Access to capital, powerful networks and seasoned mentors often determine who gets to build and who gets sidelined.

In the Season 3 finale of Create the Village, Integral’s Daryl Jones sits down with Brandon Rule, founder of Rule Enterprises, for a candid look at what it really takes to transform an opportunity into a viable deal.

Brandon shares his journey from quitting his banking job at 23 to launching his own firm, a path marked by lean years, hard lessons and generous mentors. Together they dissect the difference between an aspiring, emerging and established developer, talk through the hidden costs of partnerships and guarantor requirements, and explore why technical assistance is just as important as financing. Along the way, Brandon reveals his audacious goal to own a professional sports team, not for the glamour, but to reinvest in the surrounding community and build generational wealth.

What you’ll hear

• Why representation is still so low in real‑estate development and how structural barriers like capital access and networks contribute to a talent drain.

• The importance of mentorship in discerning a viable deal from an enticing but risky “opportunity.”

• A framework for understanding the three stages of a developer’s journey and the kind of support each one needs.

• How guarantor requirements, fee splits and partnership structures can either empower or exploit emerging developers.

• A vision for building generational wealth by investing in communities, including Brandon’s dream of becoming a billionaire and owning a sports team.

About our guest

Brandon Rule is the founder and CEO of Rule Enterprises, a full‑service real‑estate asset and investment management firm that develops mixed‑income, mixed‑use communities. An entrepreneur, speaker and philanthropist, he left his banking job at 23 to pursue community development and uses commercial real estate as a tool to transform urban neighborhoods.

SUBSCRIBE: Create the Village is a podcast with bold conversations about innovation, leadership, and community development in real estate. Visit our official website to listen: https://integral-online.com/create-the-village-podcast/ and subscribe with your favorite podcast app.

America is aging, and fast. In just a few years, millions will enter their 80s, many without the resources or support systems to age with dignity. Yet affordable assisted living remains misunderstood, underfunded, and dangerously overlooked.

In this episode of Create the Village, Daryl Jones (President, Real Estate Acquisitions) sits down with Julie Simpkins, co-CEO of Gardant Management Solutions, one of the largest assisted living providers in the country. Together, they explore why assisted living has been treated as an afterthought in public policy, and why that must change.

• Why the lack of affordable assisted living is a national crisis
• The “missing middle” and the hidden costs of isolation
• How smarter Medicaid policy could save billions, and lives
• The workforce crisis reshaping senior care post-COVID
• What it means to design communities where seniors can truly age in place

About Our Guest:

Julie Simpkins is the co-CEO of Gardant Management Solutions, where she has spent more than three decades advancing senior housing across the country. She is a national leader in affordable assisted living, a frequent voice in policy conversations, and a passionate advocate for dignity, community, and purpose in aging.

Essential workers are the backbone of our communities, yet too many are being priced out of safe, attainable housing near where they work.

Rents have climbed faster than wages for years, creating an unsustainable gap that leaves millions of teachers, nurses, first responders, and other essential workers stuck in the “missing middle.” They earn too much to qualify for subsidies yet not enough to afford market-rate housing. In this episode of Create the Village, guest host Eric Pinckney sits down with Sameer Bhargava to explore how innovative financing can help bridge this divide, strengthen communities, and ensure the people who sustain our cities can continue to call them home.

What you’ll hear:

• Why rents are rising faster than wages and what that means for working families

• How the “missing middle” is reshaping conversations about housing policy

• The role of innovative finance in creating attainable housing solutions

• Why attainable housing is critical to attracting and retaining essential workers

About the Guest Sameer Bhargava is an accomplished executive with deep experience in real estate, capital markets, and corporate strategy. He has held senior leadership roles guiding innovation, risk management, and development enterprises, and previously worked in investment and advisory roles at The Carlyle Group, Bain Capital, Advent International, and McKinsey & Company. Sameer holds a bachelor’s degree in biology with honors from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He serves on the board of StubHub, is chair of the board of The Potomac School, and is a member of the Dean’s Leadership Council at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.

SUBSCRIBE: Create the Village is a podcast with bold conversations about innovation, leadership, and community development in real estate. Visit our official website to listen: https://integral-online.com/create-the-village-podcast/ and subscribe with your favorite podcast app.