Publication
Complex but Integral: An Overview of Real Estate Waterfalls
https://www.toptal.com/management-consultants/real-estate/real-estate-waterfalls
Aaleem is available for hire
Hire AaleemAaleem Jiwa
Verified Expert in Management Consulting
Management Consulting Expert
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Toptal member since June 4, 2018
Bio
As a Deloitte consulting manager, Aaleem led the creation of a business plan and financial model for a city-owned real estate firm that enabled them to develop 50 properties in 10 years. He has helped owners of small companies and executive teams at multi-billion dollar entities optimize their businesses through financial analysis. Aaleem travels extensively, and freelancing allows him to deliver value to companies from any city in the world.
Career Highlights
Head of M&A
NEOM
Manager
Deloitte
Education Highlights
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree
London Business School
Bachelor's Degree
University of Alberta
Certification Highlights
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies
Princeton University via Coursera
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
Industry Expertise
- Construction
- Finance
- Venture Capital & Private Equity
- Healthcare Services
- Museums & Art Galleries
- Real Estate
- Software
- Telecommunications
Software Expertise
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
Other Expertise
- Business Plan Consulting
- DCF Valuation
- Financial Modeling
- Fintech
- Three-statement Modeling
Work Experience
Independent Consultant
2018 - PRESENT
Independent Consulting
- Created a financial model and pitch deck and advised on a membership model for a $5 million social wellness club opening in Dubai. Coached the founder for an initial pitch that secured more than $2 million.
- Built a financial model and pitch deck for Dubai's first Japanese Onsen and Anti-Aging Center, which was built in Al-Quoz. Advised founders on board composition and fundraising strategy. Helped secure $1 million in commitments.
- Built a complex waterfall structure that includes GP promotes and catch-up provisions for a fund-of-funds.
- Advised a PE fund on an approximately $360 million investment into a complex GP/LP/REIT investment into an organic farm conversion GP, including developing a financial model and pitch deck.
- Created a pitch deck and a financial model to help a regional cannabis company raise $20 million to expand its operations to a different state.
- Built a pitch deck and a financial model to raise the debt financing for the construction of six Airbnb luxury lake homes.
- Conducted due diligence on a crypto arbitrage fund regarding a $1 million investment by an investment club.
- Advised a $50 million cryptocurrency fund on selecting a new fund administrator, fund domicile, and family of funds strategy.
Focus areas: Financial Modeling, Strategy, Corporate, Business Planning, Fund Structure, Real Estate, Fundraising, Pitch Decks, Forecasting, Waterfall Modeling, Excel Expert, United States, Limited Partnerships, Blockchain, Early-stage Funding, Health & Wellness, Cap Tables
Head of Finance and Strategy
2024 - 2025
HyperSpace FZ LLC
- Built a pitch deck for the upcoming Series B round (around $50 million), including a 3-statement model forecasting the development of 20 parks over five years worldwide.
- Wrote a GTM strategy for the opening of new theme parks globally.
- Built a complex cash flow and P&L forecasting tool spanning four theme parks in three countries.
- Created a detailed financial plan, budget, and 5-year forecast for a white-label A/R app for use in theme parks globally.
- Raised $5 million in debt from A/R discounting and revenue-based financing.
- Developed pricing strategy on track to increase YoY revenues by 20%.
Focus areas: Fundraising, Debt Raises, Growth Equity, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Budgeting, Forecasting, Go-to-market (GTM) Strategy, Revenue Growth, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Business Process Analysis, Process Design
Head of M&A
2022 - 2023
NEOM
- Oversaw a $50 million investment into Animoca Labs, the world's largest web 3.0 gaming company.
- Structured a complex global professional services joint venture to oversee $2 billion worth of business through 2030.
- Led a $20 million licensing deal in the digital twin space exclusively for the GCC market.
- Helped to design and implement a $150 million/year venture studio in Silicon Valley, tasked with launching 20 startups per year.
