POWERS

Mark is currently the Chief Executive Officer of JLL Capital Markets, Americas. He also sits on JLL’s Global Capital Markets Board where he shares responsibility for the strategic direction, growth, and client activities of JLL’s global capital markets business. We discuss: The state of Capital Markets The FED and rate cuts The performance of Office, Retail, Industrial, and Data Center asset classes 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 JLL Capital Markets Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:32) - State of the Capital markets (00:11:24) - How the FED is thinking about rates (00:16:21) - Outcomes of a rate cut (00:21:09) - The Detroit effect (00:23:02) - Migration data (00:25:34) - What types of deals are working in this environment? (00:30:32) - Housing (00:35:29) - The importance of Mexico (00:36:45) - The state of Office (00:46:19) - Foreign vs. Domestic Capital (00:47:31) - The election (00:48:33) - Equity markets (00:54:01) - M&A Activity (00:57:08) - Unique strategies (01:00:12) - Data centers (01:03:00) - Secondary markets (01:05:26) - The Detroit effect in real estate (01:06:57) - AI (01:07:33) - Tenant migration (01:09:07) - 2025 forecasts & trends Corrections: RE the election topic, one statistic was transposed: It was stated 2.3% more in the first quarter in terms of transactions, and in actuality, the number is 3.2%. Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast 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

Chico West is a LPC therapist, coach, and consultant. He works with on-site programs and for Construction companies and has a private practice with over 34 years of continuous sobriety. We discuss: - Common themes around addiction - Marriage - Therapy and Counseling in the C-Suite 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 Chico West Counseling Chico on LinkedIn Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:06) - Be a Buffalo, not a cow (00:03:19) - Life before sobriety (00:13:03) - Believing in Jesus (00:16:58) - Common themes around addiction (00:22:23) - Following a higher power vs. following Christ (00:24:33) - What does your work look like today? (00:27:34) - What do you tell people who want to quit booze? (00:31:20) - How do you deal with the weight of when people fail at this work? (00:37:28) - Men & Women (00:42:20) - Is addiction nature or nurture? (00:45:37) - Gordon Highlander (00:55:16) - Is mental health overplayed? (00:59:59) - Closing advice Support our Sponsors Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast 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

Jason is the General Partner and Co-Founder of Highmount Capital, a unique investment firm focused on growth stage and middle market investments in transformative technology and other growth-related platforms. He is the former Managing Director and founding member of Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), the venture and growth arm of Koch Industries, the largest privately-held company in the US with over $130B in revenue. Jason was responsible for helping KDT grow to billions in AUM across 40+ companies. We discuss: - What makes a great venture partner - What venture firms look for in late-stage companies - The process of making a $100mm investment in DudePerfect 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: Dude Perfect Highmount Capital Jason on X Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:05:23) - Jason's Early career (00:10:03) - What makes a great venture partner (00:13:23) - Joining Koch Industries (00:15:18) - Building the venture framework for Koch (00:19:48) - What does a great late-stage company look like in the eyes of a venture firm? (00:26:40) - Founding Highmount Capital (00:29:56) - Building a great origination engine (00:35:44) - Investing in Dude Perfect (00:40:18) - The craving for family-friendly brands (00:44:10) - How do you think about your role post-investment? (00:46:44) - What are unique ways to make money in the creator economy? (00:54:14) - Are the Dudes a technology business or technology-enabled business? (00:57:34) - How do you find a CEO for a company like DudePerfect? (01:01:18) - How is Highmount structured? Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast 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

As the CEO of KDC, Steve Van Amburgh manages the firm’s strategic planning while coordinating new business development efforts. He also oversees KDC’s acquisition and development activities. Under his leadership, KDC completed over 154 corporate build-to-suit office and industrial projects valued at over $11 billion and totaling more than 37 million square feet. We discuss: - The process for developing corporate campuses for the likes of State Farm - The state of the office and construction market - Working with cities and municipalities as a developer 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: KDC Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:06:09) - Steve’s early career (00:14:10) - Buying Koll Company (00:22:47) - The importance of focus (00:25:59) - How corporate campus deals come together (00:33:00) - Negotiating the deal (00:38:48) - Architecture and design (00:42:46) - Budgeting and planning (00:46:27) - The impact of change orders (00:48:26) - When does your work on a project end? (00:51:05) - The state of the market (00:55:46) - Capital markets (00:58:33) - Is there a market for these assets? (01:00:24) - Max bid deals (01:01:04) - What’s the hardest part of a project? (01:03:19) - Brokers (01:06:25) - How cities can help themselves and developers Support our Sponsors Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast 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

