The FORT with Chris Powers

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As the founder of Creek Development, Shiloe has completed 63 commercial redevelopment projects and 5 land entitlement plays in the San Francisco Bay Area. Leveraging her deep construction expertise, she challenges project assumptions and incorporates impactful design to achieve remarkable outcomes for her clients and investors.

On this episode, Chris and Shiloe discuss: - How Shiloe built Creek as an outsourced developer - How Creek converts Industrial space for biotech labs - A deep dive into the Bay Area RE market - Why design is such an important aspect of development

Links: Shiloe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shiloebear Creek Development: https://creekdev.com/

Topics: (00:04:37) Shiloe’s upbringing and journey to doing development in the Bay Area (00:11:34) What are the projects you work on the most? (00:14:03) Why is there such a demand for outsourced development? (00:14:44) What makes your firm different? (00:18:09) Tenants not paying rent (00:19:49) Minimum Viable Projects (00:24:27) How early in a project do you need to be brought in? (00:27:48) What are some obvious parts of a project where you can save money? (00:30:05) How would you describe the Bay Area market right now? (00:35:48) Office to Residential (00:39:48) What’s the environment like for Oakland? (00:44:45) How Shiloe is planning to pivot her business into doing their own developments (00:50:19) How important are the relationships you’ve developed in The Bay over the past 10 years? (00:54:51) The BioTech market and development strategy (01:02:19) Why design matters (01:09:50) How far out are labs looking for space? (01:11:02) Lenders, Leases, and hold periods (01:13:48) Why did this become your niche? (01:15:27) Shiloe’s bird-watching skills & long-distance running

Chris on Social Media: Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Ana Lorena Fábrega is an edupreneur, writer, and Chief Evangelist at Synthesis. Growing up, she attended ten schools in seven different countries. She then earned her BS in Childhood Education and Special Education from New York University and taught elementary school in New York, Boston, and Panama. Today, Ana Lorena writes online to over 200,000 readers about the promise of alternative education. On this episode, Chris and Ana discuss:

The current state of education

Teaching children in a digital world

How to teach children to fail

The problem in America with ADHD

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Links The Learning Game by Ana Lorena Fábrega Ana on Twitter

Topics (00:02:22) The problem in America with ADHD (00:13:14) The current state of education (00:22:34) The role of an educator (00:29:38) How can teachers work differently within the school system? (00:35:40) Are tests even necessary? (00:39:36) Teaching kids in a digital world (00:46:53) Learning how to fail (00:59:57) Nature vs. Nurture (01:02:41) Negotiating with your kids (01:06:34) It’s useless to ask kids what they want to be when they grow up (01:09:34) How parents should approach their children’s education (01:13:54) Learning tendencies in single-child households vs. multi-child (01:16:06) How are you planning out your child’s education?

Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Chris on Social Media:

Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Eric is a trusted deal lawyer with extensive M&A and capital markets experience. Having worked for elite law firms such as Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Eric has worked on high-stakes transactions for clients such as Amazon.com, Jerry Jones, Banc of America Securities LLC, Palantir and Greenlane Holdings. On this episode, Eric and Chris discuss:

Starting the SMB Attorney Twitter account and launching the first Social Media-driven law firm

A walkthrough of the process of closing on a business

The realities of SMB searching

Holdco's, Rollups and the Silver Tsunami

Links: Eric on Twitter SMB Law Group Mundane Millionaires Podcast The Fort w/ Rich Jordan The Fort w/ Josh Schultz

Topics: (00:01:57) Starting SMB Law Group - The first social media-driven law firm (00:09:14) How different types of searchers approach acquisitions (00:22:00) The Silver Tsunami (00:23:52) The types of businesses Eric works on and the world of business brokers (00:32:03) What makes a great buyer (00:34:44) The process of closing on a business (00:59:44) Installing a new CEO post-acquisition (01:01:56) Management buy-outs (01:03:17) Holdcos vs. rollups (01:07:03) ChatGPT’s impact on the legal profession (01:10:02) Reps, warranties, and insurance in SMB

Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Evan Baehr is the managing partner of Learn Capital, a venture capital fund that backs and builds companies that drive human flourishing. He’s Founder of Teneo, a national leadership organization, author of the best-selling book Get Backed from Harvard Business Press, and host of the Arena, a TV show celebrating bold founders. On this episode, Evan and Chris discuss:

How Evan is advancing human flourishing

The roles of government vs. community in human flourishing

How to build and grow communities

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Links Learn Capital Teneo Evan on Twitter

Topics (00:01:36) Human Flourishing (00:14:38) The rise in deaths of despair (00:23:03) The role of government in human flourishing (00:28:52) Teneo (00:34:17) How to build a community (00:41:43) How communities change as they grow (00:54:57) Writing a bill to protect international mail-order brides (00:58:06) Evan’s perspective on ESG

Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Joe Shelerud is Co-Founder and CEO of Ad Advance, a digital advertising agency and Amazon Advertising Advanced Partner. Joe’s career in business and engineering quickly pivoted into the Amazon space after he started selling on Amazon back in 2014. After scaling his own 7-figure brand, Joe and his business partner founded their agency Ad Advance in 2017. Together with his team, Joe has helped brands all over the globe scale their brands. Joe is also the host of The Ad Project podcast, a show that helps eCommerce brands scale and push their advertising to the next level.

On this episode, Joe and Chris discuss:

How bidding for online advertising works

Amazon vs. Facebook in the battle for king of digital advertisers

Dealing with algorithm changes

Selling the business to Permanent Equity

Links Ad Advance The Ad Project Podcast Joe on Twitter

Topics: (00:01:54) Joe’s career (00:07:31) Getting on Amazon’s radar and working with them (00:10:29) How does bidding work? (00:15:08) Is there anything that worries you about increased browser privacy? (00:17:13) Are our devices “listening” to us? (00:18:33) Are you an outsourced ad buyer? (00:19:40) What does a great client look like and who do you screen out? (00:21:18) How do you know if you’re doing an excellent job for the client? (00:22:52) What are sellers prioritizing on Amazon today? (00:25:16) Could Amazon dethrone Facebook as the largest digital advertiser? (00:26:22) Do you plan to expand to retail media? (00:27:20) What have you learned from Amazon about running your business? (Twitter Vid) (00:31:03) Is the winner in e-commerce who can advertise online the best? (00:33:11) How do you deal with algorithm changes? (00:34:30) Who was most affected by the iOS14 update? (00:35:38) What are some big changes you’re seeing from sellers? (00:37:35) How does AI play in your business? (00:44:18)Amazon DSP (00:45:13) Selling to Permanent Equity (00:56:04) Visiting all 50 states with your kids

Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Chris is proud to be a 6th generation Utahn and a 3rd generation commercial real estate developer. His career has focused on helping people build their cash flow in commercial real estate and having fun while doing it. Chris has been involved in over 1,000 drive-thru deals throughout the mountain and desert states throughout his career. Chris joined the brokerage community in 2002. He spent tireless hours helping multiple national retailers such as Dollar Tree, Starbucks Coffee, Verizon, Wendy’s, and Wells Fargo expand throughout the Intermountain area. In 2008 he chose to pivot his career into the investment sales side of the shopping center business. From 2008 to present he has been involved in over $2.0 Billion of retail investment sales with a primary focus of representing family offices looking to acquire additional assets for their portfolios.

On this episode, Chris and Chris discuss:

Why Salt Lake City is a fantastic place to work and live

Adopting a child from Tonga

How Chris develops sites for national retailers

What makes a great development site

The science of the Drive-thru

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Links Chris Hatch on Twitter NNN Income Blog The Net Lease Podcast

Topics (00:02:02) The hidden gem of Salt Lake City (00:05:32) “We need to have another baby” (00:14:33) Chris’ role at Triple Net (00:16:07) What makes a great site-selection person? (00:18:14)What are the characteristics of a tenant you want to work with? (00:20:42) How do you get in the door with these tenants to become their developer? (00:25:08) How should one look at buying a Dutch bros. vs. a building that could host multiple tenants (00:28:15) The importance of the Drive-thru (00:31:33) Exclusive use provisions (00:33:02) Best practices for structuring leases (00:35:01) Providing a developer’s perspective (00:37:23) Why would someone buy a building like yours instead of buying treasuries? (00:42:01) The decision to enter MF development (00:45:16) Family breakups (00:52:30) The Red Lobster to Olive Garden story (00:59:18) Modular buildings (01:02:46) Chris on taking 30-day vacations

Support our Sponsors Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Growing up in Wichita Falls, Texas, Donald Zale watched his father, a Russian Jewish immigrant from an orthodox family, turn a small jewelry store into the Zale Corporation. Don worked alongside his father in the jewelry store and assumed the role of chairman of the board in 1980. In addition to being a successful businessman, Don and his wife, Barbara, became known as a philanthropist, using their wealth to help build hospitals, fund scholarships and aid the homeless. Don works chiefly on his family’s foundation, which funds community services and programs involving health, education, and Jewish heritage across several states.\

On this episode, Chris and Don discuss:

The founding story of Zales and growing up in the family business

The diamond industry

Managing shareholders within the family alongside external shareholders

Zale's hostile takeover and being pushed out

Life lessons for listeners

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Topics (00:02:28) The founding of Zales (00:13:38) The power of relationships (00:15:13) The biggest changes from the 40s to today (00;16:52) Don’s relationship with his father and experiences growing up in the business (00:24:38) When did the business really start to take off? (00:29:47) The shift to focusing on Diamonds (00:37:21) How do you think about marketing? (00:39:27) Lessons learned growing up in a family business (00:42:32) Managing shareholders within the family as well as external shareholders (00:43:41) Don on Zale’s hostile takeover (01:03:38) The potential in the diamond industry (01:06:59) Life lessons for listeners

Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Emily Holdman is Managing Director of Permanent Equity - a firm using 30-year funds to invest with no intention of selling in small and medium-sized private businesses. In her role, Emily is principally responsible for leading the firm's origination and investment process, and its marketing. On this episode, Chris and Emily discuss:

How to know when a seller is ready, and when to move forward on a business

Underwriting businesses

Buying an Amusement Park Ride Manufacturer

How to ask great questions when entering an unfamiliar industry

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Links Permanent Equity Emily on Twitter

Topics (00:02:34) Emily’s background and career (00:06:47) Acquiring MediaCross and growing the business (00:13:00) Moving into Acquisitions at 23 years old (00:18:06) Going three years without acquiring (00:24:10) How to know when a seller is ready (00:31:50) Emily’s role at PE (00:33:25) When do you know it’s time to move forward with a seller? (00:38:40) How many businesses do you see before moving on one? (00:45:21) Why does everyone disagree over working capital? (00:47:23) How to underwrite a business in Alaska (00:56:21) Why PE loves Texas & Enthusiast Businesses (01:02:02) Buying an Amusement Park Ride Manufacturer (01:07:04) What are some questions you ask early on to become familiar with an industry? (01:12:32) How do you know if a seller is giving good answers if you’re unfamiliar with an industry? (01:16:52) Transaction tensions (01:23:46) Why the Twitter sentiment on self-reliance is annoying (01:32:02) Women in Investing (01:39:23) Advice for girls

Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Chris is joined by his business partner and Fort Capital CEO Jason Baxter to celebrate the 300th episode of the Podcast. On this episode, Chris and Jason answer listener-submitted questions regarding:

How to build a successful partnership

How Fort Capital is navigating the real estate economy

Implementing technology and artificial intelligence in a business

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Ego is the enemy by Ryan Holiday Good to Great by Jim Collins Fort Ep.180 - GP Fees and The Pathway to Building a World-Class REPE Operating Platform Jeremy Giffon on Invest like the Best

Topics (00:04:13) Reflecting on 300 episodes (00:06:22) Jason and Chris deep dive and answer questions about partnerships (00:46:44) Answering questions about Fort Capital (01:14:10) How Fort Capital is incorporating Artificial Intelligence

Support our Sponsors RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO

The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Born in Siberia, Artem immigrated to the United States at the age of nine. In 2009 he formed SCHON | TEPLER Partners to capitalize on the unprecedented opportunities in distressed residential real estate during the GFC and has evolved into a full-service, vertically integrated, multi-family real estate development firm. Since his first purchase of a single-family house as an investment for $300k at the age of 23, Artem has been involved as a principal in the development/redevelopment of more than $400m of real estate.

