How Family Offices Build Relationships and Assess Opportunities

At a live Beverly Hills Investor Club Summit panel, Family Office Club director John Milanovich moderates a discussion with family office and investment professionals.

Moderator John Milanovich leads a panel on how family offices approach structure, strategy, and communication. The discussion brings together people working with family offices, investors, and operating businesses. They describe what makes a first conversation useful, how relationships develop, and when specialist knowledge helps assess whether a business idea has commercial potential.

In this video: John Milanovich (Director with the Family Office Club), Outsourced multi-family office provider (Serves smaller to medium-size families before a liquidity event), Sustainable investment banker and model developer (Director of Colton Alexander and CEO and COO of Validation World), Steven (Works with Sunverse Ventures and fractionally for other family offices), Core Family Office co-founder (Co-founder of Core Family Office, Tax Family Office, and other family offices)

What they said

1. Core co-founder on honesty and transparency. The Core Family Office co-founder says not to pitch too hard. They want to see what someone has, what they care about, and the value they bring. (at 4:40)
2. Steven on building relationships over time. Steven says he has spoken with potential collaborators for years before finding a deal to work on. He recommends cultivating relationships even when no immediate opportunity is in view. (at 5:09)
3. The banker on subject matter expertise. The sustainable investment banker and model developer says their work requires speaking with people who understand changing, complex subject areas. That knowledge can reveal opportunities for synergies. (at 6:06)
4. The banker on commercial potential. The sustainable investment banker and model developer says they need to understand the full picture of a subject and whether it has commercial legs. (at 6:33)
5. A panelist on first conversations. A family office panelist says not to try to prove something in the first 5 minutes. If the conversation is enjoyable, an opportunity may come up in a later conversation. (at 7:01)

In their words

"we've actually built out nine portfolio companies, which have built out our ecosystem to service our clients."

"we want to co-invest with others and we want to be part of exciting projects."

Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth

Colton Alexander works with companies in sustainable energy, materials, and transportation, while Validation World develops models for investors in those fields. The panel gives a concrete example of how specialist work can connect a company's needs with an investor's evaluation.