Jeremiah Donati was appointed as TCU’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics on December 11, 2017. Since his arrival at TCU in 2011, Donati has played a major role in enhancing the TCU student-athlete experience through donor-supported facility upgrades totaling nearly $500 million. During Donati’s tenure as athletics director, the Horned Frogs have won eight team national championships and 11 Big 12 Conference titles. In the 2023-24 athletics season, TCU was one of just five schools nationally to win multiple NCAA Championships with its titles in rifle and men's tennis. The 2022-23 athletics season was the most successful in TCU's 150 years. TCU became the only school in the College Football Playoff era to reach the CFP, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, and College World Series in the same academic year. We discuss: - The changing landscape of NIL, recruiting, and Private Equity entering athletics - The process of raising capital and the business side of college athletics - The future of conference realignment in football, coaching hiring and firing, and more 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: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:45) - Jeremiah’s career and background (00:10:40) - The evolution of TCU as a University (00:13:05) - Building a Power 5 School mentality (00:16:01) - Raising money for an Athletic department (00:19:41) - Becoming Athletic Director at TCU (00:26:03) - The NIL dilemma (00:33:13) - Transfer Portal issues (00:37:57) - Is PE going to become involved in college athletics? (00:42:52) - How do universities make money via athletics? (00:44:04) - Coaching: Recruiting, hiring, and firing (00:59:02) - The Caitlin Clark effect & the value of winning (01:02:45) - The Big 12 realignment (01:07:21) - The entertainment business within college sports (01:09:31) - Are we moving to super-conferences? Links: Jeremiah on X - https://x.com/JDonati_TCU TCU Athletics - https://gofrogs.com/ Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast 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

Andy Weiner, President of RockStep Capital, started RockStep Capital Corporation in 1996. Weiner has built or acquired over 9 million square feet of shopping centers throughout the United States. Prior to founding RockStep Capital, Weiner served as Vice President of Operations for Weiner Stores, a chain of 159 family clothing stores with locations in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. We discuss: Andy’s mall thesis A Deal Breakdown of a mall in Small town America Implementing a successful company culture via the Rocksteps 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 RockStep Capital The 25 RockSteps Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:58) - Andy’s background (00:09:09) - Retail pricing structures (00:14:06) - Falling in love with small-town America (00:18:52) - Andy’s mall thesis (00:21:59) - What Andy looks for when underwriting a mall (00:30:19) - What are deal killers for you? (00:33:58) - Capitalizing and Closing deals (00:38:50) - Deal breakdown: Manhaatan, KS (00:45:37) - Zombie malls (00:48:53) - Government funding + battling Amazon (00:52:07) - Alternative ways to monetize mall assets (00:54:27) - The Rockstep way Support our Sponsors Bullpen: https://www.bullpenre.com/ Vesto: https://www.vesto.com/fort Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast 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