On this episode, Chris and Artem discuss: ➡️ life in Siberia under Communism ➡️ immigrating to the United States ➡️ the thread between Jiu Jitsu and Career success ➡️ a walkthrough of putting together a Los Angeles Multifamily project

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Additional Resources 👉Artem on Twitter 👉Schon Tepler Partners

Timestamps (00:04:02) Discovering Zyn (00:05:41) Life in Siberia under Communism (00:13:14) Immigrating to America (00:19:14) Thoughts on Russia/Ukraine (00:27:21) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (00:32:58) Artem’s early RE career (00:48:56) Buying a home from a murderer (00:51:10) Artem’s business today (00:54:10) Self-performing construction vs. outsourcing (01:03:54) Measuring success in construction (01:14:19) How an LA project comes together (01:25:10) Covid’s Impact on Multifamily (01:31:26) Affordable housing (01:34:00) Thoughts on the near-term market

Links ➡️ Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH 💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ 📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Chris Hutchins is the host of the award-winning All the Hacks podcast, where he helps listeners upgrade their life, money and travel. Previously, he was the founder/CEO of Grove (acquired by Wealthfront), an investor at Google Ventures, and a co-founder of Milk (acquired by Google). On this episode, Chris & Chris Hutchins discuss: ➡️ Chris' filter for finding hacks in life ➡️ the business of credit card points ➡️ travel hacking ➡️ the business of Podcasting

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Additional Resources 👉 All the Hacks 👉 Chris' Website 👉 Chris on Twitter 👉 How Airlines Quietly Became Banks 👉 AllTheHacks.com/CardValue 👉 AllTheHacks.com/TP 👉Point.me 👉Roame.travel 👉Seats.aero 👉Oceansxyz.com 👉 The 2-Hour Cocktail Party by Nick Gray

Timestamps (00:03:03) Chris’s career (00:07:57) Is it fair to say almost everything is hackable? (00:08:55) What filter do you apply to find a hack? (00:20:22) The business of credit card points (00:33:32) Choosing the right credit card and travel hacking (00:52:31) Business hacks for entrepreneurs (00:57:38) The Business of Podcasting

➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH 💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ 📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Mark Brooks is Chief Operating Officer and Co-President of Permanent Equity - a firm that invests with no intention of selling in small and medium-sized private businesses. In his role, Mark and his team are responsible for the operations of PE's 13 (and counting) portfolio companies spanning multiple industries including aerospace, construction, manufacturing, ad tech, and professional services. On this episode, Mark & Chris discuss: ➡️ what makes a great and a terrible manager ➡️ how Mark manages owners of acquired businesses ➡️ how to create alignment and incentives ➡️ why Management is not a Trade

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Additional Resources 👉 Permanent Equity 👉Mark on Twitter 👉The Permanent Equity Podcast

Timestamps (00:03:05) Mark’s career at AOL and The Motley Fool (00:08:21) What is a good manager and what is a bad manager? (00:11:29) What does your role look like at PE? (00:17:37) What’s the cadence of communications with the businesses under PE? (00:23:14) Are there cues in conversations with owners of a potential acquisition that put a deal in question? (00:25:07) Do any of the businesses you buy already have a board in place? (00:27:03) How do you handle owners who may not be as open to being managed? (00:31:22) How do you incentivize owners differently than other Private equity shops? (00:39:22) The 'Working with Mark' document (00:43:41) Management is not a trade (00:48:53) Do you agree that people leave managers, not companies? (00:51:23) What’s the difference between a Manager and a Principal? (00:56:03) What do you use in addition to personality tests to identify talent? (01:01:11) How do you play out a scenario when you have two equals in a business and need to have one move up to manage the other? (01:07:23) How do you know you’ve struck a balance between being too flat and being too management-heavy? (01:12:17) How do you create alignment and incentives for teams that may not necessarily be impacting the bottom line? (01:22:39) Why are incentives so much easier to understand in hindsight? (01:27:34) What should the communication cadence between managers and teams look like? (01:30:39) True Management is an inversion

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Sean Burton is CEO of Cityview, a vertically integrated real estate investment management and development firm that specializes in developing, acquiring and operating opportunistic and value-add multifamily projects in gateway markets across the Western U.S. Cityview has invested in more than 130 projects and was named the decade’s largest multifamily developer in LA by Los Angeles Business Journal.

On this episode, Sean and Chris discuss: ➡️ land entitling ➡️ an overview of the Los Angeles market ➡️ what makes a great multifamily developer and operator

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Additional Resources 👉Cityview 👉Sean on LinkedIn

Timestamps (00:03:57) Sean's journey into Real estate (00:05:11) Learnings from working in the White House (00:07:26) An Overview of Cityview (00:10:25) What matters to you when considering a market or an asset to acquire? (00:12:02) Are you finding sites that are already entitled or do you need to entitle before closing? (00:14:48) Is it taking longer to entitle land these days? (00:16:05) The desire to build more housing in LA, the homeless crisis, and an overview of the LA market (00:21:38) Where in LA are you looking for sites? (00:22:51) Do you see any similarities between today’s market and the GFC? (00:25:11) Have building costs stabilized? (00:26:56) What would it take for a development deal to make sense right now? (00:31:22) What makes a good tour when showing equity a project? (00:32:47) Is Office to Residential even realistic? (00:35:06) What makes a great MF developer and operator? (00:36:51) Is there any from an amenities standpoint that you’re focusing on? (00:39:21) Is there any technology you’re implementing? (00:41:55) How are you positioning yourself for the next few years? (00:45:47) How do you capitalize deals? (00:48:15) Thoughts on the First Republic Bank takeover

➡️ RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH 💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ 📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Jim O'Shaughnessy serves as Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of Stability.ai. He is the Founder and CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures, LLC (OSV). O'Shaughnessy Ventures focuses on his deeply rooted interest in art, science, investing, and tech, marrying them with his long-held desire to establish positive sum scenarios through partnerships and investments. OSV focuses on 4 specific areas: Infinite Adventures (venture capital), Infinite Films, Infinite Media, and the O'Shaughnessy Fellowship program. Prior to OSV, Jim was the Founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC (OSAM), an asset management firm that Franklin Templeton acquired in 2022. Jim is the author of four books on investing, was awarded several U.S. Patents on investment strategies and investment technologies, and was called a "Legendary investor" by Forbes.com.

On this episode, Chris & Jim discuss: ➡️ the cumulative cultural evolution ➡️ quant investing ➡️ the difference between probabilities and possibilities ➡️ how Jim is navigating O'Shaughnessy Ventures

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Additional Resources 👉 Jim on Twitter 👉O'Shaughnessy Ventures 👉Stability.ai 👉Jim's Books 👉The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich 👉 The Flynn Effect 👉Wait but Why by Tim Urban 👉The True Believer by Erif Hoffer 👉 The Internet Contrarian by Jim O'Shaughnessy 👉A Generational Buying Opportunity by Jim O'Shaughnessy 👉Claude Shannon's information theory

Timestamps (00:02:17) Jim’s grandfather (00:04:15) “You can always understand the son by the story of his father.” (00:14:00) Cumulative Cultural Evolution (00:26:16) What is Quant Investing? (00:36:54) How does a Quant investor know they have their algorithm right? (00:45:29) How does our emotional predisposition affect our investing approach? (00:50:43) The huge difference between probabilities and possibilities (00:54:43) How TV news devolved into propaganda (01:01:48) How America is distinguished from other countries (01:07:28) The Great Reshuffle (01:22:00) What’s something you’ve done at OSV you wouldn’t have been able to do with LPs? (01:23:13) Why did you invest in Stability AI? (01:28:35) What does success look like for OSV?

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Sahil Bloom is an inspirational writer and content creator, captivating millions of people every week through his social insights and bi-weekly newsletter, The Curiosity Chronicle. Sahil is also a successful entrepreneur and owner of SRB Holdings, a personal holding company currently comprised of seven cash-flowing businesses, and the Managing Partner of SRB Ventures, a $10 million venture investment firm committed to investing in and accelerating the most compelling startups in the world. Prior to launching SRB Ventures in January 2022, Sahil was an early-stage investor in 40+ startups across the technology landscape, including multiple unicorns.

On this episode, Chris & Sahil discuss: ➡️ Sahil’s upbringing and core influences ➡️ building an audience & spinning up online businesses ➡️ where he’s reinvesting money ➡️ His forthcoming book

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Additional Resources 👉 Sahil on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn 👉 The Curiosity Chronicle - Sahil's Newsletter 👉 Sahil's website

➡️ Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH 💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ 📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

Timestamps (00:05:12) Sahil’s life in New York (00:07:45) Sahil’s upbringing and core influences (00:20:19) The day Sahil decided to start writing online (00:25:10) How do you explain what you do? (00:28:09) Finding a network on Twitter (00:30:53) Making the decision to not engage in Twitter BS (00:35:17) Realizing this could become a business (00:41:37) Making big decisions requires speed (00:43:50) Spending time simply to think (00:47:13) Sahil’s vision for a future ecosystem (00:54:50) How Sahil spins up new businesses (00:56:33) How would you describe your flywheel? (01:01:53) Writing a book (01:08:12) The power of LinkedIn (01:10:35) How are you reinvesting the money you’re making? (01:17:01) Plans for the future (01:21:06) Is there an infinite amount of things to talk about in your brand? -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Chris is joined by Fort Capital CEO Jason Baxter and Executive Vice President Steve Bailey to discuss how the company has executed on its mission to establish a world-class Property Management arm of the organization.

On this episode, they discuss: ➡️ how and why FC got into property management ➡️ cost savings & economies of scale ➡️ how the team utilizes data ➡️ incentivizing folks to think like owners

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Fort Capital 👉 Jason on LinkedIn 👉 Steve on LinkedIn

➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq ➡️ Check out Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

Timestamps (00:04:52) How and why Fort Capital got into Property management (00:10:06) The relationship between FCP and Fort Capital (00:10:57) Fort’s philosophy around tenant retention and tenant relationships (00:13:54) The emphasis on face-to-face interaction (00:15:51) How PM prepares to take over an asset (00:20:20) Operation Paperless (00:25:53) Cost Savings & Economies of Scale (00:30:51) Converting Gross Leases to NNN (00:32:45) Tenant Improvements and appeasing tenants vs. falling back on the lease agreement (00:35:29) Bringing maintenance technicians in-house (00:37:20) Intangible benefit of having in-house PM (00:40:29) The PM team’s role in underwriting new opportunities (00:45:09) Adjusting leasing rates (00:47:46) The Lease Admin team (00:51:34) The reason to bring leasing in-house (00:56:58) How leasing is looking at the data coming in (00:59:26) Holding 3rd party leasing teams accountable (01:03:19) What to look for when hiring a great PM (01:06:40) Using technology in PM (01:15:32) Re-forecasting (01:19:03) Why a company with an in-house PM team would still take on 3rd-party (01:21:40) Effectively communicating with 3rd parties (01:27:50) The process of onboarding a new 3rd party partner (01:32:10) Why won’t a lot of 3rd parties manage industrial properties? (01:35:57) How to incentivize people to think like owners -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Ryan is a trust and estates attorney. He represents entrepreneurs, families, and financial institutions with a primary focus on shouldering his clients’ problems and helping them achieve their objectives. On this episode, Ryan and Chris discuss: ➡️ the 6 Basic Estate Planning Documents ➡️ how parents can set up plans for their children ➡️ succession planning for family businesses ➡️ using trusts in PE investments We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Baker Heath 👉 Contact Ryan: 817.769.2745 👉 Email Ryan: Ryan@bakerheath.com 👉 The 6 Basic Estate Planning Documents Deep Dive Videos ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

