Anna Metselitsa’s path to private equity wasn’t a straight line — it began in fashion, crossed through entrepreneurship, and landed in real estate with a mission: build institutional-quality returns while revitalizing housing for America’s middle class. Today she leads ThriveGate Capital alongside her incredible managing partner, Billy Birdzell — a private equity real estate firm focused on workforce and value-add multifamily housing — and is building a media platform to demystify wealth building for a wider audience.
From first-generation immigrant to founder: the early grind
Metselitsa’s story starts where many great entrepreneurial arcs do — with the need to create opportunity rather than wait for it. As a first-generation immigrant she launched a direct-to-consumer fashion label, Haute Rogue, learning brand building, customer psychology, and the operational realities of running a business. That brand later sold, and the experience planted a curiosity that would shape her next chapter: how lasting wealth is created and preserved.
Why real estate — and why workforce housing?
After exiting fashion, Metselitsa says she became “obsessed” with the mechanisms of generational wealth — not just income, but systems that deliver stability over decades. She found real estate provided both the scale and the structural advantages needed to pursue that vision. Rather than chase luxury apartments or speculative markets, she built ThriveGate around workforce and value-add multifamily — housing that serves teachers, nurses, first responders, and other essential workers who are often squeezed out of quality rental options. ThriveGate’s stated focus is on repositioning assets in overlooked markets where affordability remains but institutional capital has not yet flooded in.
Credibility over pedigree: winning trust through results
Metselitsa has spoken openly about the barriers she faced entering an industry that often rewards legacy relationships and traditional lineage. Without inherited networks or family capital, her biggest challenge was earning credibility in a predominantly male and pedigree-driven field. Her answer: deploy disciplined underwriting, consistent execution, and measurable returns. For her, every closed deal and every investor call became a chance to prove that rigorous analytics and operational excellence trump perception. This approach is central to how she positions ThriveGate — as a firm that prioritizes data, operational efficiency, and scalable systems.
Building a different kind of firm: technology, operations, and story
What sets ThriveGate apart, according to Metselitsa, is treating real estate as an integrated system rather than a series of isolated transactions. The firm pairs conventional asset management with financial technology and data analytics to identify inefficiencies, automate operations, and scale proven playbooks across multiple properties. The goal: create repeatable, defensible value that delivers institutional-level returns while also improving living conditions for residents. ThriveGate’s website emphasizes this systems view, and lists workforce housing investment as a core strategy.
A media play: Thrive Network and financial literacy as culture
Beyond property deals, Metselitsa is building Thrive Network, a media initiative meant to make investing and wealth creation culturally visible and widely accessible. Her belief is simple: financial literacy should be as mainstream as fitness or entrepreneurship. By combining clear storytelling with practical, execution-focused content, she aims to lower the intimidation barrier that keeps many people from participating in private markets. In her public posts she frequently breaks down investment concepts and shares market commentary aimed at both novice and experienced investors.
Measurable goals: AUM targets and the national vision
Metselitsa has articulated an ambitious long-term goal: to grow ThriveGate into a national platform managing billions in assets while sustaining a community of aligned investors. The firm’s public statements and team profile map a vision of scaling a portfolio of revitalized communities across secondary and tertiary markets — places where impact and yield can align. On LinkedIn and through company materials the growth trajectory and emphasis on measurable impact are recurring themes.
The leadership lesson: leverage beyond capital
A recurring lesson in Metselitsa’s public remarks is that “leverage” isn’t only about money. It includes time, relationships, and positioning. You scale by aligning with people and systems that multiply your impact — not by trying to do everything solo. That strategic leverage, combined with clarity of mission, is what she credits for attracting partners, investors, and talent to ThriveGate. This is also why storytelling and transparency are baked into her strategy: clarity attracts capital.
What success looks like: impact and legacy
Metselitsa measures success in more than dollars under management. She wants to be remembered for redefining institutional investing so social impact and financial sophistication coexist. Her aim is to bridge Wall Street and Main Street — to give investors access to assets that generate both wealth and better living conditions, while making private markets understandable and accessible. Ultimately, she hopes her lasting legacy will include families who live in better communities and entrepreneurs who see her path as proof that access — not inheritance — can build lasting opportunity.
Current signals: social reach and public engagement
Anna curates an active public presence on social media, where she publishes market takes, practical investing tips, and personal reflections on entrepreneurship. Her Instagram is a mix of short videos, market commentary, and lifestyle content aimed at showing both the work and the life behind the brand she’s building. Her social platforms play a dual role: they humanize complex investing ideas and serve as acquisition funnels for the audience Thrive Network hopes to convert into investors and advocates.
Challenges ahead: scaling without losing mission
Scaling a private equity platform poses natural tensions: the need to attract larger institutional capital can push firms toward safer, more familiar markets — and away from the underserved areas where impact is most meaningful. Metselitsa’s stated strategy to avoid that drift is simple: systematize the value-creation playbook and keep operations lean enough to act quickly where opportunities exist. Doing so requires rigorous data models, strong local teams, and repeatable operational protocols that protect both returns and mission.
Why her story matters — for women and first-generation founders
Metselitsa’s narrative is uncommon in private markets: a founder-turned-investor who used a DTC fashion exit to pivot into systemic real estate investing. But it’s more than a career pivot — it’s a playbook for people who lack legacy access but have the discipline to build credibility through performance. For women, immigrants, and first-generation founders, her journey is instructive: focus on rigorous execution, build communicative clarity around mission, and leverage public storytelling to create networks that wouldn’t otherwise appear.
The next chapters: scaling AUM, audience, and impact
Looking ahead, Metselitsa’s priorities appear threefold: expand ThriveGate’s portfolio and assets under management, scale Thrive Network’s audience and educational reach, and continue to operationalize a model that proves social impact and returns can be mutually reinforcing. If she achieves the ambitious goals she’s outlined publicly, the result could be a recognizable blueprint for mission-oriented private equity that others emulate — and a new set of communities that benefit from improved housing and long-term stewardship.
Do follow her on Instagram.