Focus areas: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain & Cryptocurrency, Metaverse, Web 3.0, Cybersecurity, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Venture Capital, Fundraising, Pitch Decks, Forecasting, Excel Expert, Web3, Team Leadership, Team Management, Blockchain, Cap Tables, Deal Structuring, Business Partnerships, Joint Venture Development, Process Design, Stakeholder Engagement
Head of Strategy – Technology & Digital Sector
2021 - 2022
NEOM
- Managed the creation and monitoring of the 2021 and 2022 plans for the tech and digital subsidiary, including budget, manpower, and implementation strategy.
- Directed the development of Tonomus' blockchain and metaverse strategy.
- Acted as a subject matter expert for NEOMVERSE, a $2 billion NFT platform/metaverse project.
Focus areas: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain & Cryptocurrency, Business Planning, Strategy, Business Performance Management (BPM), Planning, Performance Management, Web3, Strategic Planning, Team Leadership, Team Management, Blockchain, Deal Structuring, Business Partnerships, Joint Venture Development, Business Process Analysis, Process Design, Stakeholder Engagement
Engagement Manager
2020 - 2021
Delta Partner Group
- Built strategies and financial models in the tech and digital sector of a greenfield smart city project for a group of companies, including a wholesale fiber company, a 5G network operator, a regional data center, and a smart city software company.
- Developed the go-to-market strategy for a cognitive city operating system company.
- Advised a mixed reality metaverse and NFT marketplace startup on their partnership strategy.
- Developed the pitch deck for a series A, user-centric data privacy app that secured $40 million in funding.
Focus areas: Startups, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency, Artificial Intelligence (AI), International Data Privacy Regulations, Strategy, Operations, Real Estate, Fundraising, Pitch Decks, Forecasting, Excel Expert, Web3, Strategic Planning, Team Leadership, Team Management, Business Process Analysis, Process Design, Stakeholder Engagement
Fundraising Consultant | Financial Analyst
2019 - 2020
Canna Growth Industries (via Toptal)
- Built a financial model for the design, development, and construction of ten turnkey facilities that grow and process cannabis each worth $100 million.
- Developed a dynamic investor waterfall model in Excel.
- Created a pitch deck including insights on risks and potential mitigation used to raise a $2-million preseed round.
- Reviewed and modified a forecast of cannabis prices based on analyst reports and macroeconomic indicators.
- Advised the management team on the negotiation of a land option and subsequent purchase-vs-land-lease decision.
Focus areas: Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Pitch Decks, Financial Modeling, Financial Forecasting, Private Equity, Fund Structure, Real Estate, Fundraising, Forecasting, Waterfall Modeling, Excel Expert, United States, Limited Partnerships, Cap Tables
Consultant
2019 - 2019
Bain & Company
- Was hired as the seventh employee for a neobank to be launched in the Saudi Arabian market; led a team of three to create a 5-year financial model; advised on target market profile and matching product roadmap.
- Built a financial model to analyze the costing of core banking system vendors under multiple user growth scenarios.
- Designed use cases to test the digital banking functionality of short-listed banking system vendors.
- Negotiated with core banking system vendors resulting in final savings of about US$10 million.
Focus areas: Five-year Projections, Revenue & Expense Projections, Cost Modeling, Financial Modeling, Mobile Payments, Digital Transformation, RFP Negotiation, Procurement, Excel Expert
Manager
2014 - 2017
Deloitte
- Developed a dynamic financial model that included the monetization of 50 properties over a 10-year period, for a city-owned development corporation.
- Built an asset-based model for the estate valuation of a $200-million real estate holding company.
- Built a discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation based on the introduction of several new products for a medical device manufacturer. The model helped the company obtain a multimillion-dollar, multi-year, global licensing deal for one of their products.
- Conducted an in-depth financial analysis of the operations of a research park, and aggregated and analyzed best practices from research parks across North America to create a new operating model for the park.
- Created a go-to-market strategy for a silver-based pharmaceutical burn cream that included five-year revenue and cost projections.
- Developed a detailed financial model and project analysis for three multi-family development projects in Alberta on behalf of investors to compare and select the best project to pursue.
- Managed the construction and delivery of a 29 story office tower on behalf of the tenant. The project included the relocation of 3000 employees, significant upgrades to the company's technology infrastructure, and the centralization of many shared services.
