Thread by @JoePompliano

Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, sold his business for $532 million, bought it back for $64 million, and turned it into a $42 billion empire.

The best part?

It's not his only billion dollar business.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇

1) Let's start in 1974 — Dan Gilbert, a 12yr old from Detroit, is looking for ways to satisfy his entrepreneurial itch.

First up — a pizza shop

Gilbert made pizza in his kitchen and had his little brother deliver them on a bike.

"It was great until the health department came.”

2) Ten years later, Dan Gilbert would launch his next business — Rock Financial.

While working in real estate, Gilbert realized the bigger opportunity was in originating mortgages.

The best part?

He started the business with $5,000 he saved while delivering pizza in college.

3) From 1985 until 1999, Dan Gilbert built Rock Financial into one of the largest independent mortgage lenders in the United States.

Shortly after going public in 1998, Intuit came calling — buying the business for $532 million.

4) Three years, and one rebranding later, Dan Gilbert was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.

Intuit, who had new management, decided to exit home lending and offered to sell Quicken Loans back to Gilbert.

The price?

$64M, or an 88% discount to their prior purchase.

5) After buying the business back for pennies on the dollar, Dan Gilbert put Quicken Loans into overdrive.

By creating a DTC application process, and centrally locating mortgage application experts, their business took off.

Annual Mortgage Originations
2002: $7B
———
2019: $145B

6) Earlier this year, now with over $5 billion in annual revenue, Dan Gilbert decided to take Quicken Loans public under its parent company "Rocket Companies."

The company is currently valued at $42 billion, up from his $64 million repurchase in 2002.

But that's not all…

7) In addition to his success in business, Dan Gilbert has also seen financial success in sports.

Gilbert purchased the Cleveland Cavaliers for $375M in 2005.

Today, after 6 division titles and 1 NBA championship, the franchise is valued at $1.51 billion — a 300% increase.

8) Despite already running multiple billion dollar companies, Dan Gilbert still couldn't shake his entrepreneurial itch.

After seeing his kids sell sneakers through an "inefficient" process on eBay, Gilbert cofounded StockX.

The sneaker resale platform is now valued at $1B.

9) In addition to the Cavaliers and StockX, Dan Gilbert has doubled down on his financial investments in the future of sports.

In 2017, Gilbert made a "multi-million dollar investment" in @Nadeshot's esports franchise @100Thieves.

With a $160M valuation, that bet is paying off.

10) With so much success in business and sports, Dan Gilbert is still looking to accomplish his most passionate goal.

Rebuilding his hometown of Detroit.

So far, Gilbert has invested almost $6B in 100+ buildings downtown, creating $18B in economic activity and 24,000 jobs.

11) After building multiple billion dollar business, winning championships, and rebuilding Detroit, what does Dan Gilbert attribute his success to?

"Culture"

Gilbert believes it is so important that he dedicates an entire day each month to training new hires on company culture.

12) Similar to other world class entrepreneurs, Dan Gilbert has it in his blood.

Whether it was the pizza shop in his mom's kitchen, or scaling a mortgage business from $5,000 to $42 billion, Gilbert has always been obsessed with "building."

Ultimately, winners win.

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