Today’s episode is full of incredible career stories and deep market insights as we enter the second half of 2024. Michael Levy is the Chief Executive Officer of Crow Holdings where he is responsible for leading and overseeing the Company’s overall business strategy and activities. The firm’s operations include real estate investment management, real estate development, renewable and traditional energy exploration, and securities management. Before joining Crow Holdings in 2016, Michael had a longstanding career in real estate finance and investment management at Morgan Stanley. He was a member of the Firm’s Management Committee and held a number of leadership positions including COO and Head of Distribution for the Investment Management Division, Head of Traditional Asset Management, COO and CFO for Real Estate Investment Management, and co-head for Real Estate Investment Banking. We discuss: Michael’s career at Morgan Stanley during the DotCom crash and GFC The experience working for Crow Holdings Analyzing the state of the market, asset classes, and looking to the future of real estate 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: Michael Levy on LinkedIn Crow Holdings Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:10) - Days on Wall St. (00:05:47) - Experiences during the DotCom Crash and the GFC (00:21:02) - Advice for someone going into a restructuring (00:24:49) - The worst assets to be in during the GFC and Michael’s time with Morgan Stanley (00:30:44) - Being a man of commerce (00:31:57) - Joining Crow Holdings (00:38:38) - Texas Vs. New York (00:42:25) - Crow Holdings business units & development structures (00:53:57) - Thoughts on the market (00:57:16) - 2008 vs. 2024 (00:59:20) - Interest rates (01:03:58) - Oil and Gas (01:06:05) - Office (01:14:10) - Data centers (01:17:51) - MF & Industrial (01:23:23) - Acquisitions (01:25:00) - Development challenges (01:27:10) - Capital markets (01:31:26) - What are you most proud of from your time with Crow? (01:33:50) - Solar (01:36:48) - Looking at the future of RE Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast 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

Continuing a practice of three generations of business and community work in the Dallas area, Phillip and his twin brother, Co-Owner Donald, have developed their Land Development and Land Investing legacy by creating superior master-planned communities and multifamily community living styles. The firm has developed over 15,000 single-family homesites, and 2,800 multifamily units in the DFW metroplex, and invested in thousands of acres of land. The Huffines name has become widely esteemed within the industry and the State of Texas. Huffines Communities has assembled over 100 limited partnerships, created hundreds of jobs in North Texas, and generated billions in asset values. In 2021 alone, Huffines Communities invested over $120 MM in land. We discuss: How Huffines creates incredible Master Plan communities City/state incentives Design, architecture, and amenity strategies after 30 years of building 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 Huffines Communities Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:10) - Getting kicked out of military school (00:08:47) - Master Plan communities (00:16:00) - Phillip’s secret sauce (00:20:11) - Finding a site for a community (00:24:24) - State and city incentives (00:29:47) - Establishing school districts (00:34:03) - Experiences during the GFC (00:36:28) - Entitlements (00:39:50) - Entrance design & amenities (00:43:13) - Community events (00:45:51) - Planning (00:53:52) - Thoughts on the market (00:57:20) - Home builders and the DFW market (01:02:19) - Nearly going bankrupt in the 80’s (01:07:53) - Does anything concern you in the macro right now? (01:11:10) - The importance of profit Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: The Fort Podcast on Twitter/X: https://x.com/theFORTpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefortpodcast 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

Before founding DH Property Holdings, Dov was the Executive Vice President of Acquisitions of Asset Management at Extell Development Company. During his 13+ years at Extell, Dov negotiated and supervised the acquisitions of over $20 billion of New York real estate. Dov was directly responsible for sourcing some of the most notable transactions over the last 10 years, including The Ring Portfolio, One 57, Nordstrom Tower, and One Manhattan Square. We discuss: Stories from Dov’s career assembling iconic NYC sites Pivoting to Class B Industrial How to Negotiate in RE 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 (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:56) - Dov’s early career (00:05:02) - Land assemblage and zoning in NYC (00:13:12) - Tenant risks (00:16:06) - Assembling Central Park Tower site (00:27:21) - Assembling 1 Manhattan Square site (00:32:45) - The Ring portfolio (00:48:19) - Hiring Japanese actors to finalize a deal (00:56:42) - Venturing into Class B Industrial (01:13:58) - How would outsiders perform in NYC trying to assemble land? (01:15:00) - The power of negotiation Links DH Property Holdings More on Dov Hertz Dov in The Real Deal Dov in Crain's New York Business Dov's Real Estate Investment Blog Support our Sponsors Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Larry Brogdon is a geologist and Partner with Four Sevens Oil Company with over 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He has been involved in developing several major oil and gas plays, including the Barnett Shale. We discuss: - The early days of the Barnett Shale - The impact of horizontal oil wells - The role of natural gas in the world and predictions for the energy 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 Support our Sponsors: Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:07) - Larry’s entry into the oil business (00:05:00) - George Mitchell & the Barnett shale (00:19:07) - Capitalizing on the success of horizontal wells (00:26:32) - Building and exiting the business (00:33:21) - The role of natural gas in the world (00:39:55) - Larry’s investing thesis (00:45:40) - 10-year predictions Chris on Social Media: X: 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

