My Journey

I’m Jeff Filali (Fa-LAH-lee), often known as “Mr. Tulsa.” I’m an entrepreneur, real estate investor, and mentor, but long before any of that, I was a kid growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, watching my mother do whatever it took to give us a better life.

I was raised by a single mother in Section 8 housing. She worked two jobs while attending college part-time, determined to break the cycle of struggle. Watching her resilience firsthand shaped how I see work, responsibility, and opportunity.

When I was 11 years old, my life changed in a quiet but meaningful way. With financial help from my grandfather, my mother built a home on a vacant lot he gave her. That moment became my first real exposure to real estate, not as an investment, but as a tool for stability, ownership, and independence.

My father, though largely absent from my life, owned rental properties and restaurants in Tulsa. Between them, I was introduced early to the idea of sweat equity as I helped my grandad locate properties, going through county court records, and doing drive-bys and walk-throughs with him, and even learned to do a lot of repairs — this was all setting the foundation for the belief that effort, patience, and ownership could change outcomes.

At 12 years old, I started my first business mowing lawns to earn extra money. I reinvested those earnings into sports cards and memorabilia, buying and reselling them for profit. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was already learning core business principles: margins, reinvestment, and risk.

After high school, I entered the restaurant business and, in 1997, purchased my first rental property. A few years later, I moved into direct sales — an experience that would permanently shape my ability to communicate, negotiate, and understand people.

After the events of 9/11 in 2001, the direct sales business slowed dramatically. I pivoted into launching a marketing company, which initially grew fast and later merged with another firm. We had ambitions of building a nationwide operation. We were undercapitalized, and that growth proved unsustainable.

By 2004, the business collapsed. I found myself broke, jobless, and homeless at 27 years old — a humbling and painful chapter of my life that forced me to confront hard truths about risk, ego, and resilience.

I moved in with some family members and worked low-paying jobs in a difficult job market during the global financial crisis. Eventually, I found a creative way forward by “house hacking” before the term was popularized — I was working part-time as a college athletics coach while also serving as a dorm parent, which provided free housing and meals.

That arrangement dramatically lowered my living expenses and gave me the runway I needed to rebuild. I started side businesses, reinvested carefully, and slowly regained momentum and started acquiring bank REOs. I was wholesaling and flipping at first to increase my capital, and then begin to do seller-finance wrapping to establish Notes, and started holding rentals again.

By 2016, several of my business ventures had gained traction, and my real estate portfolio was growing. I formed RBI Enterprises LLC, a holding company overseeing my investments and operating businesses. I continued acquiring real estate and investing in private equity opportunities, focusing on sustainability and long-term control rather than hype.

In 2018, after my father passed away, I intentionally transitioned into a more passive investing role to spend more time with family. So, I outsourced much of my operations to other service providers, and put all of my rentals with property management companies. That same year, I wrote a book about how to invest in real estate. But instead of publishing, I decided to create a website and offer a free online real estate education course. Originally, I created this under the brand REIQA (Real Estate Investor Questions & Answers), in addition to the website, there was a Facebook group for students to ask questions where myself and other investors would monitor it and respond throughout our days. I was dedicated to paying it forward and educating people about real estate investing. To date, the community has helped more than 30,000 members worldwide.  Over the last few years I have rebranded and transitioned it all to JeffFilali.com with updated content more relevant in the 2020's.

In May of 2021, I experienced another serious setback as I ended up with heart complications following side effects from the COVID mRNA vaccine. It forced me to slow down, reevaluate priorities, and focus on long-term health. Thanks to earlier transitioning to a mostly passive role, this time did not effect me that much financially, other then crazy increase in my medical expenditures.

Through faith, strong medical support, and determination, I continue managing my improving health while remaining active in my investments and education efforts.

Today, I live in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, since 2015. I manage a diversified investment portfolio that includes rental properties, real estate notes, and private equity interests in multiple businesses.

More importantly, I’m committed to paying it forward — helping young people pursue college scholarships, learn trade skills, and explore entrepreneurship. Teaching business, investing, and financial literacy has become a core part of my mission.

I’ve learned firsthand that setbacks don’t define you — what you do after them does.

If you’re interested in consulting, mentoring, or coaching — or simply want to learn more about my work — feel free to reach out.

You can also follow me on social media for insights on:

• Real estate investing
• Business and entrepreneurship
• Financial education

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Contact me or explore my resources at JeffFilali.com