ENTREPRENEURS

ENTREPRENEURS

story by BEN SWANGER

after head coaching stints with the dallas mavericks, New Jersey Nets, and Alabama Crimson Tide came to an end in 2019, Avery Johnson asked himself, “What team do I coach next?” Several programs reached out to gauge his interest, but Johnson tapped into a childhood aspiration and found a different kind of team to lead

Raised in New Orleans by his father, a self-employed carpenter, and his stay-at-home mother, Johnson admired his father’s freedom as a business leader. He realized that he, too, “wanted to be a CEO—the one who decided a company’s success.”

Today, he is chief executive of Avery Capital, a private equity firm that focuses on commercial real estate—primarily, assets with longterm leases to the General Services Administration. Since Johnson and COO John Bailey co-founded the firmin late 2020, the five-personteam has raised more than $30 million and acquired two properties in South Texas and Florida with big plans to “buy $300 million worth of assets, with leverage, over the next 18 months.” Their portfolio differsfrom those held by other North Texas real estate savants, where sometimes both the risks and rewards are high. Focusing on properties with government leases in place is all about stability, Johnson says. “When we saw General Motors stop building cars and start manufacturing masks for COVID, we wanted to make sure we were anchored by a tenant that had a long history of paying their rent,” he says. “The GSA pays under any economic environment.” Maintaining revenue streams is the name of the game, especially in a cyclical industry such as real estate. “Our entire team and investors liked the idea of having a strategy that was an alternative bond—an alternative fixed-incomestrategy giving investors a couple hundred points’ spread on that same capital with the same credit,” Johnson says. The assets aren’t flashyor architectural masterpieces, but “our buildings are sexy to us because of their cash flow,” Johnson says. The coach-turned-CEO says he aims to have an impact beyond the bounds of business—or sports. “I want my journey to inspire minority students who can’t throw a football, dribble a basketball, or sing a rap song,” Johnson TEAMMATES Bailey, left, and says. “If you can, great. But if you can’t, Johnson launched your brainpower will help you succeed in their real estate PE firm in 2 20. other sectors of life.”