Relocation as Strategy: Jamie Marshall & Rudy Metta on Building relo
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Jamie Marshall & Rudy Metta
In an era where founders, investors, and executives are more mobile than ever, the question of where to live and operate has become as strategic as any business decision. Enter relo, the advisory platform built for founders, investors, and executives navigating where and how to live, operate, and invest across jurisdictions. Launching in S Florida and accessible to other locations worldwide in the future, relo organizes and manages every part of your move, from planning and timelines to advisors and documents, all in one place.
Co-founded by Jamie Marshall and Rudy Metta – whose careers span global finance, executive advisory, and cross-market strategy; relo is a tiered subscription based relocation platform bringing structure, intelligence, and clarity to one of life’s most complex transitions. Miami Living Magazine sits down with the co-founders to explore the forces reshaping global movement, the rise of Florida as a magnet for capital and talent, and why relocation is no longer just about place, but about positioning.
Rudy Metta & Jamie Marshall
Miami Living (ML): Jamie, having lived and worked between London and New York – and Rudy, advising globally mobile clients for decades – how did your own experiences of movement and transition shape the philosophy behind relo?
RM: I have been vacationing in Miami for the past 17 years. We’ve had a family home there and it’s always been our home away from home. In the last 3 years we have started to think of relocating from London to Miami for lifestyle and for growing opportunities that I have seen since the pandemic. This is when the birth of relo came into action for me and realizing the potential of what it could be worth for families, professional, and corporations. I could see from social media the growth of people relocating and we wanted to give a service under a digital centralized hub.
JM: For me, relo came from connecting a few dots. My family has had ties to Fort Lauderdale & Pompano for over forty years, so Florida has always been personal to me. Then through my work in executive search and advisory across London, New York, and the Bay Area, I started seeing more hedge fund, VC, founder, and executive clients seriously looking at Miami and South Florida. At the same time, I was inspired by what Florida 100 was building around business, capital, and influence in the region. It made me realize Florida was not just having a moment. Something structural was happening. But the relocation process was still fragmented. People had lawyers, brokers, tax advisors, bankers, and friends giving advice, but no central system. As a founder and someone also exploring to relocate, I saw that gap clearly. relo was built to turn relocation from scattered advice into a coordinated, data-informed process.
ML: Both of you have spent years advising high-level clients across markets and geographies. Was there a specific moment or pattern you kept seeing that made you realize, “this system is broken”?
RM: When relocating there are so many big decisions that need to be made, and personally I was asking around to my tax advisors, lawyers and realtors all the questions as to who was the best contact to make this move as easy as possible. I found myself overwhelmed with who to trust. This process was fragmented and thought relo could offer a simplified, trusted hub between relocators and professionals. We aim to democratize the relocating experience for all.
JM: It was less one moment and more a pattern I kept seeing. Very smart people were making huge relocation decisions through disconnected advice. A tax advisor here, a realtor there, lawyer there, a friend who moved last year. A few WhatsApp messages. These were founders, investors, and fund managers who were sharp in business, yet the move itself had no operating system around it. That made no sense to me. The issue was not a lack of good advisors, It was that nobody was connecting the full picture. Tax, legal, real estate, schools, insurance, banking, healthcare, lifestyle, and family all affect each other. That is where relo came from. We saw a fragmented market and felt there was a better way to organize it.
Rudy Metta
ML: Relocation has always existed, but relo suggests it has fundamentally changed. What’s shifted in recent years that made this moment the right time to build infrastructure around how people move?
RM: After the Covid pandemic remote work became normalized, high-income workers from NY, Europe and South America were suddenly free to choose location based on lifestyle, taxes and climate. Miami became a top beneficiary of that shift. Relocation became more fluid. Miami has built a real gravity in finance, tech, and VC ecosystems. High earners are moving with purpose, often tied to jobs or capital. Miami is now booming and it's treated as a node in a portfolio of cities.
JM: The way people think about location has changed. COVID accelerated it, but the shift was already happening. Founders, investors, and executives now think about where they live as part of their wider strategy. Tax matters, access to capital matters, lifestyle matters, schools' matter, network matters, regulation matters. Florida became a clear example of that shift. I kept seeing hedge fund, VC, founder, and executive clients looking seriously at Miami, Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and the wider South Florida market. Not just for lifestyle, but for business, capital, family, and long-term positioning. The problem which we wanted to solve was that people were still using old tools for a new type of decision. That is the opportunity for relo and when I spoke with Rudy, who was relocating himself to Florida, who also was thinking about solving the same problem.
ML: Relocation decisions are often framed as financial or strategic, but they’re also deeply personal. How does relo account for the human side of moving a life, not just a business?
