Joe Denker

Joe comes from a broad background in land acquisitions, entitlements, development, asset management, and finance, straddling multifamily, office, industrial, and retail real estate. Joe worked in acquisitions and development for Richmond American Homes, a national homebuilder, as well as Maverik Inc., a regional retail owner-operator. In those capacities, Joe was responsible for sourcing, underwriting negotiating, and closing land purchases and leases. He also worked on a national portfolio for Property Reserve Inc., conducting financial and market analysis for annual strategy assessments, capital improvement projects, and lease/portfolio management.

Prior to Defy Co.labs, Joe came from the structured finance team at Bridge Investment Group, one of the largest family of Opportunity Zone Funds in the country, where his team sourced over $1.1B of mixed-use OZ development financing nationwide. Additionally, he serviced a $1.0B+ national portfolio of value-add commercial real estate. His relationships span national and regional banks, debt funds, insurance companies, GSE’s, and other lenders.

In addition to his passion for real estate, Joe is deeply passionate about education - childhood education as well as higher education. He enjoys connecting with students, professors, and peers to promote diverse, positive thinking.

Joe graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in Construction and Facilities Management. He also has a master’s degree in Real Estate Development and an Urban Planning Certificate from the University of Utah.

Les Essig

Les is a born entrepreneur from a family with generations of real estate development history. He has spent the last 20 years building a real estate portfolio and brokerage with a special focus on urban and suburban infill properties. During that time he has managed multiple real estate development projects including single-family phased lot communities, multi-family and townhouse projects, and mixed-use office warehouse conversions. Les is a third-generation real estate developer. He spent his childhood landscaping projects, his college years assisting in land acquisition, and his post-college years entitling properties.

He is a market expert on the front lines of putting properties and projects together. His brokerage slogan is “We MAKE It Happen.” The brokerage is built on applying systems and training with technology tools. This model maximizes individuals’ output and assists acquisition agents to be more successful. This method has closed over 1900 transactions in the last 10 years. 

Les graduated with a dual bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from Utah State University where he also served as student body president. Les is a grinder and values the daily activities and routines that bring about success. He is a service-oriented individual who enjoys assisting individuals to grow and succeed in their real estate careers.

Todd Charlton

Todd has a broad range of architecture and construction experience. With over 20 years in the design industry, he has worked on a variety of projects from One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, NY to international projects with retailers IKEA, Nordstrom, Williams-Sonoma, and others. His design experience spans both commercial (including office, retail, and public buildings) and residential (including single-family and multifamily). He has worked for an international firm (CallisonRTKL), a regional firm (LMN Architects), and most recently for Method Studios in Salt Lake.

Notable projects in Todd’s portfolio include One World Trade Center (New York City, NY) and the first LEED Gold sports arena in North America (Showare Center, Kent, WA). Locally, Todd has worked on the Scott C. Keller Building at Utah Valley University and theOlive Apartments in downtown Salt Lake City, among other projects.

Acquisitions Team

Mike DeRosa, Cheery Mata, Hayden Hixson