Timestamps (00:03:27) Ryan’s background and career (00:05:15) The 6 Basic Estate Planning Documents (00:08:10) Planning parents can do for their young kids (00:15:27) When you should be revisiting your plan? (00:17:53) Are there any functions within a trust that kick in before a child becomes an adult? (00:19:03) What happens when a beneficiary is incapable of managing money? (00:22:52) Handling planning when you have multiple children (00:30:01) Succession planning for businesses (00:46:26) Adjusting plans when a loose cannon marries into the family (00:53:00) Planning at different levels of net worth (01:02:06) Money by surprise scenarios (01:07:01) Controlling from the grave (01:11:03) Scenarios when you’re worth >$100 million (01:13:48) Transferring Real Estate (01:17:38) Twitter Questions (01:20:47) Using Trusts in PE Investments (01:23:27) Vertical Slicing for Fund Managers -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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Dupree Scovell is the managing partner and chief investment officer at Woodbine Development Corporation, a full-service real estate company that specializes in hospitality. He got his start in the hotel business at the age of 16, working as a dishwasher at Hyatt Regency Dallas. In 2011, Dupree joined Woodbine and expanded its footprint with the opening of a West Coast office in Los Angeles before returning to Dallas in 2019. Currently, he and his brother, King, work together as managing partners to lead the team, cast vision, and provide strategic direction for the company. Dupree is also responsible for Woodbine’s acquisition platform and capital markets efforts, as well as overseeing Woodbine Legacy Investments, a private equity fund dedicated to the acquisition and development of upscale select-service and full-service branded and boutique hotels throughout the United States.

On this episode Chris & Dupree discuss: ➡️ the impact of our fathers and great mentors on both of us ➡️ Woodbine's Story and history ➡️ how Woodbine invests and creates world-class experiences ➡️ current market insights We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Woodbine 👉 Dupree on LinkedIn

➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

Timestamps (00:03:05) Dupree’s Background and Career (00:06:11) Lessons learned playing for Mike Leach (00:10:20) The role apprenticeship plays in the success (00:13:12) Fatherhood Lessons (00:31:50) Buying a business from your father (00:36:16) Woodbine and the Hunt Family (00:40:11) Experiences raising from Family Offices (00:49:38) Woodbine’s Approach to Hospitality (01:01:15) Setting prices and booking practices (01:05:40) Thinking differently about Hospitality (01:12:33) Thoughts on Office (01:17:29) Full-Service operations & Food and Beverage (01:21:44) How do STRs play into the whole picture? (01:33:34) Thoughts on the market (01:26:53) Closing advice -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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Bob is Head of the NY Private Capital Group within JLL Capital Markets in New York City. Bob was Chairman and Founding Partner of Massey Knakal Realty Services, New York’s #1 building sales firm. In 2014, Cushman & Wakefield acquired Massey Knakal. At Cushman & Wakefield, Bob served as Chairman of New York Investment Sales. He was ranked the top originating investment sales broker at Cushman & Wakefield, globally, in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Bob joined JLL in September of 2018 as Chairman – NY Investment Sales. Since 2009, Bob has written a regular column on the New York City Real Estate Market called Concrete Thoughts for the Commercial Observer. On this episode, Chris and Bob discuss: ➡️ the techniques Bob has used to do over $24B in business ➡️ stories from over 40 years in the business ➡️ how development projects happen in NYC ➡️ a discussion of the current NYC market

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Additional Resources 👉Bob on Twitter 👉LandGlide 👉NY Private Capital Group

➡️ Visit Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq ➡️ Visit Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

Timestamps (00:03:13) Bob’s upbringing and early career (00:08:36) Does the playbook you used still work in this industry? (00:10:24) Defining Market Presence (00:13:13) How are you known in the brokerage industry? (00:16:35) Why did you choose to only represent sellers? (00:20:00) Role-playing a scenario (00:25:57) Is cold calling still the most effective way to navigate this business? (00:28:06) The value in following up (00:32:20)Bob’s NYC war room of maps (00:41:22) How selling development sites works in NYC (00:50:36) Trading Air Rights (00:55:34) Development and land assemblage processes (00:58:58) Bob’s most memorable deal (01:06:15) Bob’s experience in the GFC and thoughts on today’s market (01:10:45) Thoughts on Office assets (01:17:09) Why did the market start to tip in 2015? (01:24:00) If you had to invest $1B in NYC what would you do? -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Brett is the CEO and Co-Founder of New Story, an organization pioneering market-driven solutions to end global homelessness. Brett is a Y Combinator graduate, and New Story was named among Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies in the World” four times in the last five years. New Story aims to bring life-changing housing solutions to 1M people by 2030. Brett is also a Co-Founder of Hometeam Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on housing innovation. On this episode, Chris and Brett discuss: ➡️ the massive scale of inadequate housing ➡️ how New Story is not only building homes, but creating housing markets ➡️ taking a non-profit through Y-Combinator ➡️ how to approach raising capital as a non-profit We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 New Story 👉 Brett on Twitter 👉 The Builders Program

➡️ Go here to save $500 on your Re-Convene Tickets! ➡️ Check out RE Cost Seg ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

(00:05:08) Brett’s career leading up to New Story (00:14:10) What is inadequate housing? (00:16:08) What happens when you introduce a more stable way of living for these families? (00:18:56) Experiences at Y Combinator (00:23:36) Finding problems behind the problems (00:27:21) Where New Story operates and how they develop housing markets (00:36:33) Does your approach change when you enter different markets & cultures? (00:38:28) Why is the issue of adequate housing growing? (00:39:40) Who is in charge of the architecture? (00:41:09) Is any of what you’re doing applicable to the United States? (00:44:05) What are the other benefits of creating a market like this? (00:47:34) How would you advise entrepreneurs wanting to get into the non-profit space? (00:51:27) How should someone do due diligence on a non-profit before giving them money? (00:55:25) How do you approach raising money for philanthropy? (00:59:48) Is there any replacement for people who don’t have the means to do missionary trips? (01:02:37) What’s the best way for people to learn more? newstoryhomes.org -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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Wilkie has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Contango Oil & Gas since 2018. Prior to Contango, he was employed by Goff Capital, the family office of John C. Goff, from 2007 until August 2018. Mr. Colyer was responsible for the firms’ energy investing and has held a material role in public and private investments in sectors including financial services and real estate, among others.

On this episode, Chris & Wilkie discuss: ➡️ lessons learned working for John Goff ➡️ story of buying and becoming CEO of Contango ➡️ how they find value in oil & gas assets ➡️ why all energy resources are critical

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Wilkie on LinkedIn 👉Contango Oil & Gas 👉Goff Capital

➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX

Timestamps (00:02:18) Wilkie’s career, investment philosophies, and learning under John Goff (00:18:19) Acquiring Contango and becoming the CEO (00:32:07) The Mission of Contango (00:35:58) Acquiring Whitestar at the 11th hour (00:57:03) Crescent (01:14:52) Thoughts on the Fossil Fuel industry (01:21:57) Where do you see supply coming from going forward? (01:26:52) Is there any technology in Upstream that’s on the horizon? (01:29:38) When you’re looking at a business investment opportunity, what sticks out that gets you excited? (01:34:14) What were some biggest takeaways while working under John Goff? -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners.

https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Joe Pohlen is the Founder and Partner of Cardinal Senior Management, an assisted living company operating facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania. This is Joe's second appearance on The Fort, if you'd like to hear round 1, you can do so here.

On this episode, Chris and Joe discuss: ➡️ Family dynamics and American culture towards how we treat our elders ➡️ Why assisted living has been in decline since 2017 ➡️ Joe's ideas to improve assisted living long term ➡️ Discussion on the current market and what he expects in the next few years ➡️ Cardinal's recent sale and how they'll structure the company differently going forward

Additional Resources 👉 Live Cardinal 👉 Joe on Twitter

➡️ Go here to save $500 on your Re-Convene Tickets! ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

Timestamps (00:04:54) Why is there a decline in care quality within Assisted Living? (00:07:04) Why is the government trying to push people out of Nursing homes? (00:09:46) Why is it so much harder for elderly people to be obese? (00:11:16) Joe’s first day in Assisted Living - Showering the elderly (00:18:45) Why are we seeing fewer people entering the industry? (00:23:06) What can the everyday citizen person do to help our elderly population? (00:26:58) How are your planning on leveraging Cardinal to radically change Assisted Living? (00:46:16) How would you structure a long-term hold? (00:52:50) Are there any national brands in this industry? (00:54:03) How much scale do you need to justify a back-office? (00:58:34) How would you begin to attack expenses and operational issues in the day-to-day? (00:59:50) What happens when a tenant can’t pay rent? (01:00:42) Are there any state or federal support options to help residents? (01:01:46) Are there ways to design buildings in a more efficient way? (01:03:20) Are people waiting longer to move into Assisted living? (01:03:58) Are there any lingering effects of Covid? (01:05:16) Why are you only in PA and MI? (01:06:00) Are there any states you wouldn’t go into? (01:08:45) Who is the ideal investor for Cardinal? -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

Andy Dunn co-founded the menswear brand Bonobos and served as CEO until its 2017 acquisition by Walmart. As an investor, he has backed more than eighty startups, including Warby Parker, Coinbase, Away, Glossier, Real, Parade, SeatGeek, and Alula.

In May, Dunn will release a memoir, titled Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind, which explores the intersection of entrepreneurship and mental illness.

Dunn’s next business venture, called Pumpkin Pie, is a social media app currently in beta that aims to detoxify digital culture.

Dunn, a graduate of Northwestern and Stanford's MBA program, also serves on the boards of Monica + Andy, an organic baby apparel company founded by his sister Monica Royer, tech social good nonprofit Raised By Us, and the Network for Executive Women.

On this episode Chris & Andy discuss:

➡️ How he's dealt with bipolar disorder and why its something common in entrepreneurs

➡️ Why apparel companies succeed and why they fail

➡️ Selling to Walmart

➡️ The future of e-commerce and brick & mortar

Key Takeaways

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:03) - Andy’s experience dealing with mental illness and depression

(00:12:18) - What is it about someone with mental illness that would make them a great entrepreneur?

(00:19:19) - Elon, autism, and narcissism

(00:21:42) - Are these illnesses genetic or nurtured?

(00:24:04) - How is mental illness looked upon now vs. when you were diagnosed?

(00:28:44) - Andy’s experience working for Mark Lore (Of Walmart??)

(00:37:53) - Why did your apparel company succeed and why do so many fail?

(00:44:25) - Were people buying the Bonobos brand or a high-quality garment?

(00:49:33) - What is the world of e-commerce like in 2023 vs. when you started in ’07?

(00:56:07) - Selling Bonobos

(01:02:51) - Walmart vs. Amazon

Additional Resources

👉 Andy on Twitter

👉 Bonobos

👉 Pumpkin Pie

👉 How I Built This - Bonobos: Andy Dunn

👉 Burn Rate by Andy Dunn (Releases on May 9th)

👉 Monica + Andy

➡️ Learn more about Xeal

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Paul oversees the strategic direction and development of Arcadea across all areas of the firm alongside his partner, Daniel. Paul began his career as a member of the Citigroup Global Analyst program, where he gained exposure to a number of divisions before landing on the high yield and investment grade credit research desk. After Citi, Paul joined Arsenal Growth, a VC & Growth Equity firm in the US with offices in Palo Alto and Orlando. Starting as an Associate and leaving as a Principal, Paul focused on high-growth b2b enterprise software and eCommerce businesses.

