Wake Up to Wealth: Revolutionizing Real Estate – The Rise of PadSplit with Atticus LeBlanc

Podcast: Wake Up to Wealth
Host: Brandon Brittingham
Guest: Atticus LeBlanc, Founder of PadSplit
Date: January 2, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation between host Brandon Brittingham and Atticus LeBlanc, the founder of PadSplit, a platform transforming the housing market by making affordable, shared housing scalable and accessible. The discussion covers Atticus's entrepreneurial journey, from his early days in real estate to founding PadSplit and scaling it to national prominence, the challenges and triumphs faced along the way, and the profound impact the company is having on both investors and residents. The episode also delivers candid insights into risk, perseverance, and the mindset needed to innovate in real estate.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origin of PadSplit

[03:04–12:24]

• Personal Backstory: Atticus describes getting started in real estate after a financial crisis at home (wife leaving job, deals falling through). Buying foreclosures in Atlanta with personal savings launched his journey to financial independence through rentals.
• Rooming House Revelation: Encountered traditional rooming houses and realized low-income individuals were shut out of affordable housing, even during the depths of the Great Recession.
• Profitability Realization: Discovered that rent-by-the-room (“co-living”) generated better operating income than traditional rentals:
  – “If I have four people paying me this rent on a per-bedroom basis...I still make more money doing this than the old way. Why the heck isn’t everybody doing this?” — Atticus LeBlanc [07:08]
• Operational Challenge: The main barrier to scaling was operational complexity, not demand.
• Technology as a Lever: Inspired by platforms like Airbnb, Atticus envisioned a tech-enabled marketplace for co-living that could mobilize individual real estate investors to address the affordable housing crisis at scale.

2. Building the Platform Without a Tech Background

[12:24–15:13]

• Networking into Technology: With no technical training, Atticus relied on his network in the Atlanta tech community and the Techstars accelerator to connect with co-founders and talent.
• Bootstrapping Early Versions: Funded early prototypes out of his own rental income before seeking outside investment.

3. Raising Capital and Surviving Near-Failure

[15:14–23:09]

• Importance of Financial Stability: Atticus’s previous real estate success allowed him to take calculated risks when starting PadSplit.
• Fundraising Timeline & COVID Crisis:
  – Seed: $4.6M
  – Series A: $10M (closed during the initial COVID-19 meltdown, surviving the loss of initial investors thanks to loyal backers) – Further: Over $20M more, now operating cash positive.
• Survival Mentality: The company “doesn't die until the founder says I quit.” — Atticus LeBlanc [19:02]
• Personal Sacrifice: During rent rounds, Atticus and staff took pay cuts or worked without pay to keep PadSplit afloat during the toughest moments.

4. Resilience Stories and Entrepreneurial Mindset

[23:17–26:28]

• Parallel to Netflix: Brandon shares wisdom from a Netflix founder on being millions in the hole and persisting regardless—a story that mirrors Atticus’s tenacity.
• Foundational “We’ll Figure It Out” Mentality:
  – “After laying on the floor for 45 minutes...I gotta figure out what the next step is.” — Atticus LeBlanc [22:23]
  – Even minute operational hacks—like fixing windows with $0.48 sash springs—were make-or-break.

5. PadSplit’s Model: Transforming Housing and Investment

[26:29–35:01]

• Disrupting the Old System: Questions the logic of traditional rent requirements (e.g., “three times rent” income, deposit size) and calls them arbitrary and exclusionary.
• PadSplit Innovations:
  – Weekly, all-inclusive rent payment aligned with members’ pay periods
  – One bill covers housing and utilities (even telemedicine) – Removing barriers like credit checks and large deposits increases access
• Impact:
  – 97.5%+ rent collection rate, even with low-income, low-credit tenants [26:57]
  – Residents save on average $366/month
  – Hosts typically double their operating income compared to traditional rentals

6. Growth, Scale, and Community Impact

[31:17–35:01]

• Scale:
  – Over 28,500 units in 200+ cities [31:25]
  – Adding 6–18 apartment-complex-equivalents per month; aiming for 1 million rooms by 2030
• Changing Lives: Examples of formerly struggling hosts retiring and residents going from homelessness to entrepreneurship.
• Cultural Shift: PadSplit has created a new asset class, giving investors a reliable, high-yield, socially impactful strategy.

7. Lessons Learned: Best Decision, Biggest Mistake

[36:34–41:45]

• Best Decision: “Recognizing that the people who are close to the problems are the best equipped to solve them.” — Atticus LeBlanc [36:54]
  – Success comes from empowering local knowledge, not central control.
• Biggest Mistake: Lingering scarcity mindset—wishing he took bigger risks earlier despite now seeing the benefits of abundance.
  – “It’s really tempting to just keep catching minnows...I could have taken actually more risk and...still been fine.” [38:39]

8. Mindset, Family, and “Waking Up to Wealth”

[41:05–45:17]

• Family First: Never sacrificed family well-being for risk or business growth [41:45]
• Abundance & Gratitude:
  – “For me, I’ll tell you, what I wake up to is gratitude.” — Atticus LeBlanc [42:58]
  – Advocates focusing daily on gratitude, abundance, networking, and giving value to others to grow the “whole pie,” not just one’s own piece.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Aligning Rent Structure to Reality:
  “Why is rent due on the first of the month?...It has no correlation to when [tenants] actually get paid.” — Atticus LeBlanc [26:58]
• On Data-Driven Impact:
  “Our effective collections rate for owners has never dropped below 97.5% ever…even with a low income, low credit population.” — Atticus LeBlanc [26:52]
• On Resilience:
  “The company doesn't die until the founder says, I quit.” — Atticus LeBlanc [19:02]
  “After laying on the floor for 45 minutes…I gotta figure out what the next step is.” — Atticus LeBlanc [22:23]
• On Impact:
  “That’s the stuff I love…individual members who were full time employed and living in their cars and now have started businesses or…bought pad splits because of this model.” — Atticus LeBlanc [34:24]
• On Family:
  “I do not ever want to sacrifice my family or put the business ahead of my family.” — Atticus LeBlanc [41:45]
• On Abundance:
  “Don’t fight for your slice of the pie being bigger, grow the dang pie.” — Atticus LeBlanc [45:07]

Important Timestamps

• 03:04–12:24: PadSplit’s founding story and business model origins
• 12:24–15:13: Transition from real estate operator to tech entrepreneur
• 15:14–16:33: Fundraising, risk, and leveraging past success for entrepreneurial leap
• 18:17–23:09: Surviving startup crises, parallels with Netflix’s story
• 26:29–31:17: How PadSplit’s new approach solves supply and access issues
• 31:25–35:01: Scale and real-world testimonial impact on investors and residents
• 36:54: Best decision: empowering those closest to the problem
• 38:39: Biggest mistake: too much early caution, lessons on risk
• 42:58–45:17: Wake Up to Wealth: practical abundance mindset

Style, Tone & Final Thoughts

Throughout the episode, the conversation is candid, energetic, and full of hard-won insight. Both Atticus and Brandon share openly about the doubts and pain points of entrepreneurship, but also about the deeply rewarding “highs” — not just measured by units or dollars, but by lives changed.

This is an episode both for real estate professionals looking for cutting-edge strategies and for entrepreneurs seeking inspiration, tools, and honest advice about creating wealth and impact through grit, vision, and resilience.