Faith-Driven Leaders With Robert Szewczyk
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On this episode of the On The Rise Podcast, I sit down with Robert Szewczyk, co-founder and designated broker of Rise 48 Equity, for our Faith Driven Leaders series. Robert shares his journey from growing up in communist Poland, where scarcity bred a lifelong hustle, to earning architecture degrees and building a billion-dollar multifamily portfolio. He explains how he met his partners, why the team vertically integrated, and how faith shapes the way he leads investors, employees, and residents. We go deep on housing as service, the lessons only hard markets teach, and staying honest when it's hardest. It's a candid, faith-centered look at building with integrity.
Summary
1. Complementary skills built a vertically integrated company.
Robert, Zach, and their third partner each brought distinct strengths: financials, business operations, and construction/architecture. Robert's architecture and GC background led him to head construction and become designated broker, letting Rise 48 control every aspect of operations in-house.
2. The first deal was a bootstrapped reality check.
After meeting Zach at a 2018 Dallas conference, months of searching and underwriting led to their first 36-door deal. Robert told me about the moment their LOI was accepted, asking himself "what do we do now?", as the point the vision became real work.
3. Scarcity in communist Poland forged an entrepreneurial mind.
Growing up with rationing and money that "had no value," Robert learned to trade his way up, from two rolls of toilet paper to a bike or TV. That constant hustle became the foundation for how he approaches opportunity today.
4. A single book reframed what was possible.
Reading Rich Dad Poor Dad in the early 2000s was, in Robert's words, a "mind-shifting experience." As an immigrant unfamiliar with terms like equity and passive income, he studied relentlessly, got his license, and began building a portfolio with his wife.
5. Providing housing is service, not just profit.
Robert reframed real estate for me: owning one home for yourself is, in a sense, selfish, while providing quality housing to others creates real value. Rise 48 buys mismanaged value-add properties and renovates them to make residents' lives safer and better.
6. You learn far more in hard seasons than good ones.
Robert was blunt that good times teach little, the real lessons come from adversity. Having weathered the 2008–2009 distressed Phoenix market, he treats today's high-rate defensive posture as a chance to build strength and get organized for the next cycle.
7. Guard against pride, lying, and laziness.
Robert's core leadership discipline is refusing to skew numbers or hide the full picture, even when the truth is hard to deliver. He cited Schopenhauer's three stages of truth and described walking the same investor through reality again and again until it's understood.
8. Faith has to be the same inside and outside the church.
Robert argues kids see through inconsistency instantly; the real test is behaving the same in the house of God and at home. He frames burdens as a cross to carry, illustrated by the "little James" scene from The Chosen, and credits asking for help (Matthew 7:7) for his journey.
Resources
Website: Rise48equity.com/invest
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-szewczyk-89034936/
