Meet Edgar Garcia, Entrepreneur & Investor from Houston, TX.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Edgar Garcia.

Hi Edgar, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Edgar Garcia, born in Queretaro, Mexico. At the age of 7 years old, my parents made the ultimate sacrifice to move to this country in 1995. Experiencing culture shock at such a young age and having to adjust to the neighborhood in Fourth Ward wasn’t the best, but it eventually grew on me over the years.

I was then enrolled in Wharton elementary school to where I knew I had to quickly adapt to a new culture, language, and soon realized that even as an immigrant I knew I was born to be different. All the odds against me, I could just feel it. The adrenaline rush I would get from being in my math class and being so good with numbers, the amount of knowledge I was able to retain from a class lecture, and how quickly I was able to overcome obstacles.

Adapting eventually got easier, but missing home was always difficult. Playing soccer became an outlet. At this point, that’s all it was. Academics and soccer.

Once I reached High School, I continued playing soccer and knew getting a good GPA and high SAT scores would get me to a decent school, so I went the extra mile to fully focus on my academics. In return, that is exactly what I was awarded. A full ride to the University of Texas Austin. What a great accomplishment right?

Which I achieved, but since I wasn’t a US resident or US citizen scholarships were out the window.

I didn’t have a social security # so guess what? Every company that I applied for turned me down.

In 2007 I landed my first commercial contract, registered my own construction company, and made about 40K as a senior in high school. Guess what I did? Went and purchased a brand new Chrysler 300, since it was the closest to a Rolls Royce…haha
Years later this became a very great lesson in my life.

The recession hit in 2008, so it was extremely challenging to scale my company. I did residential painting for the next 5 years, but in 2013 was when I decided to do a major change and make a pivot to fully focus on commercial. Once I began to see cash flow, I knew it was time to begin my journey in investing. I made my first seed investment in a shoe company in 2013 and lost close to 60K. I was also involved in several startups ……………………, which all failed. It was definitely a learning experience and a new chapter of trial and error.

Since then, AE Construction Services is a full-service multi-family construction company in Houston, TX that has performed work in more than 20 states. In 2016, I became an alumnus of the Bauer School of Business at the University of Houston.

Throughout my journey, I have had the privilege to work in different industries and have been fortunate enough to have had some excellent leaders.

Fast forward to 2018, I made my 2nd investment with Instafuel – a mobile fleet fueling company in Houston, TX. Instafuel has recently become the first company under my portfolio to get acquired by SHELL.

Right before Hurricane HARVEY hit I decided to add an EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM to AE Construction Services, and it was a home run. I had about 500 laborers spread out doing demo services in several apartment complexes. Since then Hurricane Season is a 24/7 standby for us.

In 2020 we get hit with the pandemic, and all I saw was an opportunity. Registered my 2nd company G Capital, LLC – A vertically integrated, value-add real estate investment firm. Started buying land, building new construction homes, and putting them on the market. In 2023 I will make a pivot to focus on acquiring, renovating, and managing multifamily assets.

I couldn’t have done any of this alone and would like to thank GOD, Family, and Chris Dortlon who has been an amazing mentor and has taught me everything I know about construction.

Like I told you in the beginning of my story, I was born to be different and I’m addicted to this game. I’m a CREATIVE GENIUS, people just don’t know it yet. Don’t be surprised if you ever see me on your Netflix screen one of these days…lol

I’m documenting every step of my journey on my Instagram: @HustledontstopG

My name is Edgar Garcia – Mexican Immigrant, Entrepreneur and Angel Investor from Houston, TX.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest challenge for me was the racism and inequality in America that I got to experience. At the age of 12 years old, I remember brainstorming ideas of ways that I could make money to help my family. I would walk throughout the neighborhoods with my lawnmower knocking door to door if they would like to have their yard cut. The way caucasian people would stare at me or rudely kick me off the lawn was devastating. I remember thinking to myself why they wouldn’t just say no thank you and let me go about my day.

Being in school, I constantly had teachers reminding me that I would not amount to do anything. Especially my economics teacher. I was a straight A student, but for some reason, I was not good enough to excel as they would tell me. Why? because of the color of my skin? because English wasn’t my first language?

Imagine sacrificing so much time into my studies in high school, receiving a full ride to a university, and being denied all because of legal status.

In 2012 I transferred to the Bauer Business College at UH and applied to the Wolf Center for Entrepreneurs – which is a selected program and ranked #1 in the nation by Forbes. I got accepted and knew that this was a huge accomplishment for me. Mind you I got into the program with an existing construction business in place. Unfortunately, I got kicked out of the program during the 2nd semester even though I didn’t fail a single class. I clearly remember both Ken Jones & Dave Cook telling me “if people ask? we’re going to say that you decided to remove yourself from the program.”

I was in such disbelief and couldn’t believe how I was being removed from such a prestigious program and not given a reason. But then I realized how far I had come and used that as fuel to keep going. So I did, I fully focused on scaling AE Construction Services.

Fast forward to 2022. You know what’s funny? Dave Cook called me 8 years later to ask if he could claim me as an alumnus of the Entrepreneurship program, so that the Bauer Business College at UH could report my financials on AE Construction Services. So there I was, I gave Dave cook the benefit of the doubt and allowed him to claim my Construction company, so that it could help with the program’s rankings. In return, I asked if he could make things right and at least give me the certificate of completion of the Entrepreneurship program, or maybe get a written article by Bauer Business College at UH about my story, or possibly consider me as a future spokesman to one of the undergrad courses.

You’d think some of these were a possibility, but Dave Cook refused to publish or be vocal about my story because I was an immigrant/ DACA student and stated that this would not be a good look for the program or the University.

I was good enough to have my company claimed for rankings, but not good enough to receive any sort of appreciation.

Another challenge for me was being away from my family in Mexico. As an immigrant, I believe people fail to realize the ultimate sacrifice we pay for the “American Dream.” Leaving your home country and your family for a better life not knowing if you will ever see your family again.

You know I really second thought about mentioning certain things and names, but this is a part of my journey and I want to keep it as real as I can.

Never in a million years would I have thought my struggles would all be because of a legal status. A status that I was not able to choose. As unfair as life has been, I will continue to use it as fuel to excel and accomplish everything that everyone has told me is impossible.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
AE Construction Services is a full-service multi-family construction company in Houston, TX. We specialize in full-scale renovations, disaster recovery, remodeling, and more. We have years of experience in renovating a range of projects. Throughout these years, our main goals have been providing exceptional quality and dependable services resulting in a quick project turnaround.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Don’t be afraid to try new things, fail fast, get up, and keep going. Enjoy the process because there’s beauty in it and that’s what makes your story. Be yourself, be honest, feet on the ground, and head in the clouds.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aeconstructionservice.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hustledontstopg/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/hustledontstopg
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4PGQ9iMXwZ90hDDq89y7ZA
• Other: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/c2976040e7.html#page/3