FortuneBuilders
FortuneBuilders is a founder-owned real estate investing education company that teaches individual investors and SMBs proven systems for wholesaling, rehabbing, and rental investing, anchored by a multi-year Mastery coaching program and a free webinar-driven customer acquisition funnel.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What FortuneBuilders does
FortuneBuilders is a privately held, founder-owned real estate investing education company headquartered in San Diego, California, founded in 2006 by Than Merrill, Paul Esajian, and Konrad Sopielnikow. The company teaches individual and SMB consumers how to invest in real estate through a bundled education and coaching architecture centered on its flagship Mastery Coaching Program — a multi-year advanced offering with 14 training classes, group and one-on-one coaching, online curriculum, and recommended software tools. Supporting products include a free 1-hour online webinar (the primary lead generation channel), self-paced and instructor-led courses in niches such as tax liens, wholesaling, and rehabs, published books authored by the founders, a weekly podcast, in-person seminars, and a curated set of investor tools (LeadPro, PropStream, DealMachine, Realeflow, and others).
The business model is freemium-to-subscription: a free webinar serves as the top-of-funnel acquisition asset, with conversion into the recurring Mastery coaching program, supplemented by one-time course, book, and affiliate revenue. The founders maintain active investing operations through wholly-owned subsidiaries CT Homes, LLC (residential redevelopment) and Equity Street Capital (commercial real estate), and hold wholly-owned software subsidiaries including Realeflow, LeadPro, and PropStream. The founders collectively report involvement in over $1 billion of residential and commercial real estate transactions, which underpins the company's practitioner-led positioning. The GTM motion is event- and webinar-driven, leveraging the founders' media presence (notably Than Merrill's appearances on A&E's "Flip This House") to build brand authority and drive low-cost organic leads into the coaching funnel. Customer concentration is low, with a long-tail base of individual investors and SMB learners, and the company reports strong review metrics (4.9 on Google with 428 reviews, 4.9 on Facebook with 1,546 reviews, 9.8 on Trustpilot with 860 reviews).
FortuneBuilders firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FortuneBuilders
- Legal name
- FortuneBuilders, Inc.
- Website
- https://fortunebuilders.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- FortuneBuilders is a founder-owned real estate investing education company that teaches individual investors and SMBs proven systems for wholesaling, rehabbing, and rental investing, anchored by a multi-year Mastery coaching program and a free webinar-driven customer acquisition funnel.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FortuneBuilders industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Real Estate Investing Education
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)
Keywords
Where FortuneBuilders is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
FortuneBuilders business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Coaching Programs (Mastery Program): Primary revenue stream from paid coaching programs including the Mastery coaching program and Inner Circle. These are multi-year advanced training programs with group and one-on-one coaching, 14 different advanced multi-day training classes, and extensive online curriculum.
- Online Courses (Tax Lien & Deed Training): Specialized online courses on niche real estate investing topics such as tax liens and tax deeds.
- Books & E-Books: Sale of real estate investing books authored by founders, including 'The Real Estate Wholesaling Bible', 'The Real Estate Rehab Investing Bible', and 'The High Schooler's Guide To Money'.
- Recommended Tools & Software: Referral fees from recommending investor tools such as LeadPro, PropStream, DealMachine, and others through affiliate partnerships.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | One time | Free Online Real Estate Class |
| Subscription | Annual | Mastery Coaching Program |
| Subscription | Annual | Tax Lien & Deed Online Training |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
FortuneBuilders product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FortuneBuilders is a real estate investing education company that sells a flagship Mastery Coaching Program alongside free introductory webinars, self-paced online courses, live group coaching, books, and in-person training events. Its curriculum teaches individual investors how to find discounted properties, analyze deals, wholesale, rehab, manage rentals, and use creative financing strategies, grounded in the founders' own $1B+ real estate investment experience.
