Tari
Thomas

Discovering the game had been happening without her

After scaling a co-living business from nothing to 22 properties and 60 tenants, Tari stumbled on an invitation to a real estate conference. There she learned about syndications — groups of investors pooling capital to buy commercial assets and sharing in the returns. “I’ve been in real estate for 15 years,” she said, “and I didn’t know that you could own commercial spaces, build multifamily buildings, these commercial assets.” When she looked around the room and saw almost no women or people of color, something clicked: “There’s business professionals who came from the same spaces that I came from, and this is available for them, and they don’t even know that it’s possible.”

The year that nearly broke her

In the same year Tari was laid off, two men broke into her home, held her at gunpoint and locked her in a closet. “The concept of me not making it through — I just kept my mind in a space of, I’m going to make it through this,” she said. That year also took $50,000 on a failed deal in Costa Rica, two totaled cars and most of her savings. But it was the crisis that crystallized her faith. “You’re stripped of everything and you’re just like, you’re still keeping me. I’m still okay. And then you realize — it’s not about my titles, it’s what I bring to the table.”

Why women hold back:

Tari’s mother told her growing up that she had to work harder than the white man. “As a kid, that was like, am I missing something? Am I lacking something?” It wasn’t until college that she realized she was on the same level as everyone around her. She sees the same pattern in the women she works with now — powerful professionals who still hold back. “We just had an event of 55 beautiful, powerful women. And even when we’re powerful, it’s like, ‘I don’t want to brag too much.’ It’s a shame we carry.” The numbers bear her out: according to a CNBC survey, 59% of Black women in the U.S. aren’t invested in anything — compared to 34% of white women and 23% of white men. Her mission is simple: expose people to the space, educate them and bring opportunities that make sense.

Asking for help

After totaling two cars in a single year, Tari had to do the thing she’d spent her whole life avoiding: ask for help. She sent a message to her sorority and her network. Help came immediately. A friend told her something she’d never considered: “You’re robbing me of my gift of helping you.” It rewired how she thought about independence. “Shame holds us back so much. Rejection holds us back so much. When you get to a point where nothing stops you from operating in what you know you have the ability to achieve — that’s true freedom.”

What she knows now

Twenty-five-year-old Tari wanted to be a millionaire by 30. Today she’d tell that version of herself to slow down. “I was ambitious, but I was ambitious in the wrong ways. I was hungry for the wrong things. Now impact is so important to me. It’s not about the monetary — it’s about what you get to leave in this earth.” The guiding principle: You have to be the thing before you do the thing.

About Tari Thomas

Tari Thomas is the principal of Boundless Capital Group, a real estate investment firm focused on education, community and access to private investment opportunities. Through the Passive Investment Flight Club, she brings professionals together to learn about and invest in commercial real estate as a group — making sure the door stays open for the people who were never shown it existed.