In today’s episode I sit down with Michael Fishman & Michael Baum are Co-Chairs of Global RE Practice @ Greenberg Traurig, LLP - one of the world's largest real estate practices. Their practice focuses on real estate, real estate finance, private equity and real estate fund formation. Their clients include institutional investors, investment advisors, public and private real estate companies, REITs, and financial institutions. They’ve worked to form domestic and cross-border real estate funds and joint ventures and regularly represent lenders on real estate projects throughout the United States and globally. In addition, their experience with mezzanine finance, mortgage finance, lease finance, and loan defeasance transactions. They regularly advise clients with regard to the acquisition, disposition, leasing, and management of multi-family, industrial, office, retail, and hotel properties in the United States and globally. We discuss: Fishman and Baum’s cross-border PE work The future of the law profession The state of the RE market Links: Greenberg Traurig A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe Michael Fishman Michael Baum Support our Sponsor: Associated Insurance Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:38) - The egoless partnership (00:12:51) - The process of doing business in Mexico (00:17:27) - What makes a great lawyer? (00:28:17) - Is it fair that most situations could be resolved without litigation? (00:31:46) - Making the jump to Greenberg (00:42:08) - Cowboy ethics (00:45:11) - What does your team look like today? (00:50:23) - Thoughts on AI’s impact on the legal profession (00:58:21) - Are young people wanting to be lawyers? (01:03:42) - What are you seeing in the real estate market? (01:20:43) - Data Centers (01:22:09) - Is there any Federal legislation on the horizon that listeners should be aware of? (01:26:15) - What is the biggest real estate risk people take without knowing? Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Don Tepman runs a real estate fund that focuses on buying neighborhood strip centers throughout the United States and also runs the 'StripMallGuy' account on X and LinkedIn. Mr. Tepman started his career in 2002 and led his first strip center purchase in 2006. He has completed 40 purchases and raised over $150M in LP capital. We discuss: Don’s career and mentors What makes a successful strip mall acquisition Building @stripmallguy and the future of the brand 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 StripMallGuy on X Resquared Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:56) - Don’s upbringing and career background (00:08:40) - The dynamics of suburban retail (00:12:42) - Don’s mentor & learnings (00:21:25) - Restaurants in strip centers (00:26:35) - Tenant mixes (00:30:20) - TI (00:35:41) - Where do folks waste money on exteriors? (00:37:18) - Drive-thrus (00:38:36) - Don’s hold period strategy (00:42:39) - Why do you stick to smaller deals? (00:45:26) - What is your approach to entering a new market? (00:53:02) - Why does Price per foot matter so much? (00:53:44) - Leasing (00:59:41) - Taxes and insurance (01:01:19) - StripMallGuy (01:08:45) - Working a deal through the system (01:12:44) - Thoughts on the market (01:18:22) - Luxury retail (01:19:53) - Meeting Charlie Munger (01:27:08) - Plans for SMG in the future Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

