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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowRevenue growth FY 2022 to 2024: 83.25%
2024 revenue: $27.59 million
Fast 25 again: The BAM Cos., which owns and manages multifamily properties, is on the Fast 25 for the fourth time. Founder and CEO Ivan Barratt said BAM now owns 9,000 apartments in Indiana and various midwestern locations, and it’s about to open its fifth fund to let people invest in building the company’s portfolio. “We’ve just continued to do the same thing and try to do it really well, and that momentum has not slowed down,” he said.
Two businesses: Barratt said there are two sides to BAM’s business. One is finding and buying “great assets that somebody mismanaged or undermanaged or, in plain speak, are screwing up.” The other side is dedicated to finding new potential investors. BAM has investors in the six-figure up to the eight-figure range. The greatest source of BAM’s capital comes from repeat investment and referrals from existing investors, Barratt said. “No rocket science there. You take care of your clients, and you do what you say you’re gonna do, and they tend to tell a couple [of] more people. It’s a great way to grow a business.”
Acquisitions: Last year, BAM acquired apartments on the northwest side of Whitestown, about 15 miles from the LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon. “We’re very excited to own apartments that will serve those employees in their housing needs,” he said.
Expansion: BAM also has entered new markets, including Pittsburgh and Kansas City. “We look for the Carmel or the Fishers or the Noblesville of Pittsburgh and Kansas City and other cities that have world-class suburbs like we do here in the great state of Indiana,” Barratt said.
Midwest praise: Barratt said that while there are always bumps in the road in managing multifamily housing—high interest rates, for one—the great part about investing in the Midwest is that, while the region didn’t boom, it didn’t bust. So BAM is not dealing with an oversupply of housing or massive insurance-rate increases like Texas, Florida other parts of the Southeast, which are more susceptible to climate risk. “The Midwest in general has done what we’ve always thought it would do,” he said. “It’s a steady Eddie, tortoise-vs.-hare kind of market, and it’s just a great place to live and work and play.”•
Check out more of IBJ’s ranking of Indy’s fastest-growing companies.
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