Product overview
FortuneBuilders is a real estate investing education company offering a bundled coaching and courses product architecture centered on its flagship Mastery Coaching Program. The core offering includes a Mastery coaching program (delivering 14 multi-day advanced training classes, a multi-year online curriculum, systems, tools, software, and group/one-on-one coaching), supported by a free introductory online investing webinar, live group coaching sessions, self-paced online courses (covering tax liens, wholesaling, rehabs), published books, a weekly podcast (FortuneBuilders Real Estate Investing Show), curated investor tools, and in-person training events. The Mastery program is the primary paid offering, while the free webinar, blog, and podcast serve as entry-point and retention content.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FortuneBuilders Mastery Program: Flagship coaching program with advanced multi-day training classes, extensive multi-year online curriculum, systems, tools, software, and group/one-on-one coaching
- FortuneBuilders Real Estate Investing Show
- LeadPro
- PropStream
- FortuneBuilders Gives
- Equal Footing Foundation
Products and services
- Mastery Coaching Program FortuneBuilders' flagship paid coaching program for real estate investors, offering 14 different multi-day advanced training classes, a multi-year online curriculum, proprietary systems, tools, software access, and both group and one-on-one coaching from active investor coaches.
- Free Online Investing Webinar A free 1-hour online training class taught by Than Merrill covering time-tested strategies to find and acquire discounted properties, including a free Real Estate Deal Analysis Checklist bonus for attendees. Used as the primary lead generation tool for the Mastery program.
- Real Estate Investing Online Courses Self-paced and instructor-led online courses covering specific real estate investing niches such as tax lien and tax deed investing, wholesaling, and rehabs, available for individual enrollment through the courses page.
- Books & E-Books Published books and e-books authored by the FortuneBuilders founders covering real estate investing topics including 'The Real Estate Wholesaling Bible', 'The Real Estate Rehab Investing Bible', and 'The High Schooler's Guide To Money', sold via Amazon and other retailers.
- Real Estate Investing Events & Seminars Multi-day in-person and virtual seminars and training events (including the Real Estate Ignite conference) covering real estate investing strategies, systems, and live coaching.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $1 billion in real estate investments by founders and principals
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use FortuneBuilders
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
FortuneBuilders technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
FortuneBuilders partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- CT HomescoreCT Homes is a residential real estate development company co-founded by Than Merrill in 2004. Specializes in acquiring, developing, and re-selling distressed real estate. Has acquired over 1,000+ properties since inception and currently manages 25-40 ongoing projects. Key operating entity for the founders' active real estate investing activities.
- Equity Street CapitalcoreCommercial real estate investment company focused on income-producing properties including apartment communities, retail properties, and office buildings throughout the United States. Has acquired over $300 million in commercial real estate in the last two years. Focused on achieving attractive risk-adjusted returns and long-term capital appreciation.
- Realty NationalcoreRealty company affiliated with FortuneBuilders founders, part of the integrated real estate investment ecosystem.
- LeadProminorReal estate data and lead generation marketing tool recommended to FortuneBuilders students. State-of-the-art CRM and marketing platform designed by real estate investors for real estate investors.
- PropStreamminorReal estate data platform recommended to students. Offers multifaceted solution combining data consolidation, lead generation, and detailed property information for real estate professionals.
- DealMachineminorReal estate data and marketing tool recommended to students. Comprehensive solution for flippers and wholesalers featuring CRM management, targeted lead generation, and off-market property data.
- National Real Estate Insurance Group (NREIG)minorInsurance solution for real estate investors offering coverage for various property types with flexible policy management and customizable options from trusted carriers.
- QuickBooksminorBusiness bookkeeping tool recommended for managing real estate investment finances. FortuneBuilders has used Intuit QuickBooks for over 18 years for tracking expenses, managing budgets, and generating financial reports.
- DropboxminorBusiness file organization tool recommended for real estate investing. Used for keeping documents, property analysis, and project plans organized for business operations.
- RealeflowminorReal estate investing software recommended to students as part of the FortuneBuilders ecosystem of tools.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
FortuneBuilders competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BiggerPockets: Largest U.S. online community and education platform for real estate investors, offering forums, podcasts, books, and paid tools/pro membership. Directly overlaps with FortuneBuilders' content, community, and education offerings for the same SMB/individual investor segment.
