Episode
Daniil Kleyman: Why Experience Matters More Than Capital in Real Estate
- Podcast
- Burning The Ships
- Published
- Jan 25, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4400
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://rss.com/podcasts/608bcapital/2475460
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Summary
In this episode of Burning the Ships , I sit down with Daniil Kleyman—one of the most respected real estate developers and educators in the Richmond market and someone whose name has come up repeatedly on this podcast over the years. This was our very first conversation, and it did not disappoint. Daniil shares his powerful journey from growing up in the Soviet Union, standing in line for hours at government-run grocery stores, to immigrating to the U.S. at 12 years old and eventually building a multi–eight-figure real estate portfolio. We talk about adversity, immigration, resilience, getting fired from Wall Street, moving back into his parents’ spare bedroom at 28, and deliberately burning the ships to build something meaningful. This conversation goes far beyond real estate. It’s about discomfort, ethics in capital raising, why experience matters before scale, how development actually works, and the tension parents feel when trying to raise resilient kids in a comfortable life. If you’ve ever questioned your career path, struggled with playing it safe, or wondered whether hardship is a prerequisite for growth, this episode will hit home. Key Talking Points of the Episode 00:00 Why you can’t be afraid to fail—especially in real estate development 01:19 Introducing Daniil Kleyman and why his name kept coming up on the podcast 02:50 Daniil’s childhood in the Soviet Union and living through real scarcity 05:21 Standing in line for hours for bread and milk at government grocery store 11:02 Why his family immigrated to the U.S. as Jewish refugees 12:50 Watching his parents rebuild their careers from scratch in America 20:09 Fighting, adversity, and character formation in middle school 22:24 Academics, discipline, and immigrant expectations around education 23:47 Choosing…