I couldn’t be more excited to release today’s episode that shares in great detail how Fort is thinking about and using AI. Jason and I discuss our proprietary operating system, FOS, and how we’re leveraging AI to build Fort's next chapter. We’ve been building this technology for years and now the fun really begins. Jason Baxter joined Fort in 2015, bringing more than 25 years of real estate industry experience, an acute passion for entrepreneurship, and a vision for transforming big ideas into reality. As Chief Executive Officer/President, Jason oversees Fort’s strategic vision and execution of acquisitions, finances, and annual planning. In addition, Jason oversees the Fort Leadership Team and Investment Committee. Chris is a serial entrepreneur with 19 years of real estate development and investment experience. He founded Fort and to date, the company has invested over $2.1B in Class B industrial, commercial, multifamily, student housing, and land development projects throughout the state of Texas and the Sunbelt. In 2016, Chris made the decision to focus on Class B Industrial full time and that is where the firm has dedicated the majority of its resources since. On this episode, Chris and Jason discuss: Finding a single source of truth Building Fort’s AI thesis Examples of Foster at work Links: Fort in the WallStreet Journal - Harnessing the Power of Advanced Data FOS Overview Foster Overview Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:00:42) - The importance of technology (00:05:00) - Finding the single source of truth (00:09:24) - Building Fort’s AI thesis (00:11:48) - How the world uses AI vs. how Fort uses AI (00:18:15) - Examples of Foster at work (00:28:35) - What does Foster think Foster is? (00:31:46) - Why does all this matter? Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Ryan Delk is the CEO and Founder of Primer — a platform that helps the top 1% of teachers launch Microschools in their communities. He’s spent the last decade building tech companies (like Square, Gumroad, and Omni) and was homeschooled K - 8th grade, which served as the early inspiration for Primer. We discuss: - The state of education in America - Building Primer - Ryan’s mission to save San Francisco 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 Ryan on X Primer Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:07) - Homeschooling & education in America 00:15:21 - Are we getting smarter in the current way we learn in school (00:17:27) - Building Primer (00:25:19) - The process of starting a Microschool (00:30;15) - Zoning challenges & changing legislation (00:37:15) - Raising money from iconic investors (00:41:54) - Do people actively try to stop Primer from existing? (00:45:30) - Hiring undiscovered talent (00:52:17) - Ryan’s mission to save San Francisco (01:00:10) - Problem paralysis (01:02:28) - Grow SF (01:10:19) - The vibe shift (01:16:29) - Getting the most out of your day (01:21:35) - It’s all fake Support our Sponsors Fort: https://bit.ly/FortCompanies Follow Fort on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-companies/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Preston Holland is the Chief Commercial Officer of FLYING Finance, which is an aircraft financing company. Before taking over the finance business, Preston ran FLYING Media Group (now known as Firecrown) as Chief Operating Officer. We discuss: When folks should consider flying privately Costs of owning a plane Chartering, jet cards, and fractional ownership A walkthrough of how to purchase an aircraft 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 Preston on X Preston's Newsletter Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:05:33) - Preston’s career (00:18:44) - When to consider flying private (00:21:20) - Chartering (00:36:20) - Costs of plane ownership (00:48:40) - Dry leases (00:54:21) - Jet card memberships (00:59:52) - Fractional ownership (01:03:45) - Pilots (01:06:06) - Partnerships (01:07:50) - The process of buying an aircraft (01:23:02) - Tax implications (01:33:58) - How to know ownership is the right path Support our Sponsors Oshman Aviation: https://bit.ly/3Qr9STF 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: X: 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

Mike Beckham is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Simple Modern, a leading producer of premium drinkware and lifestyle products. Founded in 2015 and based in Oklahoma, SimpleModern currently generates a nine-figure annual revenue and is committed to generosity, donating at least 10% of annual profits to nonprofit organizations. Under Mike’s leadership, the company has grown into a category leader for Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Sam’s Club. We discuss: Building Simple Modern during the peak of Yeti’s domination Hypergrowth strategies and living in a future with AI The power of product licensing and building moats The disadvantages of selling products online 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 Simple Modern Mike on X Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:48) - Starting Simple Modern (00:15:46) - How much thought do you need to put into a product as simple as a cup? (00:17:51) - The Stanley Phenomenon (00:22:06) - Influencer marketing (00:24:15) - The pros of hiring your friends (00:33:21) - Learnings from spending 10 years as a pastor (00:43:43) - Hypergrowth (00:48:05) - AI (00:55:23) - Product Licensing (01:04:00) - Building moats (01:09:07) - Does Amazon take more and more margin out of products as you grow? (01:18:35) - Becoming an ESOP (01:27:01) - Offshoring and China (01:34:22) - What are some disadvantages to selling online? Support our Sponsors 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: X: 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

