Alicia Glen | MSquared's Founder and Managing Principal

Alicia Glen of MSquared explains how she structured capital stacks and self-funded a platform to scale past founder dependency.

Alicia Glen, Founder and Managing Principal of MSquared, returns to catch Nancy Lashine up on her progress building one of real estate's most ambitious affordable housing platforms. Since their conversation in 2024, MSquared has grown to 14 projects across nine states, backed by two funds and a fast-growing base of institutional investors.

That growth has taken MSquared into places most developers overlook, including red states like Indiana. Alicia explains why local leaders there are often more pragmatic about mixed income housing than national politics would suggest.

[14:28] "It doesn't even matter whether you're a Republican or Democrat. . . It’s really about trying to find that counterparty who wants to be part of the solution and then making sure that actually the math works."

She also walks through how her firm makes mixed income housing viable, from tax exemptions in Dallas to GSE products built for mixed income deals.

Alicia is candid about the fundraising gap she faced as a woman starting her own platform, even with three decades of experience spanning Goldman Sachs and City Hall:

[56:08] "I really thought, naively, with my resume and my background, even during COVID, I would be able to raise a ton of money really quickly. . . . If I were a boy, it would have been completely different. And I will stick by that till the end of my days."

Alicia also weighs in on Mayor Mamdani's housing plan and why she's bullish on New York and Los Angeles despite the headlines. She closes with what it will take for MSquared to outlast her.

Links

Alicia Glen | Real Estate Capital (2024)

Alicia Glen | LinkedIn

MSquared | Website