She’s Turning Senior Living Into a Mission, Not Just a Model

Not Your Typical GP

Vibha Salgamay didn’t take the usual route into real estate. She’s a full-time product designer, a first-generation immigrant, and the co-founder of Relik Capital Group — a firm focused exclusively on senior living communities.

She started as an LP, navigating syndications on her own while working in tech. Now she’s closed four deals totaling 300+ units and is scaling a team that leads with empathy, experience, and operator-first diligence.

Her mission: help others like her — especially high-income professionals without family investing backgrounds — build long-term wealth by investing in one of the most overlooked asset classes in real estate.

The Play: Mission-Driven Senior Living with Institutional Systems

Most investors ignore senior housing. Vibha built a business around it.

Relik Capital partners with experienced care operators to acquire and improve assisted living and memory care facilities, targeting underserved markets with high demand and low supply.

Their strategy centers on two core advantages:

• Values-driven operators who treat care as a priority, not an afterthought

• Institutional-level playbooks that align LPs, co-GPs, and local teams

They’ve already acquired four communities across Florida, Texas, and Georgia, totaling nearly 300 beds, and are now looking to scale toward 700-plus units with a mix of acquisitions and ground-up development.

Why This Works

1. She made trust a system, not a variable
Relik built a GP Playbook, a living doc shared across every stakeholder (LPs, co-GPs, and operators) that outlines expectations, performance metrics, and communication cadences. It helps align teams from day one and reduces execution risk.

2. She treats LPs like partners, not paychecks
From virtual due diligence tours to quarterly calls with operators, Relik gives LPs transparent access to real-time updates. One LP even visited a property in person and said it was the first time they truly felt like a part-owner.

3. She brings tech-grade UX into real estate
Vibha used her background in product design to revamp Relik’s website, communications, and onboarding. The result: clean, simple, trustworthy investor journeys built with first-timers in mind.

The Risks (And How She Avoids Them)

Operator Risk:
The wrong operator can tank even the best facility. Vibha mitigates this by vetting 5–7 operators for every project and partnering only with teams that have strong compliance records, deep staffing experience, and proven resident outcomes.

Regulatory Complexity:
Senior living is heavily regulated and rules vary by state. Relik works closely with legal counsel and compliance specialists from day one and maintains proactive communication with state agencies to avoid costly delays or shutdowns.

Investor Education Gaps:
Many of Vibha’s LPs are investing outside of tech for the first time. To reduce confusion and build trust, she provides onboarding guides, quarterly operator calls, and ongoing portfolio updates that demystify everything from pro formas to patient care standards.

Exit Timing:
Senior living assets can have smaller buyer pools and longer hold periods. Vibha addresses this by targeting stabilized properties with strong operating cash flow and structuring deals with flexible exit options, including refis and JV buyouts.

What You Can Learn (and Steal)

1. Educate the LPs you want to attract
Relik’s “Freedom Blueprint” exercise helps prospective investors map out their passive income goals and discover how close they really are. It has converted hesitant LPs into repeat investors simply by giving them clarity.

2. Don’t skip the operator interview process
Relik talks to 5 to 7 operators before committing to a facility. They evaluate cultural alignment, staff retention, community engagement, and readiness for tech upgrades like fall detection software. That work upfront de-risks the entire deal.

3. Simplify the complex
From how risk is presented in the deck to how updates are shared post-close, Vibha focuses on making investing feel more human, not more institutional.

Listen to the full episode

🎙 Groundbreakers with Vibha Salgamay

In it, we cover:

• How she built a senior living GP business without ever owning a rental

• Why operator selection is everything in care-driven real estate

• The exact systems she uses to manage multiple stakeholders

• How she’s using design thinking to simplify investor education

• Why first-gen professionals are the next big LP wave