Paul then joined Constellation Software (“CSI”), where he had a number of executive roles including leading the global investment team of one of CSI’s six operating groups, acting as CEO of a public sector business, and leading a group of businesses in various verticals.

On this episode, Chris and Paul discuss:

➡️ Lessons learned from working at Constellation Software

➡️ How they underwrite investment opportunities

➡️ Investing with permanent capital and a long-term horizon

➡️ How Arcadea creates value for their portfolio companies

Key Takeaways:

(2:55) - Paul’s career and background

(6:28) - How was Constellation structured? Why was it 6 operating groups?

(8:14) - What’s the benefit of carrying a light corporate office?

(10:37) - Thinking in a high-clarity manner

(13:19) - Is there anything about your family’s history or your love of classical music that played into your ultimate career in acquiring SAAS companies?

(15:15) - How did you end up building Arcadea Group?

(17:58) - Does high growth always mean early stage?

(19:53) - Have most of these businesses you acquire taken on VC?

(24:15) - What is a Vertical SaaS?

(26:35) - What can you do differently operationally in VSaas versus other Software services?

(27:56) - What is Long-termism and why are you pursuing that route?

(32:55) - Do you only offer one injection of cash or do you inject as needed?

(36:38) - Who’s making the decision of whether the business needs more capital?

(40:16) - Do companies mature to a point where they no longer fit the Arcadea model?

(42:11) - What is a quick ‘no’ for you when looking at a company?

(44:54) - What happens in the first year of an acquisition?

(50:03) - What makes an exceptional operator?

(52:32) - How do you make your CEOs think like investors?

(54:51) - What are your investors expecting from you as permanent capital?

(56:27) - What does it do for your business to have such an accomplished advisor on your board?

(59:07) - What happens when a founder or CEO abruptly exits?

(1:01:30) - Are you successful because you’ve been in the seat of the CEO and operator?

(1:03:22) - What are Kanban and Scrum?

Additional Resources

👉 Arcadea Group: https://www.arcadeagroup.com/

👉 Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pyancich/

➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://xealenergy.com/

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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Bill D’Alessandro is the Founder and CEO of Elements Brands, one of the original holding companies for direct-to-consumer brands. He has acquired or founded more than a dozen businesses with over $100M of revenue and has realized seven exits in both DTC and SaaS. Bill is also the co-host of the Acquisitions Anonymous podcast.

On this episode Chris & Bill discuss:

➡️ Lessons learned from Element Brands and owning 6 businesses

➡️ His pivot to owning Natural Pet Company and why focus is powerful

➡️ How to decide between marketing & product innovation

➡️ Insights on the pet industry and why it's huge

Key Takeaways:

(3:13) - What was your strategy in 2016 and why have you totally flipped on it in 2023?

(4:57) - DTC is not a business model

(6:14) - Prioritizing marketing over product innovation

(10:36) - Was there ever a time when you thought this massive ad spend was unsustainable?

(12:23) - What’s happened in the past 18 months since Apple changed its advertising privacy model?

(14:33) - Putting brands on autopilot

(16:22) - When did you start to realize only one of your eight brands was worth working on?

(19:53) - How has your life changed after consolidating your focus?

(22:14) - Is there a way to make the Aggregator model work?

(25:46) - How big is the pet industry and where is its potential?

(26:59) - What are you going to do with this business now that you’re solely focused on the one instead of 8?

(30:14) - Why have you chosen to go into retail?

(33:18) - How do you get your product into 4-5k stores?

(35:55) - Is there any brand with leverage over Walmart?

(36:54) - What could make this move into retail go wrong?

(39:35) - What’s your approach to product packaging and design?

(42:45) - How did you arrive at the decision to launch 12-16 new products this year and how do you decide what they’ll be?

(46:32) - What needs to happen in order to get into Walmart and Target?

(48:59) - Would you get a higher valuation on your company if you’re in Walmart/Target and successful there?

(49:46) - What has podcasting done for you?

Additional Resources

👉 Bill on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillDA

👉 Natural Dog Company: https://naturaldog.com/

👉 Acquisitions Anonymous Podcast: https://www.acquanon.com/

👉 BillDA.com: https://billda.com/

👉 PickFU.com: https://www.pickfu.com/

➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://xealenergy.com/

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

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Michael is CEO of Girdley Enterprises, LLC, a diversified holding company of 11 businesses.

In this episode Chris & Michael discuss:

Becoming a creator and the business of creating
How he has built a hold-co and keeps everyone accountable
How he takes a business from idea to a running business
Why he wants to focus on BIG ideas

Key Takeaways:

(2:08) - Sudden Deafness & Insights into Girdley’s Persona

(6:52) - Why have you chosen to spend so much time building your presence online?

(10:05) - What makes for great content on Twitter?

(11:38) - How much time is spent on your threads and writing?

(17:41) - Building a media team

(23:38) - Twitter’s change under Elon

(27:44) - Girdley on changing his Twitter strategy

(29:33) - Has LinkedIn translated well for you?

(31:46) - Girdley on Remote teams

(33:10) - How are you able to stay on top of multiple different companies?

(37:27) - What do you fail at?

(38:44) - Do you teach the EOS or hire someone to implement it?

(40:53) - What do you feel like you still have to learn?

(41:43) - What does your Chief of Staff do?

(45:49) - Was there a pivotal moment when you realized where you were the strongest in your role?

(47:06) - What do you mean when you say you only want to work on “big” things?

(49:36) - What is your process from formulating an idea, to launching, to stepping back?

(56:23) - Are you still involved in VC?

(57:16) - How do you approach capital allocation in your HoldCo?

(59:41) - What happens when you’re not aligning with a CEO?

(1:01:41) - Are there best practices for incentivizing a CEO?

(1:02:40) - What is a Holding Company?

(1:06:02) - Why did you decide to create a course?

(1:10:14) - How do you approach distribution and scaling content?

(1:11:59) - How do you see the 4th quarter of your career playing out?

(1:13:33) - Why have you chosen podcasting as a medium?

Additional Resources

👉 Girdley on Twitter: https://twitter.com/girdley

👉 The Complete HoldCo Course: https://holdco.girdley.com/

👉 All of Michael's Links: https://links.girdley.com/

👉 Traction by Gino Wickman

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ CRE Daily Newsletter: https://www.credaily.com/

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

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Peter Askew runs a bootstrapped, .com domain development business (often solo). He typically sources domains from the expired aftermarket and uses their descriptive nature as inspiration for each venture.

Current projects: VidaliaOnions.com | RanchWork.com | DudeRanch.com

On this episode Chris & Peter discuss:

Investing in domains 101 and why ".com" is king
How to build job boards & why they're so valuable
How to build businesses from purchased domains

Key Takeaways:

(2:05) - How did you become a failed domain investor?

(6:42) - What does “building a project” mean in your world?

(13:30) - How would a common person find these domain marketplaces?

(16:36) - How do you value Domains?

(21:47) - How did you get from buying a domain for onions to actually selling the onions?

(27:05) - Why aren’t you in a hurry to grow the business?

(28:30) - The domain industry

(31:24) - What makes an amazing domain investor?

(33:15) - Can I simply license out domain names?

(37:21) - Can people hack and steal domain names?

(39:04) - Does AI or Web3 disrupt this space?

(40:37) - What’s the most valuable domain name in the industry?

(42:14) - Do you have to have a site in order to monetize a domain?

(45:47) - How would you build a job board for an industry from scratch?

Additional Resources

👉 Peter on Twitter - https://twitter.com/searchbound

👉 Peter on how to build a niche job board

👉 Snap [NAMES] - https://www.snapnames.com/

👉 DropCatch - https://www.dropcatch.com/

👉 UDRP - https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/help/dndr/udrp-en

👉 NamesCon - https://namescon.com/

👉 NameBio - https://namebio.com/

👉 Sedo.com - https://sedo.com/us/

👉 Dan.com - https://dan.com/

👉 GoDaddy Auctions - https://auctions.godaddy.com/beta

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ CRE Daily Newsletter: https://www.credaily.com/

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

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Charlie started the John W. Rich parody account, which became the springboard for his content agency, Alpha Social. Charlie has helped dozens of clients build up their personal brands with Twitter content, amassing millions of followers for his clients and 190,000+ followers on his John W. Rich account. In June of 2022, Alpha Social was acquired by Workweek.

On this episode Chris & Charlie discuss:

How starting a parody account on Twitter (John W. Rich) led to launching a ghostwriting agency
How to build an online audience
The value of twitter for building a business & brand
How to use Twitter to launch a business

Key Takeaways:

(2:02) - Charlie on creating the John W. Rich Twitter account

(8:04) - Is there a way to monetize this account to be a full-time business?

(10:19) - How’d you select John’s profile photo?

(11:22) - How have you leveraged this account into a content agency?

(13:10) - What is a client looking for when they come to work with you?

(18:02) - What’s the cadence for a client’s content release?

(20:09) - Do you encourage your clients to basically “do whatever they want” alongside the content you’re creating for them?

(21:57) - What is the value of taking Twitter seriously?

(24:07) - How are your clients building up accounts into businesses?

(28:15) - How often should you be telling the story that you build your account on?

(30:22) - Are there any hacks you’ve learned from Twitter to make it a better experience?

(34:53) - Has Twitter gotten worse since Elon took over?

(40:21) - Why do you think users enjoy reading threads?

(44:59) - Is there any emerging trend you’re seeing that is working for Twitter engagement?

(49:38) - Do you think that people can separate the shit post from the shit poster?

(55:42) - What was the process of selling your agency to Workweek and what is your role with them now?

(57:10) - How will the creator economy evolve over the next 5 years?

Additional Resources

👉John W. Rich on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cokedupoptions

👉Charlie Light on Twitter: https://twitter.com/charliewrich

👉Alpha Social Group: https://alphasocialgroup.com/

👉Workweek: https://workweek.com/

👉Brett from Designjoy: https://twitter.com/BrettFromDJ

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ CRE Daily: https://www.credaily.com/

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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Brandon Sedloff is Managing Director and Founding SVP of Sales at Juniper Square where he focuses on business development, and strategy and serves some of the world's largest institutional investment managers. Juniper Square empowers GPs and LPs to focus on building enduring relationships and exceptional investment opportunities. Our partnership enablement solutions empower investment partners to connect and communicate seamlessly across every interaction, freeing teams from the disjointed and siloed systems, operations, and processes holding organizations back from realizing their full potential today.

On this episode Chris & Brandon discuss:

Chris' story and timeline of career
Lessons learned and unique strategy at Fort Capital
Discussion on raising capital and why Fort is considering institutional capital

Topics

(3:02) - Chris’ journey into commercial Real Estate and early career

(6:23) - Why do you think Real Estate was your calling?

(9:05) - Did your studies at TCU play into your eventual career?

(12:24) - When did Fort Capital come into existence?

(20:08) - Who’s Jason Baxter and what’s his role?

(21:47) - How did you transition out of housing development and into industrial?

(26:02) - When you got into industrial, how did you find your niche within this asset class?

(34:54) - What are the headline stats on Fort Capital today?

(37:05) - What is the process of finding a deal and the syndication model you pursue?

(45:20) - How have you become so skilled at raising capital?

(51:38) - The power of social media & Twitter

(59:43) - What do the next 5 years for FC look like?

(1:06:00) - How do you think about transitioning from building trust with non institutional capital to raising from institutional capital?

(1:09:42) - How has technology played a role in the success of Fort Capital?

(1:20:54) - What are 3 reasons investors should care about Class B Industrial in the Sun Belt?

Additional Resources

👉 Brandon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/

👉 Working Backwards by Bill Carr: https://bit.ly/3FpKQ1I

➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square

➡️ Fort Capital:www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ CRE Daily

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter:www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter:https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe toThe FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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In today’s episode, Chris is joined by Chad Cook, founder of Quadrant Investment Properties, a Dallas-based real estate investment company specializing in urban office opportunities.

