Ryan Williams: The Southern Fintech Who’s Outplaying Wall Street
How One Black Founder Built a Structural Wealth Engine
Ryan Williams—Harvard-educated, Baton Rouge-born, and now the CEO of Cadre—has shifted that story. His work has built a financial system that not only creates new lanes for real estate ownership.
Most headlines about tech and finance focus on the usual suspects: coastal companies, legacy wealth, and a locked game that keeps Black entrepreneurs on the sidelines.
But also moves real capital, delivers proven returns, and creates pathways for the next wave of Black and multicultural business leaders.
What actually happened: Mogul News
- In 2014, Williams founded Cadre, a platform giving regular, qualified investors direct access to institutional-grade commercial real estate. The days of “old boys’ club” property deals are fading—real opportunities are now open for serious players who can move with discipline.
- By 2023, Cadre merged with YieldStreet. The combined engine now manages almost $10 billion in assets, delivering $3.1 billion in returns and running one of the largest alternative investment platforms in America.
- Williams required Cadre to keep at least 10% of its cash in Black-owned banks. This is economic strategy—millions held in community banks means more loans, more business funding, and a stronger financial base for Black America.
- In 2021, Cadre launched a $400 million fund, backed by Harvard and top partners, targeting minority real estate operators and developers. This capital is building a new class of power brokers and owners across the country.
- Williams stayed on as CEO, built a team of top professionals, and delivered concrete results: in 2021, Cadre sold three major buildings for $312 million, returned $95 million in profit, and achieved a 17% internal rate of return for investors.
Cadre regularly ranks on the Forbes Fintech 50, and Williams is recognized as a leader who moves beyond talk and headlines. His model is real, scalable, and built for the future.
The Cadre Model: Structural Wealth in Action
Cadre is more than a startup. It is a wealth engine with systems, discipline, and receipts. Here’s why the model matters for anyone serious about owning assets, building real money, and creating a lasting business presence:
1. Direct Access for Real Players
For decades, commercial real estate was a gated community. If you weren’t plugged in, you couldn’t play.
Cadre brings vetted investors—Black, brown, and ready—to the same deals as the top funds. Members can select properties, see every financial, and build alongside the giants.
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2. Circulation Over Extraction
Wall Street and Silicon Valley made their fortunes pulling wealth out of communities. Williams set Cadre to do the opposite.
By holding at least 10% of company cash in Black-owned banks, Cadre supercharges local lending, giving Black businesses and neighborhoods a fighting chance to build, grow, and reinvest.
Smart entrepreneurs: keep your business’s rainy day fund in a minority-owned bank. You’ll build local influence, increase lending power, and lock in real relationships that will move for you when you need it most.
3. The $400 Million Minority Fund: Real Capital, Real Owners
Cadre’s $400 million fund, backed by Harvard, pushes money to minority developers and operators—no waiting for a diversity handout, no slow bureaucracy.
This is new money for new builders, breaking down the old hierarchy for good.
- Williams and team back minority real estate partners with the capital to move on deals quickly.
- The fund is in action now—Black and brown ownership rising in cities nationwide.
- Harvard’s involvement is a signal: the new guard is being taken seriously.
4. Receipts That Speak Louder Than Claims
Williams doesn’t talk about what could be. He shows results. In 2021, Cadre sold three properties for $312 million, returning $95 million in cash to investors and hitting a 17% return.
Through its secondary market, Cadre lets investors exit when they’re ready—no more waiting for years, no excuses.
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5. Discipline Wins. Always.
Williams built Cadre through years of work, flipping his first properties as a Harvard undergrad and hustling through the doors Goldman Sachs and Blackstone.
No luck. No shortcuts. Systems, data, and discipline. That’s how the next wave of moguls must move.
For every Primal Mogul member, Williams’s model is a roadmap—structure first, never just style. Master the basics, apply them relentlessly, and let your business do the talking.
Member Playbook: What to Copy and Apply Right Now
Build Your Own Power System
Leverage Local Power:
When the big banks said no, Williams found Citizens Trust Bank—a Black banker who saw his vision and funded his first deal. Start building your own financial circle. Every connection is leverage.
Turn Your Business Into a Bank:
Don’t wait on outside investors. Build a monthly capital club with five trusted business partners. Pool resources, fund each other’s deals, and negotiate on your terms.
Always Have Receipts:
Document everything. Pitch decks, financial reports, videos, screenshots—keep a file that proves every dollar you make or move. Shopify makes your business transparent and trackable. Primal Mogul gives you the blueprints to systemize this.
Invest in Repeatable Systems:
Williams doesn’t just do deals—he builds playbooks. Create standard operating procedures for every part of your business so you can scale. Automate sales, customer management, and marketing with Shopify.
Create Visual Proof for Every Move:
Use In-Video AI and PrimalVideo AI to turn your numbers into stories that build trust and close deals.
The Unfiltered Truth
Williams’s business ventures are real, but not flawless. He faced denial by ten banks before finding a partner who believed. Not every deal hits.
The path to real business wealth is always disciplined, never lucky. If you want to reach this level, bring strategy, patience, and receipts.
Quick flips might look good online, but long-term discipline always wins.
Primal Mogul Directive: Build for the Long Game
Ryan Williams is the living proof that nobody can keep you out of the wealth game if you move smart, keep receipts, and build real systems.
The next wave of city-level moguls should not just copy his moves—improve on them, scale them, and set new standards for your network.
Step Inside and Build Real Power
Ready to build a business that lasts? Stop chasing small wins. Start closing real deals. Join Primal Mogul Elite and:
- Access step-by-step blueprints, deal flow templates, and private masterclasses.
- Get hands-on execution tools: Shopify, In-Video AI, and PrimalVideo AI for real results, not just theory.
- Network with operators who measure power, build it, and move it—no empty talk.
Sign up to Primal Mogul Elite now and turn discipline into dollars.
This is for the real ones. Only receipts. Move up or move out.
