Where this was said
Josh Weissenstein, $20M camp ground business
At 33:05 · chapter starts 20:31
Shaan asks why anyone would choose campgrounds over other real estate categories, and Josh rattles off the structural advantages: strong cash yields, very attractive depreciation on roads and infrastructure (similar to manufactured housing), limited land/building value making them tax-efficient, and operational complexity that keeps unsophisticated buyers away. [1] — Josh Weissenstein "A, you can't outsource culture. So that was going to be really important for our success." 28:44 He explains that two major manufactured-housing REITs have significant campground exposure, which gave the team early validation for the asset class. The biggest culture decision came early: after initially planning to outsource property management, Cody moved in on-site for a full year learning every detail, leading to the conclusion that culture cannot be outsourced and no competent third-party operators existed who could scale with them. The resulting in-house operating company is now 350 people strong. Josh closes with memorable anecdotes — a nine-bank robber quietly employed at one site, and team members selling fallen trees for cash on Facebook — that illustrate the colorful realities of managing dispersed hourly workforces.
Josh Weissenstein and his partner Cody have acquired 16 family campgrounds across 10 states, generating $20M in annual revenue on $60M raised — with a portfolio worth over $100M. They specifically target mom-and-pop operators approaching retirement who care deeply about who takes over their community.
Team Outsider owns 16 family campgrounds across 10 states with ~4,000 sites, generating $20M in annual revenue after raising $60M.
Team Outsider's first acquisition near Grand Teton generated ~$500K top line revenue with a 35% NOI margin (~$150K), bought for $3M using an SBA loan covering 80%+ of the cost.
Team Outsider's first buy was a campground near Grand Teton generating $500K revenue and $150K NOI, purchased for $3M with an SBA loan covering 80%+ of the cost. They doubled the NOI to ~$300K, refinanced to pull all their cash out, and used that capital to buy the next one.
Team Outsider's 16-campground portfolio is now worth over $100M, having been built on $60M of raised capital.
Campgrounds offer strong cash yields, very attractive depreciation characteristics similar to manufactured housing (roads and infrastructure are depreciable), and limited land/building value — making them tax-efficient. The operational complexity that scares most investors is actually the moat: it creates value-add opportunities that simpler real estate doesn't.
Josh's partner Cody lived on-site at their first campground for a full year scrubbing toilets and learning every detail of the operation. The lesson: you can't outsource culture, and at the time there were no competent third-party operators who could scale with them. So they built the entire management company in-house.
