Meet Steve Schmitz

Steve is an inspiring speaker and a successful businessman who had the vision to see a unique opportunity in a financial crisis, and acted on it. He shares his own story of business success, failures and lessons learned. He is engaging and passionate in every keynote he delivers. He challenges groups to think differently about the importance of building a strong corporate culture, and he inspires leaders to bring their vision and passion to every team member they serve.

In his book, Whatever It Takes (published in 2017), Steve tells his own business story of starting American Residential Properties, Inc. with an idea he thought up on his back patio in 2008. Although the housing market was in a crisis at that time, Steve and his team did the impossible. They raised over $600 million of equity and $800 million of debt through various entities. This led to the purchase and management of over 9,000 single-family homes in 12 states. He served as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder of American Residential Properties, Inc. (NYSE: ARPI) and its predecessor and affiliates from 2008 to 2016. He sold it in 2016 to American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH), which is one of the largest publicly traded single-family rental REITs.

Whatever it takes has been his own mantra for years, and he encouraged his team members at American Residential Properties, Inc. to embrace it and live it. Steve believes this is what made ARPI different and the real reason why people were excited to come to work every day. Today, Steve is inspiring business leaders, entrepreneurs and team members throughout a variety of industries to adopt this, “Whatever it takes” mindset to reignite their purpose and unleash their best.

Steve is currently the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of America’s Specialty Finance Company, a private boutique specialty real estate lender. Prior to American Residential Properties, he was Chief Investment Officer of Franchise Finance Corporation of America (FFCA) a public REIT formed to provide capital to the chain restaurant industry. After being acquired by GE Capital in 2001, Steve stayed on for four years as the Executive Vice President for GE Capital.

His success formula is simple: vision + belief + passion + courage + culture = personal success. With the right understanding and application of these principles, Steve believes anyone can achieve the life they’ve been dreaming of.