, but at the end of the day, they got to scrape their elbows a few times. They got to keep getting up and only when they do that will they learn that this is what it's about. Um, I don't believe in curating the perfect environment for them and the perfect education, the perfect whatever. It wasn't like that for me. My parents were Latin American immigrants figuring it out and I remember everything I would ask them. They said, "Figure it out. Figure it out. So, I figured it out. So, >> that's so different than the way people raise their children and cuddle them these days. >> It's very different. It's very different than how my kids are being raised. And on one hand, I'm blessed. I have an amazing wife who's does amazing work with our kids. On the other hand, it's a daily struggle for me because I see the value of figuring it out yourself. So, who ends up doing better, let's say, in life, uh, based on those two approaches, I don't know. I think it's a combination. And in my in my case, I consider uh my kids are very lucky. They have they have both schools of thought under one under [snorts] one roof. >> They get the the push and and the pull. What does the tomt say? The the the right the the right hand brings them in and the left hand pushes them out. More love, a little bit of direction. >> Interestingly enough, I'm left-handed. So there you go. >> Okay, perfect. I didn't even know that. When when you when you walk into the office, I'm sure you have many quality people who you surround yourself with. That's one everyone says that that's one of the most important things. How do you gauge if somebody is a quality person if you think they'll be a valuable member of your team? >> Great question. Um by the questions they ask me, not by my observations. So I have a rule, especially with a younger generation. If somebody comes in for an interview and within the first 15 minutes they talk about work life balance or something about them and what they need, they're out. Immediately out. Why? Because I know that I I earned the right to ask these questions. I earned the right, you know, to lift my head and ask for exemptions. Nowadays, somehow they believe it's a god-given right to first take care of everything they need and then they ask what the business needs. So, number one, it's by um statements or questions like that. Number two, I just I spend a lot of time with people before I hired them. I used to do the exact opposite. I used to be completely impulsive, no background, no nothing. If I felt that they were great, they were going to be great. And that never works. And so um I spend time with people. I learn a lot about them personally. I learn a lot about their relationships. You know, they say that if you understand how somebody's relationship is at home with a partner, with with with with a spouse, whatever it may be, it's a very good indication of how they're going to be in the workplace. Absolutely true. So I look for stability and I look for a lot of factors in their personal life. Um and then, you know, then we make it work. And I'm also very big on testing. Um, I find that people that will invest the time to uh to do research, to do tests, if I walk them through typical scenarios, um, those that have the grit, right, to be tested, uh, they will do very well because I'm constantly throwing curve balls because that's life. There's no, you know, one single path. >> What makes you most proud to be a Jew? >> When people recognize from my actions and contributions that I'm Jewish, that's what makes me the most proud. Uh because then I know I'm being the right brand ambassador for Judaism. >> And what part of the Jewish observance is your favorite part? >> Shabbat. Even though admittedly I'm not 100%. I will tell you that right before sundown on Friday to sundown on on on Saturday, it's it's like the best time of the week. It's the most peaceful. It's what I most look forward to. It's connection. It's family. You know, in the in the um in Silicon Valley, they talk about this digital detox and all these kinds of things. And I sit there and say, you know, but I have it, >> right? >> Just do it 100%. You have it already. It's yours. You don't have to like recreate anything. So, I love it. >> What brings you happiness? >> My kids. My kids bring me a tremendous amount of happiness. Those are my happiest moments. Um, good health outcomes bring me happiness. Um, I have a condition called obstructive hypertrophic cardiammyopathy, which is a a thickened left ventricular valve. It's a cardiac condition. I have a defibrillator. So I live with that condition. So anytime I improve health outcomes, I'm happy about that. Um I think I'm most happiest when I'm able to help people selflessly uh and I'm able to connect the dots for people and make their lives easier. So for example, the mission that stands behind your organization, helping young people connect the dots, helping them de-stress their life, think about things differently. I if I had unlimited hours in my day, I'd be doing that full-time. I would love to do that. Uh yeah I I I'm a natural giver and as a matter of fact philosophically for the members that I'm looking for the member families that I'm looking to bring in to Vita Cavana there's a lot of ultra hundredth people I only want givers not takers I want people that want to help others that want to help build that want to bring not not people that say I paid what's in it for me today you should everyone should should should get a good service for what they pay for but it's different when they have foundationally this idea that they're givers f first and foremost Magnificent. Um, you have a mic in front of you and the potential of reaching of reaching tens of thousands of students and young professionals who are literally starting their life off. Can you give them a piece of advice or two that will help them just push ahead, be a drop more successful based on your life and your career? >> Here's what I did myself when I was young and dreaming of what I was going to do. All different business ideas. I love reading autobiographies. Um, I love reading business books. So, every time I'd read a book about a CEO who was running a business, I remember reading Howard Schultz from Starbucks and whatever. >> Uh, I'd write them a letter. At that time, a letter and now it's an email. And I was very persistent. And I would say seven out of 10 times that I wrote these big CEOs letters or emails, I would get a response. >> Wow. >> Because I found a way to approach them, to appeal to them. You know, everybody wants to tell you their story and everybody wants to feel good about what they've done. So, I found that if you know how to approach people in the right way, they're going to talk to you. They're going to help you, but you got to be persistent. So, I have that um that grit, you know, that persistence uh has helped me tremendously and I've been able to connect with a lot of really important people uh who have given me 5, 10, 15 minutes. One guy even flew me out to New York to sit down with him because he said, you know, I was so persistent. >> That's amazing. >> Yeah. >> What else would you tell them Judeaically or spiritually is super important for their life? >> Well, from my own experience, uh I think it's important to question. Don't question so much, just do. Uh I wish at a younger age I would have just stuck with the program. I think when you're so um when you're so cranial about things and you're always thinking about it so much, it gets in the way of just doing and enjoying the journey. And so um I would just do and everything falls into place later. It listen. It's worked for thousands of years. When NASA wanted to create life on another planet, they looked at the Jewish people, right? There's a reason for that. They are smarter than I am. I should have just done what they did earlier in life. So it's taking me a little time, but I would say do it do it young. Jordan, thank you so much for your time. It was super interesting talking to you. Of >> course, >> and I wish you loads of successful success going forward, whatever your next idea is. >> Same here. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you for listening to Jewish Grit and Ol mentorship podcast. At Mentorship, we believe that everyone needs a mentor. What better way is there to tap into your personal and professional potential than with a Jewish mentor at your side? Learn more at olam.org/mentorship. Don't forget to keep listening on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.