Mark Hart is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Corriente Advisors and an active investor in private technology companies. Throughout his career, Mark has developed a unique process and reputation for identifying potentially powerful macro and investment trends and opportunities ahead of consensus. Mark’s contributions and concepts have been widely showcased across various popular media platforms, earning him invitations to speak at prestigious gatherings of investment professionals in the Western world. We discuss: - Betting against the housing market in 2008 - How Mark developed his macro thesis - Thoughts on China, inflation, bitcoin and AI 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 Mark on X Corriente Advisors Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:54) - Mark’s career (00:10:49) - How do you think about research? (00:15:44) - Betting against the housing market in ’08 (X) (00:23:52) - The China trade (00:25:19) - The European sovereign debt crisis (00:29:00) - How do you research a global trade? (00:31:52) - Mark on rebuilding his approach to life (00:37:44) - Thoughts on China in 2024 (00:46:55) - Inflation (00:53:12) - Bitcoin (01:00:52) - AI (01:04:56) - Cannabis Support our Sponsors: Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Omar Morales is an investment sales broker at Berkadia that sells land & multifamily properties across South Florida. He has sold over $3.3 billion worth of real estate ranging from $130M land deals to $355M multifamily properties, even though his average deal size is roughly $50M. In this episode, Chris and Omar discuss: - The state of the Miami RE market - Building a world-class network - The importance of building an online brand 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: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:34) - The Morales family coming to America (00:10:49) - What’s the state of the Miami RE market? (00:13:52) - Miami sub-market analysis: Brickell (00:19:05) - How have you built a world-class network? (00:28:11) - Blackstone (00:30:40) - How hard is it to enter the Miami market? (00:35:16) - Are there noticeable differences between domestic and foreign buyers? (00:36:31) - What’s your activity been like this year? (00:43:31) - How are people dealing with insurance in your market? (00:46:25) - The Condo crisis (00:55:59) - What are the things that get you to a quick ‘no’? (00:59:01) - Where would invest $20m in Miami and where would you invest $200m? (01:00:52) - Miami sub-market analysis: The Wynwood market & Design District (01:03:48) - What characteristics do your smartest clients have that separate them from the rest? (01:06:54) - What has building a brand online done for you? Omar Morales: Follow Omar on X Omar on LinkedIn Berkadia Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Elaine Agather is Chairman of the Dallas Region for JPMorgan Chase & Co. She also serves as the Central Region Head and Managing Director of The Private Bank at J.P. Morgan. Elaine joined Chemical Bank of New York in 1979, working in London, San Francisco, and New York until she relocated to Dallas in 1984. After the 1986 merger of Chemical Bank and Texas Commerce Bank, Elaine was promoted to Chairman of Texas Commerce Bank in Fort Worth in 1992 and joined the Private Bank to manage client advisory groups across the state in 1997. In 1999, she was elected Chairman and CEO of Dallas. On this episode, Elaine and Chris discuss: - Working with Jamie Dimon - Wealth Management 101 - Bank runs, cyber threats, AI, and the state of Banking 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 (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:43) - Elaine’s early career in banking (00:15:40) - Taking over an underperforming bank (00:18:46) - Elaine’s rodeo career (00:28:11) - Working with Jamie Dimon (00:31:17) - Wealth Management (00:34:08) - How to transition wealth well (00:39:07) - The process of bringing in a generationally wealthy client (00:42:19) - The SVB & First Republic bank runs (00:45:04) - How to find an exceptional wealth manager (00:46:11) - Cyber threats, crypto & AI (00:48:40) - The state of banking (00:51:36) - DFW (00:55:03) - How do you know you’ve done a good job? (00:58:29) - Elaine’s 8: Get over it Support our Sponsors Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUqFort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