Focus areas: Cash Flow Modeling, Cash Flow Forecasting, P&L Forecasting, Forecasting, Revenue Modeling, Revenue & Expense Projections, Project Evaluation, Valuation, DCF Valuation, Financial Model Auditing, Financial Modeling, Finance, Real Estate, Private Equity, Fund Structure, Waterfall Modeling, Excel Expert, United States, Business Process Analysis, Process Design, Stakeholder Engagement
Investment Analyst
2013 - 2013
Cenovus Ventures
- Led the restructuring of three portfolio investments.
- Conducted detailed market and business analyses on over 20 companies.
- Presented an overview of the fund to Cenovus’ executive committee.
- Researched, selected, and implemented a venture-focused CRM system.
- Coordinated feedback from engineers, technical experts, and business line managers on potential portfolio companies.
Focus areas: Financial Modeling, Due Diligence, Investment Analysis, Venture Capital, Waterfall Modeling, Excel Expert
Consultant
2010 - 2011
DEG
- Built a financial model to value active and fallow fish farms using local real estate prices and the price of fish as inputs.
- Evaluated the financial viability of aquaculture operations, and built data-intensive risk assessment probability models to calculate their potential loss risk.
- Modeled different profit scenarios based on changes in foreign exchange rates and the incorporation of various currency hedging strategies.
- Built detailed cost estimates for aquaculture operations of varying type and size.
Focus areas: Cost Estimation, Project Evaluation, Revenue & Expense Projections, Revenue Modeling, Profitability Analysis, Country Risk, FX Risk Analysis, Risk Analysis, Financial Modeling, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Real Estate, Waterfall Modeling, Excel Expert, Limited Partnerships
Other Experience
Education
2018 - 2020
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree in Business Administration
London Business School - London, England
2011 - 2013
Bachelor's Degree in Finance
University of Alberta - Edmonton, Alberta
Certifications
NOVEMBER 2018 - PRESENT
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
APRIL 2018 - PRESENT
Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies
Princeton University via Coursera
APRIL 2015 - APRIL 2021
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
Skills
Finance
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Revenue & Expense Projections, Pro Forma Financial Statements, Financial Modeling, Three-statement Modeling, Financial Model Auditing, Cash Flow Modeling, Revenue Modeling, Project Evaluation, Profitability Analysis, Foreign Exchange (FX) Hedging, Private Equity, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Blockchain, Five-year Projections, Due Diligence, Capital Raising, DCF Valuation, Forecasting, P&L Forecasting, Cash Flow Forecasting, Risk Analysis, Valuation, Cost Estimation, FX Risk Analysis, Country Risk, Fund Structure, Fundraising, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Debt Raises, Growth Equity, Budgeting
Output Software
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint
Industry Expertise
Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate, Residential Real Estate, Venture Capital, Fishing, Government, Cannabis, Health & Wellness, Health, Pharmaceuticals
Geographic Expertise
Canada, Singapore, Kenya, United Arab Emirates, United States, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia
Data & Analysis Software
FactSet, Capital IQ, Bloomberg
Other
Business Strategy, Business Plan Consulting, Pitch Decks, Finance, Investment Analysis, Strategy, Project Management Professional (PMP), Startups, Operations, Business Administration, Waterfall Modeling, Excel Expert, Strategic Planning, Team Leadership, Team Management, Early-stage Funding, Cap Tables, Pitch Deck Consultant, Deal Structuring, Business Process Analysis, Process Design, Stakeholder Engagement, Fintech, International Payments, Procurement, RFP Negotiation, Digital Transformation, Cost Modeling, Business Planning, Argus DCF, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency, Limited Partnerships, Performance Management, Web3, Business Partnerships, Joint Venture Development, Mobile Payments, Financial Forecasting, Corporate, Excel VBA, Artificial Intelligence (AI), International Data Privacy Regulations, Metaverse, Web 3.0, Cybersecurity, Business Performance Management (BPM), Planning, Go-to-market (GTM) Strategy, Revenue Growth
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