What led you to start your own business?

Daniel: I’ve always been into how things are built. Coming from an entrepreneurial family, it just made sense that we would start our own company. Our parents and our father’s brothers have a textile wholesaler that does importing and design, and they’re also in real estate. Our older brother is the co-founder of (salad chain) Sweetgreen.

DANIEL NEMAN, 28
RYAN NEMAN, 26

Ryda Ventures, a downtown real estate development company

Employees: 2

Financials: $40 million in assets under management

Where did you get the startup money?

Ryan: We started off by just investing our savings into the business to get going, and on a deal-by-deal basis we raised money from investors.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned?

Ryan: There are no shortcuts in life. You have to put in the hard work to create something special, and that takes extreme attention to detail and focus and patience.

Is it challenging working together as brothers?

Ryan: We could not have been more perfect brothers and business partners because we are the 100 percent opposites of each other. Our personalities are completely different. I am more of a do-first, think-after type of guy. Daniel is more of a high-level strategic thinker. Sometimes it takes both of those to come to a good solution.

Would you start another company?

Ryan: The special thing about real estate is that every project we take on is kind of like a new company. Each one has its own problems, path to success, and business plans. We’re constantly creating new things.

Could you ever work for someone else?

Daniel: We always work for someone else. I work for myself, but I work with Ryan, and we have investors we report to.

Ryan: I work for Daniel.

What do you do to unwind?

Daniel: Exercise, go to the beach, surfing, and daily meditation practice.

Ryan: I also think it’s really important to find time to disconnect from the digital world and go inward and connect with yourself.

— Marni Usheroff