Giovanni Taylor-Peace's profile answers

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My role models are my parents, who started their own graphic design firm here in Atlanta in 1992 after working for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and other graphic design firms in Milwaukee, WI. Their success and drive have fueled my own desire to start a company after I've gained enough working experience in the marketplace....

I studied Urban Planning and Economic Development at Georgia State University with the intention of becoming a City Planner but I was knew in the long run that I wanted to get involved in real estate development. I decided to study as many real estate classes as possible as course electives in order to graduate on schedule and also tried to find internship opportunites to get in the industry since I had a good hunch that my degree would not necessarily launch me to the top of the list for most RE positions. I did an internship with a nonprofit community development group just south of downtown Atlanta my junior year and worked for a custom home builder towards the end of my senior year.

The senior year work led to me being hired on as a Acquisition/Development Assistant (a title I came up with) just as I was graduating in 2004. My boss was basically looking for someone to analyze and compile data on land sales in his target markets and gather as much info as possible from his competition in order for him to get a good feel for where his company should head in terms of direction. That position did not last long as the company had a lot of capital tied up in unsold inventory so I ended up looking to work for a company involved in real estate development, which led to me moving into a property management position with Novare Group in late 2004....

I lived out in Stone Mountain while in school so the commute was pretty rough coming down I-20 at 8 or 9 in the morning. I eventually started driving to the nearest MARTA transit station (about 20-25 minutes away) and riding the train to school & back to save gas and time (plus I could get a quick nap or read on the ride.)...

I found the job opening on the MonsterTrak website through the Georgia State University Career Center back in November of 2004. After submitting my resume, I heard a response from one of the managers after about 5-7 days.