SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Alexander Cartwright, PhD
Alexander Cartwright is Managing Partner at Vilicus Capital where he is responsible for managing the firms' strategy, market analysis, and underwriting.
Alex is also Associate Professor of Economics & Chair of the Management Department at Ferris State University where he teaches classes on Managerial Economics, Economic Growth, and International Business. He has published many peer reviewed papers in leading economics journals, law journals and national newspapers. He is also an affiliated scholar with multiple think-tanks and has served as an Economic advisor to congressional candidates in Peru
Suggested Discussion Topics
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Economic way of thinking in your business.
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Almost any topic related to macroeconomics, growth, interest rates, etc.
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Personal finance and real estate investing – getting started.
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Converting hotels to multifamily buildings.
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Multifamily syndication – what is it, what to look for in an operator, etc.
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How classic books make us better entrepreneurs.
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How to underwrite (analyze and make projections) on multifamily properties – workshop.
Alex is also willing to speak on (or participate on a panel discussion negotiating, underwriting, debt, panel discussion.
Prewritten Talks
Talk 1 (75-90 minutes)
How to use the Economic Way of Thinking to make sense of the 2023
Problem: TV news, magazines and blogs make economic predictions daily. Most of the predictions and analysis are elementary, misinformed, or full of hyperbole. In a world of housing shortages, record breaking government debt, high inflation, and high interest rates, multifamily investors need to understand the macroeconomy more than ever before to be successful.
Unfortunately, most Economists are boring math wizards often obsessed with abstract and complex mathematical models and lacking any significant entrepreneurial experience.
Professor Alexander Cartwright is known for making Economics his students’ favorite class. Students describe his classes like a “new TEDTalk everyday” – his down-to-earth, storytelling approach to teaching Economics makes a complex subject relatable. Professor Cartwright will teach you 5 core elements of “The Economic Way of Thinking” – a tool kit with endless applications – and teach you how to apply those tools to better understand the United States macroeconomy in 2023. Learn how to cut through the noise and confidently analyze economic news so that you can make informed investing decisions.
In this lecture you will learn:​
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When do you need data to understand the economy and what we can predict with economic logic alone.
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How to evaluate expert “predictions” – and how to make your own, quality, hypotheses about the economic health of a given city, state, or entire economy.
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What are the uncommon economic measurements that Professor Cartwright uses to understand economic activity and make investment decisions.
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What factors influence the Federal reserve’s decision to manipulate the money supply and interest rates & how will interest rates changes moving forward.
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What you should be reading to improve your ability to apply the “Economic Way of Thinking.”
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How rigorously applying the Economic Way of Thinking led Professor Cartwright to invest in multifamily.
Talk 2 (60 minutes)
Economic Facts and Falsehoods: How to Use “The Economic Way of Thinking” to be a More Curious, Productive, and Empathetic Multifamily Real-Estate Entrepreneur.
Economics often appears abstract and mathematical. Professor Cartwright believes we can use Economics to do more than just understand the macroeconomy – we can use it to improve our personal lives. Professor Cartwright will teach you how the “Economic Way of Thinking” functions like a pair of glasses that can make things previously uninteresting and fuzzy come into focus – even things in our personal lives.
In this lecture you will learn:
How to be more productive by understanding:
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Why being the ‘best’ at something is irrelevant and why you probably should not do what you are the ‘best’ at doing.
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Why the results of our decisions are sometimes distractions.
How to be more curious by understanding:
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What ancient philosophy and classic literature teach us about entrepreneurship.
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Why, according to Dr. Cartwright, becoming an expert in one thing is overrated.
How to be more empathetic (and therefore better able to convince investors, banks, sellers and tenants to do business with you) by understanding:
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Why economists say that there is no such thing as a ‘solution’.
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Why you need to set spending minimums in your budget (not just spending limits).
Contact
Please reach out via our contact form to inquire about speaking engagements. You can also email AlexCartwright@vilicus.capital.