Before founding QIP, Chad was Vice President of Acquisitions at Hillwood Investment Properties, where from 2004 to 2012 he focused on development and acquisition opportunities in numerous markets nationally.

In addition to helping lead the company’s acquisition team, Chad also coordinated over $1 billion in dispositions and played an integral role in the sourcing and structuring of numerous institutional joint ventures and development partnerships.

Prior to joining Hillwood, Chad was the Director of Leasing and Disposition at Emerson Partners, a Dallas-based owner, and operator of office and industrial properties.

Today, Chad and Chris talk about their edge in developing urban office properties, how to create places where people want to be, what's happening in the capital markets, converting offices into apartments, Hudson Yards, and what happens to offices that aren't in demand.

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)

Chad’s background (02:46)

What happened when Chad left Hillwood (14:40)

What Chad is doing today (19:14)

The Design District in Dallas (28:38)

On offices (37:03)

The impact of COVID-19 on the real estate market (42:48)

Considering the halo effect when planning (51:34)

Office-to-residential conversions (53:38)

The secret sauce to creating likable places (1:03:45)

On Hudson Yards (1:07:57)

Developments that inspire Chad (1:12:35)

Outro (1:15:14)

Additional Resources:

Quadrant Investment Properties: https://quadrantinvestments.com/
Chad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-cook-9a151a/
Fulton Market Chicago: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dcd/supp_info/fulton-randolph-market-land-use-plan.html
Hudson Yards New York: https://www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/
Learn more about Relay Human Cloud: https://www.relayhumancloud.com/
Learn more about Oshman Aviation: https://www.oshmanaviation.com/
Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com
Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/
Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris
Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/
Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/
Subscribe to The FORT with Chris Powers on YouTube

—

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EPISODE #267 In today’s episode, Chris is joined by Collin McLelland, co-founder of Digital Wildcatters, a community of energy professionals who are changing the way that we think about energy.

After leaving high school, Collin knew that he wanted to be an entrepreneur and decided to learn about the oil and gas industry. He worked on roughnecking oil rigs in West Texas.

Collin spent the next 10 years working on every major oilfield across the country, from Alaska all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2018, Collin decided that millennial engineers needed a new way to think about oil and gas, and realizing that there was no way for people to get more information about the industry, and started The Oil and Gas Podcast.

Just before the pandemic in 2020, Collin decided to go full-time on Digital Wildcatters, which tries to educate society and raise their awareness of the energy industry.

Today, Collin speaks with Chris about his views on different energy types, why Bitcoin mining is actually good for the environment, and how he thinks about building a community.

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)

Collin’s background (02:55)

What Digital Wildcatters is trying to achieve (05:49)

Why do oil and gas have such a bad reputation? (12:20)

The US energy policy (19:01)

What’s interesting about geothermal energy (36:50)

The impact of bitcoin mining around the world (40:23)

The future of energy (49:43)

Are oil and gas the most prolific energy source? (55:06)

Additional Resources

👉 Digital Wildcatters: https://digitalwildcatters.com/

👉 Collin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collin-mclelland/

👉 Collin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FracSlap

👉 DW Podcasts: https://digitalwildcatters.com/podcasts/

👉 Collin McLelland on The Convergence of Energy and Bitcoin Mining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1ctGsfluRs

👉 Collide by DW: https://appadvice.com/app/collide-by-digital-wildcatters/1569044309

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital:www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter:www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter:https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe toThe FORT on YouTube

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EPISODE #266 In today’s episode, Chris is joined by Billy McFarland, the founder of the controversial Fyre Festival event.

The Fyre Festival dominated headlines in April 2017 when videos surfaced online promoting the festival featuring celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and others.

However, after suffering a series of management and administration problems, the festival was canceled after some guests had arrived, leading to a number of lawsuits and US federal investigations.

Just six weeks later, Billy was the subject of an FBI search in his apartment and soon handcuffed and taken to jail, where he was eventually sentenced to 6 years imprisonment before being released early in 2022.

Since then, Billy has started his newest venture, PYRT, which he describes as a “virtual immersive decentralized reality.”

In today’s episode, Billy and Chris sit down to discuss what happened at the Fyre Festival, stories from his time in prison, why things go viral, and what he’s working on now.

Make sure to check it out!

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)

How Fyre App began (01:38)

What actually happened at Fyre Festival (07:36)

What did Billy learn from the event? (14:32)

The aftermath (17:38)

First day in prison (26:39)

How Billy got in trouble in jail (31:47)

What did Billy do there? (44:05)

Getting a second chance (54:25)

The power of virality (59:19)

Billy’s new venture (1:05:03)

Additional Resources

👉 Check Billy out on Twitter

👉 Check out Billy's latest project: PYRT

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital:www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter:www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter:https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe toThe FORT on YouTube

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EPISODE #265 In today’s episode, Chris is joined by the founder of ConvertKit, Nathan Barry.

Nathan’s journey to helping creators all around the world began when he was doing web design in high school before expanding into freelance blogging and content creation.

But after deciding to launch a book to promote his web design service, Nathan racked up more than $19,000 in sales in just the first week, at which point he decided to go all-in on digital products and building an audience.

After a friend introduced him to the power of email marketing in the content creation space, Nathan decided he wanted to start his own software business, ConvertKit, in January 2013.

In today’s episode, Nathan sits down with Chris to discuss why email is still king, leveraging AI technology for content creators, and what the most successful creators are doing now.

Make sure to check it out!

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)

Nathan’s backstory (02:11)

Is email making a resurgence? (11:00)

Does everyone need a newsletter? (17:04)

The limitations of email (23:34)

The dark side of newsletters (28:32)

Building trust at scale (36:12)

What’s ahead for creators? (46:17)

Sticking to one platform (59:17)

The power of AI (1:15:09)

Additional Resources:

👉 See more about ConvertKit

👉 Follow Nathan on Twitter

👉 See Nathan's Books

👉 Nathan's Website

👉 Founder of Basecamp Jason Fried Keynote

👉 Sparkloop

👉 The Billion Dollar Creator by Nathan Barry

👉 Sahil Bloom on Twitter

👉 Lex Website

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital:www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter:www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter:https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe toThe FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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EPISODE #264 In today’s episode, Chris sits down with Mitchell Baldridge and Nick Huber to discuss the current real estate market, how Twitter changed their lives, and cost segregation.

Nick has been a small business owner since his final year of college when he started a student storage business with his friend, and after expanding to 25 towns over 10 years, he exited for $7 million.

Nick has also acquired 42 self-storage facilities with over 1,000,000 square feet under management while raising over $20 million in capital.

Mitchell is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner with vast experience in financial planning and corporate accounting. In 2014 he founded Baldridge Financial to achieve his dream of helping other business owners achieve their financial goals.

Make sure to listen in!

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)

The problem with the real estate business right now (01:52)

What’s happening in the market right now? (04:44)

The impact of supply on rental rates (11:55)

The difference between Class A, B, and C buildings (22:19)

What’s going on with interest rates? (30:09)

Why is cost segregation taking off now? (44:41)

How Twitter changes lives (58:28)

Building trust with Twitter (1:05:32)

Advice on online networking (1:15:50)

Additional Resources:

➡️ See Nick's podcast 'The Sweaty Startup'

➡️ See more about the work Mitchell does here: https://baldridgefinancial.com/

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital:www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter:www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter:https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe toThe FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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EPISODE #263 In today’s episode, Chris is joined by the co-founder of the Firestone & Robertson Distilling Company, Troy Robertson.

Troy grew up in West Texas in a family that was heavily involved in the oil and gas industry. He studied business at Texas Tech University before going on to spend 10 years in the finance side of oil and gas.

Troy took the responsibility of fundraising, structuring, strategy, and operations evaluation for more than 20 portfolio companies, some even reaching a size of $1 billion.

But Troy decided to follow his creative entrepreneurial spirit and carved his own path in the business he is passionate about, the whiskey business.

In today’s episode, Chris and Troy sit down to discuss behind-the-scenes in the whiskey business, how to build a world-class brand, and the details of building (and exiting) a successful business.

Make sure to check it out!

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)

How Troy got started in whiskey (01:11)

Why was nobody making whiskey in Texas before? (07:41)

Pursuing whiskey full-time (11:09)

Coming up with a name (18:03)

Making a unique pitch (35:12)

Troy’s big influence (39:12)

Purchasing a golf course (1:01:11)

Mistakes made along the way (1:04:53)

Deciding to sell (1:14:16)

Did Troy want to sell? (1:20:09)

Additional Resources:

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital:www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter:www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter:https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe toThe FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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EPISODE #262 In today’s episode, Chris is joined by Andrew Segal, founder of Boxer Property. Boxer Property accounts for 20 million square feet of real estate across the United States, as resort hotels, office space, retail centers, and more.

Andrew has a B.A from the University of Southern California, and attended the New York University School of Law in 1992.

Andrew is also the co-founder of Relay Human Cloud, which provides a staff hosting service to de-risk the process of onboarding overseas workers.

Andrew and Chris sit down today to discuss why hiring overseas talent is the future, why WFH doesn’t really work, and why investing in oil and gas is the future.

Make sure to check it out!

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)
Andrew’s Big Mac inflation theory (02:22)
What’s going on with inflation? (05:29)
How the office market is looking (15:29)
How did Relay Human Cloud start? (19:49)
The pain of hiring (25:31)
Working across timezones (38:12)
Why is inflation not getting higher? (59:08)
Why Americans are becoming more like Italians (1:02:06)
Investing in oil and gas (1:07:58)
The truth on crypto (1:18:22)
Episode wrap-up (1:29:02)

Additional Resources:

➡️ Learn more aboutJuniper Square here

➡️ Fort Capital:www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter:www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter:https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe toThe FORT on YouTube

Check out:

➡️ Boxer Property

➡️ Relay Human Cloud

➡️ The Big Mac Inflation index

🎧 Listen to the previous interviews with Andrew:

➡️ Episode #47 with Andrew Segal

➡️ Episode #64 with Andrew Segal

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

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EPISODE #261 In today’s episode, we are joined by Alex Olshansky, Principal, and Head of Investments at Zenith IOS. Zenith is one of the largest institutional owners of industrial outdoor storage assets in the US.

Alex’s well-decorated CV began with a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College, and he received an M.B.A. from NYU’s Stern School of Business. After graduating, Alex worked in acquisitions and asset management for IDS Real Estate Group, with a focus on industrial, office, and retail assets in Southern California and San Francisco.

He later joined Abingdon Square Partners in 2017 and was primarily responsible for sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities.

In today’s episode, Chris and Alex go through what IOS is, how Zenith underwrites IOS deals, and how exactly they decided to go all in on IOS.

Make sure to listen in!

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)
What is IOS? (01:02)
How did Alex get here? (02:14)
How has IOS been maturing? (04:36)
What makes a great IOS deal? (11:00)
How property management looks (14:10)
How is the market developing (15:50)
Zenith’s process for new markets (25:05)
How Zenith is approaching 2023 (32:56)
Driving value (40:07)
Episode wrap-up (47:32)

Additional Resources:

➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square here

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

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EPISODE #260 In today’s episode, we are joined by Brian Good, the co-founder and CEO of iBorrow. iBorrow is a nationwide real estate lender made by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, with an impressive track record of over $1 billion.

Brian also founded TenantDirect, the first web-based property management software. Brian has moderated and served on a number of panels during his career, including panels for UCLA, YPO, Bisnow, and IMN. Currently, he sits on the Board of Advisors for the Ziman Center for Real Estate as part of the Anderson School of Business at UCLA.

In this episode, we’ll be covering everything from Brian’s backstory and why he moved from equity real estate to debt real estate to how iBorrow underwrites borrowers and how the private lending market has changed going into 2023.

Make sure to listen in!

