Las Vegas native and businessman Blake Owens has deep roots in the area

Las Vegas native Blake Owens found his way back to his roots after a winding career that included college at the University of California, Los Angeles, bodybuilding competitions, Muay Thai training and a stint at Goldman Sachs.

Owens, 29, is the founder of Agrippa, an AI-powered, broker-free commercial real estate capital matchmaking platform (which he describes as Match.com for commercial real estate), and Augustus, an investment firm focused exclusively on Agrippa’s best deals. He spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal about his unique background and love for his home city.

Your family has deep ties to Southern Nevada, can you tell me a bit about this?

My family’s roots date back over 115 years. My great-grandfather, Robert William Owens, was born in Searchlight. In 1917, his family moved to Las Vegas, settling on a 40-acre ranch near present-day Owens Avenue. Robert later served as Clark County undersheriff — I still vividly recall his stories about Bugsy Siegel and responding to the Carole Lombard plane crash.

My grandfather, James, was a rancher, and my father, Robert, started his career at the Golden Nugget and has spent the past 30 years at Treasure Island. My mother’s side arrived in the 1970s; her father started an air-conditioning company, and her mother worked as an accountant. My parents met through combat sports, my father a second-degree black belt and my mother a former boxer trained by Roger Mayweather, and I’ve carried on our family’s legacy of discipline.

You’ve taken a bit of an unusual path to your current work, walk us through some of the interesting things you’ve done in your life so far?

After cold-calling 50 firms, I secured my first internship in wealth management (Wedbush Securities), leading to roles in investment banking (Siemer & Associates) and investment management (Goldman Sachs). Along the way, I also won two bodybuilding competitions and have trained Muay Thai for over eight years, a testament to the discipline I inherited from my parents.

I returned to Las Vegas to join a CRE developer, and by 24, I was promoted to chief investment officer. By 26, our team closed over $600 million in transactions with partners including Carlyle, Lennar, Silverstein, and Cantor Fitzgerald. In 2022, I left to build Agrippa, attracting investments from prominent individuals, including multiple Las Vegas locals, and the AngelList Quant Fund.

This year, I launched Augustus to complement Agrippa. The names are inspired by ancient Romans whose legacies still echo through time.

I don’t know what my legacy will be, but I do know this: Someone once took a chance on me, and I will do everything in my power to prove they made the right choice.

What deals are you working on currently, and what is top of mind for your business right now?

Given Agrippa’s deal volume, I generally avoid personal involvement, but certain deals are too compelling to ignore, such as the Eastside Cannery ground lease. [The land under…