- Dean Graziosi: Personal-brand-driven real estate investing educator and coach (often paired with Tony Robbins). Operates a high-ticket webinar-to-coaching funnel very similar to FortuneBuilders' Mastery program, targeting aspiring and active real estate investors.
- Grant Cardone: Real estate and wealth-building educator running the Cardone Capital ecosystem and 10X Growth coaching programs. Competes head-to-head for the same retail-investor coaching dollars and uses a comparable webinar/online-event GTM motion.
Emerging players
- Roofstock Academy: Education arm of Roofstock, a leading single-family rental investment marketplace. Targets new and passive investors with courses on rental investing, overlapping with FortuneBuilders' rental-property and passive-income curriculum but anchored to a transaction platform.
- Mashvisor: Real estate data and analytics SaaS serving individual and small-firm investors. Comparable in the software/recommended-tools layer that FortuneBuilders monetizes via affiliate partnerships, and increasingly competes for the same investor-education wallet.
- Real Estate Investing Secrets (Jamil Damji): Wholesaling-focused real estate educator and coach running high-ticket events and online programs. Competes for the same aspiring wholesaler/rehabber audience that FortuneBuilders targets with its Mastery curriculum.
- RealWealth: Real estate investment education and passive-investing platform focused on turnkey rentals and syndications. Overlaps with FortuneBuilders' 'passive income' and rental-property training tracks for wealth-building-focused individuals.
Broad incumbents
- The Rich Dad Company: Robert Kiyosaki's personal-finance and real estate education brand offering books, seminars, and coaching. Operates as a much broader wealth-education platform but is frequently cited by FortuneBuilders' founders as a peer and addresses overlapping investor personas.
Others
- BAM (Bestselling Author Mentoring) / Prosperity of Life: High-ticket personal-development and business-mentoring company that uses the same webinar-to-coaching funnel as FortuneBuilders. Not a direct real estate peer, but a structural peer in the event-driven, high-ticket education/coaching category.
Regional players
- National REIA (National Real Estate Investors Association): Federation of local real estate investor associations providing education, networking, and events nationwide. Competes for grassroots investor mindshare and education dollars, particularly at the entry-level where FortuneBuilders' free webinar also operates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
FortuneBuilders social profiles
Digital presenceFortuneBuilders financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FortuneBuilders leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
FortuneBuilders subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
FortuneBuilders funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FortuneBuilders M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FortuneBuilders
What does FortuneBuilders do?
FortuneBuilders is a real estate investing education company that sells a flagship Mastery Coaching Program alongside free introductory webinars, self-paced online courses, live group coaching, books, and in-person training events. Its curriculum teaches individual investors how to find discounted properties, analyze deals, wholesale, rehab, manage rentals, and use creative financing strategies, grounded in the founders' own $1B+ real estate investment experience.
Is FortuneBuilders a public or private company?
FortuneBuilders is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was FortuneBuilders founded?
FortuneBuilders was founded in 2006. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is FortuneBuilders based?
FortuneBuilders is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does FortuneBuilders make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Coaching Programs (Mastery Program) is the primary driver. The others are online Courses (Tax Lien & Deed Training), books & E-Books and recommended Tools & Software.
Who are FortuneBuilders's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BiggerPockets, Dean Graziosi and Grant Cardone. Emerging players are Roofstock Academy, Mashvisor, Real Estate Investing Secrets (Jamil Damji) and RealWealth. The Rich Dad Company is listed as a broad incumbent. BAM (Bestselling Author Mentoring) / Prosperity of Life is listed as an others. National REIA (National Real Estate Investors Association) is listed as a regional player.
Does FortuneBuilders have an API?
No public API is recorded for FortuneBuilders.
What industry is FortuneBuilders in?
FortuneBuilders's product category is Real Estate Investing Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAHAA, Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics. Its SIC code is 6282.