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)

What brought Brian to debt real estate? (01:39)

Why did he want to make the switch? (05:46)

The difference between iBorrow and other lenders (08:23)

What Are Bad-Boy Carve Outs? (10:12)

How has the market changed over the last year? (13:14)

How should we plan out the year ahead? (29:12)

How leasing activity is looking now (43:07)

Episode wrap-up (55:36)

Additional Resources:

➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square here

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

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➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter:https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

EPISODE #259 After being bailed out of his first company by his dad 15 years ago while in college, Aaron Rubin learned his lesson and founded ShipHero in 2013 as a warehouse management system for e-commerce shippers.

Since then, ShipHero has gone on to serve around $8 billion per year in orders from e-commerce stores.

In the last 3 years alone, they have opened up 9 warehouses across the country to manage shipping and fulfillment for medium and large businesses including Shopify, Canadian Tire, Glossier and Universal Music Group.

Aaron is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization.

In today’s episode, Aaron sits down to discuss his backstory, how he almost went bankrupt in 2008, taking inspiration from Amazon, and what lies ahead in 2023 for the logistics world.

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)
How Aaron got started (01:30)
What is ShipHero? (07:32)
The problem with copying Amazon (13:25)
Everyone hates logistics (22:51)
The state of the market (28:08)
What’s going on with supply chains (37:15)
Is manufacturing leaving China? (43:33)
What’s coming up in 2023 (48:44)
The future of the workforce (58:36)
Episode wrap-up (1:05:07)

Additional Resources:

➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square here

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

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EPISODE #258 In today’s episode, Chris Powers and Jason Baxter take a look at the last year for Fort Capital and discuss the biggest wins of the year. How our team and technology have progressed, how we are looking at the market in 2023, what makes Fort Capital so special, and much, much more.

At Fort Capital, our mission is to become the best real estate operator in the entire world. We’re always considering how we can operate better, acquire more real estate, improve our credibility and track record, attract top-tier talent, and drive more profit and returns to our investors.

So I’m delighted to say that following off the back of an incredible year in 2021, in which we smashed all of the targets we outlined in last year’s Year in Review, we have stretched even further in 2022 to outperform our initial goals in every metric we set out.

Today, I'm excited to discuss and hope you can take something from what we’ve achieved in the last 12 months and carry it with you in 2023.

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)
The background to 2022 (02:24)
Our revamped investor reporting process (12:35)
Our underwriting import tool (19:48)
Our brand-new deal sourcing tool (29:29)
How do we effectively work through markets? (36:55)
What sets us apart in our industry? (43:01)
How our dashboard utilization has improved so rapidly (52:11)
Cash management for 2023 and beyond (1:01:36)
What we achieved in 2022 (1:09:20)
Fort Capital University (1:17:05)

Additional Resources:

➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square here

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.

Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

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Kyle started his fixed-income career on a J.P. Morgan trading desk before joining multi-strategy hedge fund Millennium. In 2018, Kyle left Millennium to manage his own capital, emphasizing real estate debt investing. He has experience investing across the real estate capital structure, including first and second-lien mortgages, tax liens, and equity. He holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of Maryland.

On this episode Chris & Kyle discuss:

what he learned from trading at hedge funds on Wall Street and why he eventually decided to start buying crack houses
how to find and buy distressed debt
different types of high-yield loans and strategies
forward thoughts on the 2023 real estate market
and more!

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Follow Kyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/financeguy725

Constitutional Lending: https://constlending.com/invest

Topics:

(2:05) - How did you get into Wall St. and where did that transform into buying crackhouses?

(5:22) - How do you come up with a trade idea?

(9:20) - How often do you need to have an idea?

(11:08) - How accurate is the show Billions?

(13:09) - Why forces people to stay in the Wall St. world?

(15:12) - What code do you write?

(16:36) - How would you describe what you do today?

(19:25) - What are you seeing in lending right now?

(24:34) - How would you predict the lending industry’s future in the short to medium term?

(27:12) - What’s happening in Office right now?

(30:21) - What happens on your end when someone presents a loan for you to buy?

(38:31) - What happens when you take control of an asset?

(45:03) - Wanting to own a bank

(45:42) - How do you source these non-performing loans?

(50:13) - Is your model scalable?

(51:40 - What is a Prevent Foreclosure Loan?

(54:20 - What’s an Airbnb Loan?

(57:02) - Punting assets vs. Running a business

(1:00:35) - Do you think sometimes your ability to operate hurts you?

(1:03:52) - Will high-yield loans still be 8-12% in ’23?

(1:05:06) - What needs to happen for money to start moving again?

(1:10:05) - What do you think about in terms of existential risks to your business?

(1:12:58) - Ranting about insurance

(1:23:07) - Wrapping up

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Ryan Eisenman is the co-founder and CEO of Arch, a digital solution utilized by over 180 private investment firms to automate the administration and management of tens of $Bs of alternative investments.

Ryan is a Houston native, graduated from Vanderbilt University, and now lives in New York City where Arch is headquartered.

On this episode Chris and Ryan discuss:

the story of how he got the idea to build and execute on Arch
the issues behind managing wealth and private investments
how he raised VC capital
Ryan asks Chris several questions about his career

Support our Sponsors:

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Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Links:

Ryan on Twitter

Arch

Topics:

(2:27) - Ryan’s background and career

(3:49) - The Israeli Entrepreneurship scene

(6:41) - Ryan’s journey to founding Arch

(12:16) - What are you solving with Arch?

(14:15) - Who are the customers for Arch?

(15:13) - What was your experience raising capital in 2021?

(17:14) - What do you lean on VC’s for?

(19:20) - How do you break into the VC world and start setting meetings?

(20:30) - How long did it take to convince your first major investor?

(23:09) - How often do you talk to your investors?

(23:25) - What’s “the next stage” of the business?

(24:53) - Why was $1mm in revenue the point where you brought in more sales staff?

(26:37) - How has your role changed as the company grows?

Ryan Interviews Chris

(28:17) - Chris’ thoughts on what’s broken in this industry

(33:11) - What is and what should your first step be after a major liquidity event?

(35:16) - What separates a great advisor from the rest of the pack?

(38:27) - Chris’ role as an asset Manager and the purpose of Fort Capital

(40:54) - How did you raise your first deals?

(42:13) - Where do you see FC in 5 years? 15 years?

(43:29) - How is the current market affecting your strategy?

(48:43) - Being fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful

(52:10)- What would you be building if you had to work somewhere else?

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Welcome to the Fort Podcast. It's my privilege to share with you the stories, ideas, knowledge, and strategies of our era's greatest business leaders. What started as a podcast focused on only real estate has grown to cover all types of businesses, industry breakdowns, leadership and market insights.

Since I was a kid, listening to and exploring the stories, wisdom, and unique perspectives of others has been one of my passions. The Fort is the podcast I always wish I'd had. I can't thank you enough for listening, and my hope is you'll find value that you can go out and share with the rest of the world.

Enjoy the show.

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Greg Gordon has a rich history in construction as a third-generation builder with over 25 years of industry experience. He started his career in shell construction and eventually transitioned to commercial interiors before founding Gordon Highlander in 2007.

Under Greg’s leadership Gordon Highlander has experienced tremendous growth and received numerous awards as a result. But Greg’s true passion is for people and the relationships developed with both his team and clients. With a servant leadership approach to business, he has built a team of leaders who take ownership and pride in their work. It’s a reflect the organization’s mission of “building a legacy of helping others reach their God-given potential”. Greg attributes Gordon Highlander’s success to this culture model.

On this episode Chris and Greg Discuss:

a look into the commercial construction industry from 2007-Present
what it's like to build for Amazon and how they built a prototype in 6 weeks
how Greg views leadership and building a world-class culture
leadership above and beyond "HR"

Support our Sponsors:

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Juniper Square

Links:

Gordon Highlander

Greg on LinkedIn

Topics:

(3:22) - Gordo’s experience as 3rd generation in the Construction industry

(5:12) - What does Gordon Highlander do?

(7:57) - What is a “Gordon Highlander”?

(10:03) - How has Industrial Finish-out evolved since ’07?

(15:10) - At what point in development does GH get involved?

(18:18) - What does a perfect project look like to you?

(19:44) - How do you budget a project in this market?

(23:45) - Are there any permanent changes to the industry since 2020?

(28:00) - What do people need to unlearn?

(31:42) - What are you seeing in Industrial innovation?

(36:47) - Developing the GH/Amazon relationship

(46:25) - How do you think about the final days of a project?

(47:15) - What are you seeing in the market?

(51:40) - What’s different in building office within industrial and office in a place like Old-Parkland?

(54:52) - How do you think about change orders?

(56:35) - The headlines vs. reality pertaining to Amazon slowing down development

(58:24) - How do you think about legacy, servant leadership and culture?

(1:06:51) - Teaching culture at Gordon Highlander

(1:11:36) - Advice for young people

(1:12:49) - Friendship, business

(1:18:00) - Pain distorts your memory

(1:19:51) - Treating your employees like people

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Sarah has 20 years of experience in office brokerage in the DFW region. Prior to founding Thirty-Four Commercial, she was previously a Principal at Peloton Commercial Real Estate (acquired by JLL in 2019) and an Associate at Transwestern. Sarah graduated from Miami University before relocating to Dallas, Texas in 2003.

Sarah focuses her life on wellness and balance. In 2018, she obtained a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification. Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband and children, as well as traveling whenever their schedule allows.

On this episode, Chris and Sarah discuss:

her career stories and the lessons she learned along the way
her view of the current office environment and where we go from here
how to lease Class A Office buildings
how she leased a Class AA office building from the ground up
how she manages a growing family and business

Links:

Thirty-Four Commercial

The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren

Topics:

(3:21) - Sarah’s career & background

(30:11) - What did you learn selling gym memberships that translate to any sales position?

(33:01) - What does good training look like for people early in their RE career?

(37:53) - How do you build trust with owners?

(47:50) - How would you describe the office market today?

(59:40) - What’s your process of working in development?

(1:01:40) - Where do people waste money in office development?

(1:07:53) - How do you approach marketing?

(1:11:22) - When are you able to start leasing a building?

(1:16:36) - Is there a point where you realize a deal isn’t going to get done?

(1:18:43) - What’s your role once a new building is fully leased?

(1:20:08) - What needs to happen for a lease to turnover?

(1:23:05) - How do you balance building a family and a business?

The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?

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Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano is an entrepreneur and technology investor. He has built and sold numerous companies, ran Product & Growth teams at Facebook, and manages a portfolio valued at more than $500 million in early-stage tech companies. He currently runs his family office, which makes private investments and owns majority stakes in several operating businesses.

Anthony also hosts popular conversations on “The Pomp Podcast,” which has been downloaded over 50 million times. Pomp also writes a letter that more than 225,000 investors read each morning. Lastly, Pomp’s interests lie at the intersection of finance, technology, entrepreneurship, and economics, which he tweets about extensively to his more than 1.6 million followers.

On this episode, Chris & Pomp discuss:

lessons Pomp learned from serving in the army and running product/growth teams at Facebook
the benefits and downsides of being a public figure with large social following
what is bitcoin and why is it important and his understanding of current crypto market
what happened with FTX and its implications on crypto market

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Support our Sponsors:

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Links:

Pomp on Twitter

PompLetter.com

The Pomp Podcast

(3:40) - Pomp’s time in the Army and lessons learned

(9:18) - Experiences working at Facebook

(12:31) - Tech company bloat

(15:49) - Elon vs. Apple and if there’s a “they” out there

(23:53) - How did you build your online presence?

(28:19) - Have you self-censored since growing this massive audience?

(32:39) - Pomp on shutting down The Best Business Show

(35:47) - Is there a pathway that gets us to an internet that doesn’t incentivize ridiculousness?

(37:49) - How did crypto enter your life?

