Hi there, buckle up!

My name is Jon Stark, President & Founder of Mantis Development. We are a small, privately-funded family business that invests in America’s most primitive (and arguably most resilient) asset class — LAND.

My real estate journey began in 2016; I was burned out from a 10+ year career in food & beverage/hospitality, which was encumbered by a glass ceiling and an unhealthy lifestyle (speaking for myself) of unfulfillment, mediocrity and ultimately, unhappiness.

Then, summer of 2016, I found a lifeline, which, for me at the time, was full of excitement but uncertainty and unknown — real estate. I was 29, single and with little true responsibility (before marriage, kids, and mortgages). So I jumped on the opportunity, got my real estate license and began working in acquisitions for a private company that buys and sells distressed homes to “fix and flip” investors. This was a great foundation for learning about not only real estate in general, but specifically for off-market, direct to seller prospecting. This was an excellent company to work for, and to whom I am forever grateful for because without that opportunity, I would probably still be miserable working in high-end restaurants. Which is no knock to that industry or the people that work in it, I will always have the utmost level of respect for people that work in the food and beverage industry, it built inherently valuable traits that will always be a part of me. I digress. My short (but successful) stint “wholesaling” houses led me to a new direction through a mutual contact — transitioning into commercial real estate as an investment sales agent with one of the nation’s top firms. I spent five years, collectively, between two amazing commercial brokerages, where I was focused on acquisition and disposition of industrial buildings.

Helping people buy and sell properties was (and is) an extremely fulfilling part of the real estate business, though I’d always had the passion and desire to become an owner and investor of real estate myself. So simultaneously, while still an active commercial agent, when the Covid-19 epidemic hit (March 2020), I obviously had a little extra time on my hands (also before my two sons were born), I came across a mentorship group that offered education into multifamily (apartment) investing and syndication. This mentorship group was the stepping stone I needed to eventually branch off on my own as a full-time real estate investor and entrepreneur, and also the catalyst and positive reinforcement for investing in other real estate education groups.

I am an active member of two land mentorship/mastermind groups, one in Land Development and one that embodies the “Land Flipping” business, both excellent business models and both are the core of our business today.

Mantis Development was born in summer 2023, and is a cumulation of all of my real estate passion and experience. We have been buying and selling land predominantly in the southeastern and midwestern states. I am grateful to be able to do what I love and to have the time freedom to spend it how I chose with the ones I love most.

I live in Carlsbad, CA with my beautiful wife, aka “Air Traffic Control”, Janae, and our two amazing boys, Ryder & Crue. When I’m not cranking on land deals or spending time traveling with my family, you can find me at the ice rink in Carlsbad, playing hockey with the other “washed up has-beens”, or training Muay Thai with a true legend/world champion coach. Believe it or not, taking leg kicks and punches to the face is my peaceful “zen” happy place.