Building a Hotel Procurement & Design Firm Through Booms, Busts, and Global Expansion

In this episode of Beyond the Startup, Larry Carver, founder and president of Carver & Associates, shares how he entered the real estate and design field simply by needing a job after college and the Army. He’s worked with and learned from some of the industry's heavy hitters, including Jack DeBoer, John Portman, and mentor Lowell Goldman, who taught him hotel FF&E procurement. Larry opened his firm in 1983 with $500 and a rented desk, landing major hotel projects and building the business on relationships. He recounts major downturns, including the late-1980s tax changes and savings-and-loan fallout, 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and COVID, describing staff reductions, perseverance, and recovery through projects in Taiwan, Korea, Las Vegas, and the Middle East. He discusses risk-taking, hiring experts for finance and design, and advises entrepreneurs to find work they genuinely like.

00:00 Hard Times Happen

00:30 Meet Larry Carver

01:08 First Break in Real Estate

04:07 Atlanta and Colony Square

05:52 Luck Meets Preparation

07:54 Portman and a Mentor

12:27 Starting Carver and Associates

16:32 Bootstrapping with Tech

18:08 Relationships Drive Business

22:16 Surviving the S&L Crash

26:06 Cutting Back to Survive

26:37 Adversity Builds Strength

27:13 Asia Expansion Wins

29:16 Culture And Logistics

31:51 Turnkey Business Pivot

33:45 Risk Taking Mindset

36:43 Know When To Quit

37:58 Money Skills And Delegation

42:50 Crises And Middle East

46:07 Covid Shock And Rebound

47:52 Entrepreneur Reflections

51:04 Advice For New Founders

52:47 Closing Thanks