RM: Relocating can look exciting on paper but as my family and are have gone through this process I have succumbed to realizing what relocation looks like: transactions, leases, checklists (visa, movers, paperwork), efficiency (speed, cost). relo can help and break down the questions asked. The goal is to reduce the risk of failing and provide confidence and support. We look after your family move whether it be insurance, schools, medical healthcare.
JM: A move can look smart on paper and still fail in real life, that is something I think people underestimate. You are not just moving a tax position, you are moving your family, your routines, your support system, your children’s schools, your partner’s life, and your sense of belonging and that really matters. At relo, the human side is part of the strategy. We look at lifestyle fit, schools, healthcare, community, neighborhoods, and the practical reality of day-to-day life. Because if the family does not settle, the move usually does not work. The best relocation is not just technically correct, It has to work as a life.
ML: Is the traditional idea of “where you’re based” becoming obsolete? And if so, what replaces it for today’s founder or investor?
RM: I don’t believe where you are based is obsolete, however you can realistically choose a city to relocate to and build your life and business around it. As a founder or investor, capital, talent and information are more distributed. You can hide and operate across cities.
JM: I do not think location is becoming obsolete, I think it is becoming more strategic. For a founder or investor, where you are based can affect tax, talent, deal flow, capital access, family life, privacy, travel, and quality of life. It’s no longer a side decision, it is a business and life decision. What replaces the old idea of being “based” somewhere is a more intentional model. Eg: Where do you want to build? Where does your family thrive? Where is your network compounding? Where does your capital make sense? Where does your business have an edge? That is how modern founders and investors are starting to look at location.
Jamie Marshall
ML: You’ve both highlighted Florida – especially Miami and Palm Beach – as key hubs right now. Beyond the headlines, what are you seeing on the ground that most people are still underestimating?
RM: What’s happening in Miami is that founders meet other founders, operators bring teams and spin out new companies as a result investors cluster and deploy capital to these specific regions. The main catalyst for these moves are more favorable taxes vs other states, good schools and a great lifestyle.
JM: People understand the obvious reasons, such as tax, weather, lifestyle. What they underestimate is the quality of the network forming in Florida. I have seen more hedge fund, VC, founder, and executive clients looking at Miami and South Florida not as a second-home market, but as a serious base. That is the interesting part. When capital, operators, founders, and families start clustering in one place, the network starts to compound. Deals happen, introductions happen, communities form and businesses get built. I also think people underestimate how different each Florida market is. Eg: Miami is not Palm Beach, Palm Beach is not Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale is not Tampa or Naples. Choosing Florida is only the first decision, choosing the right part of Florida is where the real strategy begins.
ML: What’s the most expensive mistake you see founders or investors make when relocating, and why are so many still getting it wrong?
RM: The biggest mistake is not seeing the complexity of how a city functions. Making quick decisions, not thinking of placement of areas to live but just buy buying property. Landing in the wrong place can jeopardize them because no one is properly guiding them to align location to outcomes like schools. Where you land determines who you meet and how fast you can grow. Founders relocate but essentially they have to make a positioning decision. relo can connect the relocators to trusted and vetted advisors seamlessly.
JM: The biggest mistake is treating relocation like a lifestyle move first and a structured decision second. People buy property, spend more time in Florida, change a few things, and then assume the move is properly set up. But for founders, investors, entrepreneur and high-income individuals, the details matter. Domicile matters, time spent in-state matters. Documentation matters, banking matters, tax planning matters, schools matter, professional and family ties matter. A badly planned relocation can create risk, wasted time, and expensive mistakes. The move needs to be designed properly from the beginning. That is the discipline relo brings.
ML: As cities compete more aggressively for talent and capital, how do you see the future of global mobility evolving? And where does relo fit into that long-term vision?
RM: Florida is competing in a global market for talent, capital and lifestyle. relo can assist in making strategic decisions to map out a more centralized move and a trusted hub. Whether you are a founder, investor or moving your family; there are so many interesting global cities that are growingly attractive, our vision is to make these locations easier to relocate too through our tech platform. Our vision is too eventually expand our product offering and facilitate cross border movements.
JM: I think global mobility is becoming one of the biggest strategic decisions for founders, investors, executives, and families. Cities and states are now competing for talent and capital, people have more choice, but more choice creates more complexity. That is where relo fits, we are building the intelligence and coordination layer for high-value relocation. Florida is our first focus because I know the market personally, I have seen the client demand professionally, and I believe the opportunity is real. But the bigger vision is not just Florida. The bigger vision is to help people make better location decisions wherever capital, talent, and families are moving. I want relo to be the first call someone makes when they are thinking seriously about where to build the next chapter of their life and business.
Rudy Metta & Jamie Marshall
To learn more find relo on Instagram at @hey_relo and visit www.heyrelo.com.