Ron Klabunde, founder of Smart REI, spent 18 years as a pastor, got fired at the height of a national speaking career he describes as the moment humility finally arrived, built a nonprofit that mobilized 76,000 volunteers across 29 states and fed 170,000 children, watched COVID wipe out 78 percent of the revenue in three weeks, stepped off salary to protect his 32-person team, and eventually found an entirely new vehicle for the same mission: helping real estate investors build a life worth protecting before they commit capital to a deal.
✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:
Leading a high school Bible study at 15 and going directly into ministry after college
The arrogance that came with a national speaking platform at 25 and the church firing that stripped it all away
Why he structured the Replenish Foundation as non-faith-based to unlock corporate funding
The first event: 600 people, 40,000 meals, under two hours — and the 16,000 meals the school principal called to say nobody would eat
76,000 volunteers, 650 business partners including Microsoft and Volkswagen, 29 states — then COVID in three weeks
Coming off salary to save 32 jobs and the leadership principle behind that decision
The investor happy hour where he discovered his empty pond in real estate lending
The four numbers every investor must know: holding costs, rent-to-mortgage ratio, total wealth ROI, and cash flow
Why every spreadsheet is broken and why the Smart REI platform uses 23 interconnected calculators instead
The dream determines the deal — and the numbers protect the dream
🌟 Ron’s Key Mentors:
His Nonprofit Investor (Turned Connector): The woman who had funded Generosity Feeds and knew Ron’s character well enough to invite him into lending when he needed a new vehicle for his mission
JP (Real Estate Investor, 22,000 Units): The mentor who modeled how to use real estate wealth to genuinely serve tenants — free telehealth, tutoring, and financial coaching for every door at $15 a month
The COO of Replenish Foundation: The leader who held the organization together through COVID and carried the mission forward while Ron stepped aside
His Faith and Scripture: The anchor through every reinvention — from the church firing to COVID to the new chapter in lending
👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it looks like to lose everything you’ve built and find the mission still intact, why 78 percent of your revenue disappearing in three weeks can still be the beginning of something, and a philosophy about money and real estate that has nothing to do with wealth and everything to do with the dream behind it.