(41:02) - What is Bitcoin?

(47:43) - Is there any version of the “promise” of Bitcoin that is playing out right now?

(49:30) - Is there a point where the volatility of Bitcoin stops?

(54:32) - Cryptocurrencies and Governments

(1:00:13) - How would you pitch Bitcoin to governments?

(1:08:05) - Breaking down the FTX fiasco

(1:16:59) - Pomp’s experience at a LIV Golf Event

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Jon Altschuler is the founder of Altschuler and Company and has been involved in all phases of the firm’s development since its founding in 2009. He started his career with Trammell Crow Company and was the president of Stream Realty Partners. Jon is the chairman of the SMU Dedman College executive board.

Jon is a graduate of Southern Methodist University where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa. Jon earned his MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

On this episode, Chris and John discuss:

The current state of the office market and forward-looking thoughts.
Best practices for building a successful career in real estate.
Future of co-working and office leases.
What will happen to Class B office properties?

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Support our Sponsors:

Frank Kent Cadillac

CRE Daily Newsletter

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Links:

Jon on LinkedIn

Altschuler + Co.

Topics:

(3:18) - Introducing Jon

(4:50) - What is it about Trammel Crowe that creates so many all-start caliber RE people?

(6:36) - Jon’s career in RE

(8:25) - What was your perspective on the GFC?

(10:41) - What does Altschuler + Co. do?

(11:20) - What was the narrative back in ’07 vs. ’09 from the building-owner perspective?

(14:09) - How would you describe the current market for Office?

(18:37) - Tech-Giant Sub-leases

(20:39) - Stranded Buildings

(22:26) - Do you have any insight on the mounting developer debt?

(23:33) - What do you predict for development?

(24:23) - What are we experiencing in DFW?

(26:21) - What does a great future for Office look like?

(27:11) - Are you seeing any clustering of businesses similar to Old Parkland?

(28:05) - Thoughts on co-working

(30:02) - What’s the difference between a great leasing agent and a terrible one?

(32:47) - What should tenants with 2 years on their lease left be thinking about?

(34:46) - Are there any new amenities that are making buildings more competitive?

(36:08) - What markets pique your interest?

(37:10) - How does your job change as the tenant gets larger?

(38:57) - How are tenants thinking about risk of leasing spaces that aren’t ready?

(41:05) - What are you seeing in capital markets for Office?

(41:45) - What’s the narrative for Dallas?

(42:49) - What would you tell new people in the industry as we stare at a potential downturn?

(44:02) - Who developed your marketing strategy?

(45:14) - How are you preparing your team for the next 2-3 years?

(45:52) - How did you develop your knack to outwork everyone?

(48:28) - Becoming a Global Citizen

(55:11) - What can Fort Worth do better to attract businesses?

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Kevin Lackey is the President and CEO of Freedom Powersports, a dealership group based out of Fort Worth, Texas with 13 locations spanning three states. His career in the powersports industry started in 1998 where he worked his way up from a porter to manager to general manager and now owner and operator. Through strong leadership skills, dedication to operational excellence, and commitment to the industry he helped grow Freedom Powersports from $34.8M in sales in 2012 to a project of $157M in sales for 2021. Outside of Freedom Powersports, Kevin is on the Board of Directors for First Financial Bank, Motorcycle Industry Council, Yamaha Financial Services Council, BRP Dealer Advisory Council, Yamaha Financial Services Dealer Council, Texas Motorcycle Dealers Association, YPO Fort Worth Chapter Member and is on the Advisory Board for National Center for Middle Market. In 2019 Kevin was named the Entrepreneur of Excellence for the category of retail for Fort Worth Inc. Magazine and in 2016 he was named to the 40 under 40 by the Fort Worth Business Press. With continued growth on his mind, he has also become an active member of his community in Aledo, TX, started a podcast, and is always looking for the next opportunity.

On this episode Chris and Kevin discuss:

Deepdive into powersports industry since COVID.
Best practices learned over the years that helped build a great team and business.
What he’s glad he did for the business so that it was easier to sell. (Sold to Rumble On.)
Why Kevin has built a life that balances his family life with a demanding work schedule.

Links:

Kevin on LinkedIn

Episode #4 of The Fort with Kevin Lackey

The House that Built Me by Miranda Lambert

Support our Sponsors:

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Fort Capital

Topics:

(3:25) - Reminiscing

(4:54) - How would you describe your business?

(6:02) - What happened to Powersports during Covid?

(9:20) - Why does focus matter so much?

(12:05) - The power of EOS

(17:15) - How did you navigate the Pandemic?

(30:23) - Is there anything you learned in the early months that will serve you the rest of your life?

(32:58) - When did you start to consider the process of selling the business?

(45:29) - What are the things you’re happy you did to get the business ready for a successful sale?

(49:27) - How did you delegate duties to your CFO?

(51:34) - Net Working Capital

(1:02:16) - Are there things you wish you’d done to get the business ready for a successful sale?

(1:04:22) - The experience of closing on the sale

(1:09:09) - The importance of Fatherhood

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David Senra is the Founder of Founders Podcast. David has devoted his career to learning from history's greatest entrepreneurs.

David is on a mission to document the best ideas from the life and work of history’s most formidable people —and share those lessons through his podcast so others can benefit. He lives in Miami with his wife and two children.

On this episode, Chris and David discuss:

His story and the challenges he faced growing up that shaped who he is today.
Building his pod – a peak inside what an average week looks like.
A deep dive discussion on founder characteristics and everything he's learned from reading hundreds of auto-biographies on the world's most extraordinary founders.
A discussion on the economics and business of podcasting.

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Support our Sponsors:

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More on David Senra:

David on Twitter

Listen to Founders Podcast

Links to Books, Apps, Websites, etc. Mentioned on this episode:

Sam Walton Autobiography

Paul Graham essays

Jocko Podcast

The Everything Store

Kanye West Netflix documentary

Michael Arrieta on The Fort (Garden City)

Trader Joe’s Autobiography

Readwise App

Becoming Steve Jobs

Charles Kettering Biography

A Man For All Markets

Dark Genius of Wall Street

Topics:

(3:58) - Introducing David

(6:11) - David’s background

(15:32) - David’s passion for reading

(17:00) - Reflecting on how we are shaped by our past

(22:37) - Do you think it’s possible to build a generational business without childhood trauma?

(30:20) - What led to you starting the podcast?

(43:36) - What kept you going during your first 2 years when the show wasn’t profitable?

(1:06:55) - What does a week in the life of David Senra look like?

(1:15:07) - What was it about your appearance on ‘Invest like the Best’ that exploded the show?

(1:20:09) - How big is the opportunity for podcasting?

(1:50:46)- Of everyone you have studied, who is the #1 person in your eyes?

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys

Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader

The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

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Cody Campbell is the Co-Chief Executive Officer of Double Eagle Energy Holdings III LLC, a partnership formed with Apollo Global Management, and co-founder of Double Eagle Development.

Campbell began his business career at Texas Tech University, where he and John Sellers founded a successful commercial real estate development firm. He graduated with honors with a Bachelor’s in finance and economics and a master’s in finance. After graduation, he played offensive guard for the Indianapolis Colts.

Campbell is a member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), serves on the Advisory Council for the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech, and serves as a Board Member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. He lives in Fort Worth with his wife and four children.

On this episode, Chris and Cody discuss:

The story of their $6.4B sale to Pioneer.
Discussion on current energy markets and policy.
Why we need to change the narrative on oil & gas to attract more labor into the industry.
We talk about the NCAA & NIL programs and how Texas Tech has built The Matador Club to support athletes.

Support our Sponsors:

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Juniper Square

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Topics:

(4:31) - Selling Double Eagle 3 to Pioneer

(8:33) - Why was the industry valuing on a price per acre vs. EBITDA?

(10:21) - What do “bits & pieces” mean and how are you able to do it at scale?

(13:12) - Have there been 2 types of oil businesses that emerged since the shale revolution?

(14:01) - Was there ever a moment during the pandemic when you considered not drilling?

(15:00) - When did it become clear that selling was the best option?

(19:20) - What blows up a deal like this?

(20:13) - Starting back up again

(22:02) - What are you seeing in the current state of the energy market?

(30:24) - Is there any shift in the capital markets?

(32:29) - Why has the Biden Admin shifted its stance on domestic production?

(34:49) - How much of an impact does the Russia/Ukraine conflict have?

(36:42) - What are you seeing in the labor market for Energy and Oil & Gas?

(38:57) - How can the industry change its marketing efforts to encourage people to work in this field?

(40:30) - How does this industry bring the rest of the world out of poverty?

(43:21) - What’s happening outside of the US as we globally see energy prices spike?

(44:47) - Even if we all flipped to a pro-oil stance instantly, how deep are we in the hole already?

(47:19) - What are the different acreage tiers in oil fields?

(50:16) - If oil is at $92 today, what’s the rate of return for drilling a well?

(51:50) - Is there any technology on the horizon that will make it easier to get oil out of the ground?

(53:01) - Why did the Kline Shale flop?

(54:55) - Why did the Permian basin end up being such a hit?

(55:48) - Where do you think we will peak in 2023?

(57:02) - What is the NIL within the NCAA?

(1:01:29) - The Matador Club at Texas Tech

(1:04:33) - Is there a worry that the schools with the most capital secede and create their own league?

(1:06:14) - Focusing athletes on their education

(1:08:08) - Who’s making the rules for NIL?

(1:09:05) - What is it that continues to motivate you?

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Zamir Kazi started his career in Real Estate in 2013 after attending Florida State University buying and flipping duplexes. He formed Berkshire Property Holdings in 2014 (later rebranded to ZMR Capital) to acquire and redevelop multifamily Real Estate. In the past 9 years, as CEO of ZMR Capital, Zamir has acquired over $1.5B of multifamily assets.

He has been the recipient of Globe Streets 50 under 40 and is an active investor and board member of multiple early-stage companies. Zamir also contributes significant time and resources to several charities.

On this episode Chris and Zamir discuss:

How he started his career in real estate.
How ZMR Capital creates value in the assets they acquire.
How ZMR selects markets to invest in.
Current state of the multi-family market.

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

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Support our Sponsors:

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Links:

Zamir on LinkedIn

ZMR Capital

Topics:

(3:52) - Zamir’s background and career

(7:05) - What is it about Indian culture that wants their children to become doctors?

(9:17) - How were you financing as you began to do bigger deals and turn this into a firm with employees?

(11:22) - Did you manage properties yourself?

(12:12) - How did you convince people to give you a deal without a track record?

(15:09) - How were sourcing deals and why did you choose the markets you’re in?

(16:40) - Have you stayed 3rd party on Property Management?

(22:47) - What is an ideal Class A or B deal and how do you add value?

(26:02) - Do you outsource construction & asset management?

(27:24) - Do you send PM’s the same chart of accounts or do they each account differently?

(28:15) - Do you have a 90-day game plan after closing a deal?

(29:29) - How do you raise capital today?

(30:25) - How are you thinking about the market right now?

(32:52) - Is bridge debt still in the mix for you on deals you’re doing right now?

(34:29) - Are rents still moving fast?

(37:08) - Is there anything you’re seeing that could cause a major correction in MF pricing?

(41:10) - Why are people selling right now given market conditions?

(42:30) - How are you thinking about the tailwind given to MF by high mortgage interest rates?

(43:50) - What do you see for your business over the next decade?

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Will Churchill is the Owner of Frank Kent Motor Company. Frank Kent Cadillac has been awarded GM Dealer of the Year for 2012 – 2014, an honor given to only the top 2% of GM dealers throughout the country.

On this episode, Chris and Will discuss:

A deep dive on the auto industry.
The current state of the auto industry.
What the future of buying cars looks like.
DTC, EV cars, Hydrogen?!
And more!

Support our Sponsors:

Frank Kent Cadillac

CRE Daily Newsletter

Fort Capital

More Info:

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Follow The Fort on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/TheFortPodcast

Links:

The Fort #50 with Will Churchill

Email Will: willc@fk1935.com

Topics:

(3:18) - Introducing Will

(4:51) - Will’s background in the auto business

(7:06) - What’s happened in auto over the past two years?

(11:16) - Where are we now with the chip shortage?

(13:10) - Thoughts on pricing strategies in the industry

(17:53) - Where do people get auto loans from?

(20:18) - Is there anything that changed through Covid that will be permanent?

(22:37) - Moving the car buying experience online

(27:43) - Thoughts on Carvana

(31:36) - Focusing on the Wholesale market

(34:45) - What do most people do when they’re owing way more than the car is worth?

(36:25) - What warranty do people really need?

(41:23) - At what point can a car not get a warranty?

(42:58) - Why is there a need for car dealerships in the future?

(44:41) - Why doesn’t Tesla’s model work for everyone else?

(47:03) - Will the Car Dealership look the way it does now in 10 years?

(48:50) - What happens if Wall Street moves to a profitability model?

(50:23) - Buick’s buyout of their dealers

(51:39) - Who dictates investing in a dealership?

(53:31) - The process of opening a new dealership

(56:33) - What’s the pathway to becoming a dealer?

(1:02:25) - Thoughts on the EV revolution

(1:08:12) - What happens to the new cars that got wrecked from the recent hurricane in Florida?

(1:10:09) - Where do cars go to die?

(1:11:29) - Do you see the industry moving to cars-as-a-service rather than traditional ownership model?

(1:12:52) - How are auto loans performing right now?

(1:13:35) - How many catalytic converters have been stolen from you and are manufacturers looking to fix this?

(1:14:33) - How’s the auction market looking right now?

(1:15:16) - What’s the single most impactful thing a dealer can do to improve the car buying experience?

(1:17:13) - How has ride-share impacted the auto world?

(1:18:43) - Final thoughts

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Holt Lunsford is the Founder & CEO of Holt Lunsford Commercial, a Dallas-based full-service commercial real estate company. They talk about luck in business, the process of finding and hiring great people, and Holt's advice for fathers. Enjoy!

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Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

(3:08) - Holt’s background and career

(5:30) - The Great Trammel Crowe generation of Texas Real Estate Operators

(19:26) - How much of business success is luck and how much are things that you can control?

(21:28) - Holt’s Growth standards

(24:22) - How long was the business going until you started making hires

(25:24) - What were things you weren’t doing well that people could learn from?

(28:55) - Holt on building relationships with the people he works with and loyalty

(31:21) - Holt on the culture of people moving jobs constantly and attracting the next generation of employees

(36:21)- What within Real Estate has changed dramatically since starting in ’86?

(38:33) - Chris and Holt on life balance

(43:02) - What did you give your kids for their 18th birthday?

(46:19) - What advice would you give your 21-year-old self

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On this episode Chris talks about the fundamentals that drive Class B Industrial:

Growing demand and no new supply? Could that be?!
The types of tenants that occupy Class B Industrial
How we think about Cap Ex & TI.
And more!

Support Our Sponsors:

Juniper Square: https://www.junipersquare.com/

Frank Kent Cadillac: https://www.frankkentcadillac.com/

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Topics:

(2:52) - What is Class B Industrial?

(4:59) - They aren’t building more of this stuff

(7:07) - Serving the function of a business

(9:43) - The asset class in 2022

(11:57) - Tenants in Class B Industrial

(14:05) - Being close to the customer

(15:33) - Predictability of Expenses

(16:31) - Class B as Covered Land Plays

(17:22) - Leasing

(19:58) - Final thoughts on Class B Industrial

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Chris sits down with his longtime friend Rayne Austin, to do a deep dive into the Cattle Business. Rayne walks Chris through the multiple phases of the life cycle for cattle, how each phase makes money, the "Big 4" packers, and how the pandemic exposed a major bottleneck in the industry. Enjoy!

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

(3:11) - Rayne’s Background

(5:08) - What are the phases of a cow's life and how do you move from one to the next?

(8:07) - Do the calves only live off of their mother’s milk or are they consuming feed in the first phase?

(9:17) - Do cows sell for less if they haven’t been weened?

(9:39) - How much money are people trying to get from selling in the calf/cow phase?

(10:22) - How do you transfer 10,000 calves to the stockyard?

(11:30) - How many calves fit in a truckload?

(11:49) - What’s the purpose of the stockyard?

(13:25) - How big are you trying to get the cows to become in the stock phase?

(13:45) - What’s the pricing model for cattle?

(16:05) - What do cows look like at the end of the stocker phase? What happens when they move to the feed yard?

(17:16) - How long do they stay in the feed yard?

(17:31) - Where does all that feed come from?

(18:06) - Do they go to slaughter from the feed yard?

(18:30) - Why don’t folks complete all three phases under one roof?

(19:48) - What are the biggest risks in the industry?

(20:59) - What are the biggest upsides to the business?

(21:57) - Why were the packing houses doing well but not the cattle ranchers during COVID?

(23:33) - What happens when you have cattle ready to leave the feed yard but packers not willing to take them?

(24:53) - Can a cow get ‘too big’ to where it affects the meat?

(25:44) - How is veal made?

(26:50) - Rayne’s Experience Working at the Largest Virtual Auctioneering House

(28:59) - Does everyone buy in the business hedge or is it case by case?

(30:07) - Why are calves who haven’t been weened high risk?

(31:01) - Why do some people hedge and some don’t?

(32:29) - How is the majority of this business made up from an ownership perspective?

(37:05) - Does the climate and location of feed yards change what the cow will look like?

(39:20) - Are the majority of these legacy companies just growing to a point where the barrier to entry is more difficult?

(41:06) - What’s the day to day like for someone like your grandfather working in the field 7 days a week?

(44:00) - How many cattle are there per acre in America?

(44:56) - How many cattle are there in America?

(45:49) - Who’s the largest cattle rancher in the country?

(46:21) - Have genetics improved vastly over time?

(47:31) - What about cattle genetics has improved?

(48:23) - What’s the rating system for cattle?

(50:31) - Why would someone go through you for doing deals?

(51:47) - What’s a shrink and slide?

(53:54) - Why do cuts like Wagyu and Kobe sell for so much more? What about grass-fed beef?

(55:15) - Why are Midland steaks so much better than other companies?

(56:25) - How long does a cow live and how often can they give birth?

(58:24) - What are the different breeds of cattle?

(1:00:27) - Is the fake meat industry putting a dent into the business?

(1:01:52) - The Cow Fart Narrative

(1:03:31) - Are there other false narratives that folks should know about in the cattle industry?

(1:04:29) - How has technology progressed in this industry to create better margins?

(1:07:11) - Have numbers shown that people will pay more for the meat of a cow that’s lived a ‘better life’?

(1:08:27) - 1031-ing in the Cattle Business

(1:10:28) - The JBS Cattle Company

(1:10:57) - Who are the Big 4 in Cattle?

(1:11:23) - What did the government do for cattle ranchers during COVID?

(1:12:35) - How far out can you hedge?

(1:13:51) - Since you’ve been around, what’s been the best year to be in this business?

(1:15:23) - Do the major packers dominate the industry or does it revolve around the cattle rancher?

(1:16:01) - How would you value a cattle operation?

(1:18:09) - The U.S. Beef Trade Deal with China

(1:19:15) - If you had 100 million dollars and you had to invest in the cattle business, where would you put it?

(1:21:11)- What is a day like for a ranch hand?

(1:23:26) - What does it cost to lease land to put your cattle on?

(1:25:50) - We’ve found ways to make food for cheaper and less. At what point have we gone too far and we’re just making bad beef?

(1:27:27) - Do cattle ranchers pay insurance on the cattle?

(1:29:24) - How far are we from a point in time where there are not enough people in the industry?

(1:30:07) - What’s your favorite cut of beef & what’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Chris goes solo to hit hard on a critical aspect of operations that has played so well to the success of Fort Capital: Incentives. On this episode Chris discusses:

Why operations are important and how to incentivize them.
A relevant scenario to think about when setting incentives.
Incentivizing the process, rather than just the outcome.

Topics:

(1:42) - What is a great operator?

(2:38) - Incentivizing the process, not just the outcome

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Chris goes solo to hit hard on a critical aspect of operations that has played so well to the success of Fort Capital: Incentives. On this episode Chris discusses:

Why operations are important and how to incentivize them.
A relevant scenario to think about when setting incentives.
Incentivizing the process, rather than just the outcome.

Topics:

(1:42) - What is a great operator?

(2:38) - Incentivizing the process, not just the outcome

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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Michael currently serves as the Founder and CEO of Garden City, a purpose-driven holding company that buys, grows, and permanently holds family-owned companies. Once acquired, Garden City seeks to grow them through culture, technology, and sales.

Most recently, Michael was an early employee & executive at DocuSign, serving as Global Vice President, General Manager, and Chief of Staff to the CEO. DocuSign has now achieved a $30B market cap with 5,000 employees. In 2016, he founded MAV Ventures, a venture capital group that has invested in over 100+ companies and multiple funds. Michael also co-founded New Story, a non-profit that has built 2,000+ homes in developing countries and is recognized for creating the world’s first-ever 3D Home Printer.

He graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management, and he lives in Atlanta with his wife and three children. Mike is a follower of Jesus and seeks to honor God in everything he does.

On this episode, Chris and Mike discuss:

His story and how he learned to be world-class at sales. (He was the #1 CutCo Knife salesman in the US)
How Garden City values and ultimately transacts on businesses.
How Garden City creates value for the companies they acquire.
Why he chose a permanent capital structure.

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ

Michael on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeArrieta

Garden City: https://www.joingardencity.com/

(2:10) - Michael’s career and background

(4:51) - What did you do that made you the top Knife salesman in the country?

(9:45) - What can get someone to believe in their product or company?

(12:46) - What does a Chief of Staff do?

(16:58) - Why do you have an affinity for boring SMB’s?

(19:50) - What led you to the realization that you wanted to start acquiring businesses?

(23:30) - What are you tangibly doing to make people the focus of the businesses you buy?

(29:21) - What’s your filter for red flags in businesses you look at acquiring?

(32:19) - In what capacity do you want the previous owner involved after an acquisition?

(33:49) - What do the first 90 days look like post-acquisition?

(37:11) - How do you find the line between letting the business run and being very hands on as owners?

(40:20) - When an owner doesn’t stay on, how quickly do you have to get on with replacing the CEO?

(43:06) - What are most of these SMB’s lacking generally from a technology standpoint?

(46:17) - How do you find someone who is going to be really accountable for making sure tech is adopted?

(48:50) - How do you approach Sales training?

(53:45) - Why did you choose to pursue Permanent Capital?

(57:01) - How do you think about the platform of being able to help people when you’re a business owner?

(1:00:58) - Is it possible to instill this mindset in an already existing business?

(1:02:33) - How does Permanent Capital work?

(1:04:46) - How do you think about cash flowing out of the businesses you own?

(1:07:06) - Do you have an example of a Christian Business owner who is killing it in both their career and their faith?

Sacred Pace by Terry Looper: https://amzn.to/3qxTMtV

(1:10:17) - Why did you consciously decide to slow down? What have been the consequences of that decision?

Becoming a King by Morgan Snyder: https://amzn.to/3Lq7GYV

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer: https://amzn.to/3ddXrtR

The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Becoming a King: The Path to Restoring the Heart of a Man

Sacred Pace: Four Steps to Hearing God and Aligning Yourself With His Will

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World

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On this episode, Chris and Mike discuss:

His story and how he learned to be world-class at sales. (He was the #1 CutCo Knife salesman in the US)
How Garden City values and ultimately transacts on businesses.
How Garden City creates value for the companies they acquire.
Why he chose a permanent capital structure.