David Perell is a writer, teacher, and podcaster. He believes writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. David seeks to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. More than 1,500 people from more than 70 countries have participated in David’s Write of Passage programs. The five-week bootcamp draws on David’s experience writing online, building an audience, and his interviews with dozens of great writers on his How I Write Podcast. On this episode, Chris and David discuss: David's upbringing and influences David's writing and creative processes How the Internet has changed the goals of writers The Jetski Theory, the Never Ending "Now" Theory, and other great takes explained 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: David on X How I Write Podcast - YouTube, Apple, Spotify Write of Passage David's website The 11 laws of show running What the hell is going on? By David Perell - https://perell.com/essay/what-the-hell-is-going-on/ Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:32) - David’s upbringing (00:07:43) - The influence of Walt Disney (00:10:48) - The loss of soul and creativity (00:15:18) - David’s creative process (00:17:54) - How David writes (00:25:50) - Why should other people start writing? (00:29:14) - Writing in text vs. Google Docs (00:31:15) - How have people benefitted from your writing program? (00:33:10) - Storytime (00:38:17) - Great writers on Twitter (00:42:38) - How has the internet changed the goals for writers? (00:42:28) - Setting out to prove or disprove the story of Jesus (00:51:51) - The Internal Struggle of American Idolatry (01:01:24) - David explains various takes (01:22:33) - How will AI impact the world? (01:24:35) - The shiny dime theory Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Charles Anderson founded Bandera Ventures with Pryor Blackwell and Thomas Leiser in May 2003. The Partners have over 140 years’ of experience in commercial real estate development, encompassing more than 62 million square feet of development and acquisitions throughout the United States and Canada. Bandera’s real estate development expertise includes office, industrial, retail, medical, data centers, and build-to-suit projects. We discuss: How Trammell Crow was able to produce so many successful RE operators Building Bandera Ventures Why DFW is the best real estate market in America 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 Bandera Ventures Trammell Crow Company Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:06) - Chuck’s background (00:07:39) - Experiences working at Trammell Crow (00:10:39) - Thoughts on the current market (00:15:20) - How Trammell Crow was able to have so many All-stars under one roof (00:17:58) - Chuck’s role at Trammell Crow (00:19:57) - Ideating Bandera (00:22:35) - Battling cancer & the power of Bible study (00:32:32) - Advice for young folks (00:34:58) - Inside Bandera (00:40:50) - Data centers (00:47:08) - Bandera’s org structure (00:50:13) - Recourse Debt (00:52:54) - What would it take for you to do an office deal? (00:53:59) - TI (00:57:22) - Super luxury markets (01:00:27) - Capitalizing deals (01:05:42) - Development (01:07:08) - Why DFW is the best market in the country (01:15:43) - Permitting and Zoning (01:18:50) - Market predictions Support our Sponsors 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: X: 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

Rusty Reid was named president and CEO of Higginbotham in 1989 at the age of 27. At that time, he implemented the firm’s defining “single source” service model whereby customers can obtain all their insurance and financial services under one roof. He also had the foresight to establish Higginbotham’s employee ownership structure, aligning all employees’ interests in the success of the firm. Under Rusty’s leadership, Higginbotham has grown to become the nation’s 21st-largest independent insurance brokerage firm and Texas’s largest—one with full property/casualty, financial, and HR service capabilities through offices coast to coast. We discuss: How to recruit well and build a culture Successfully integrating acquired companies Philosophy of generosity 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 Higginbotham Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:56) - Infectious energy (00:04:38) - Rusty’s early life and career (00:22:34) - Company growth strategies (00:31:30) - How to recruit well (00:37:35) - Building culture (00:42:15) - Rusty on ‘buying themselves’ (00:56:18) - Going on offense and acquiring companies (01:01:27) - The value in staying busy (01:05:52) - How to value an insurance business (01:11:16) - How do you integrate an acquisition? (01:17:10) - StonePoint partnership (01:20:45) - Thoughts on AI (01:26:51) - Philosophy on generosity Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Car Dealership Guy is currently the fastest-growing automotive media brand in the U.S and has captivated audiences with its top-rated podcast, weekly newsletter, and viral social channels, boasting a combined 80+ million impressions per month. On this episode, Chris and Yossi discuss: Yossi’s early career that lead to CDG How he grew the brand into a full-time business What it takes to drive meaningful growth on social media The state of the car industry in 2024 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 Car Dealership Guy The CDG Podcast Car Dealership Guy on X Yossi on X Who The F*ck is Car Dealership Guy - Reveal Video Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:32) - Yossi’s early career and car industry insights (00:12:39) - Buiding Gettacar (00:26:51) - Building Car Dealership Guy (00:32:24) - Content & growth inflection points (00:41:07) - Deciding to make CDG a full-time business (00:47:07) - The content flywheel (00:51:54) - The value of Podcasts (00:56:12) - What channels matter to you? (01:03:46) - Yossi’s decision to make himself public (01:10:47) - What is the big vision for CDG? (01:15:51) - What does Apple dropping their vehicle project mean? (01:19:57) - What’s captivating you right now in the industry? Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Dean Macfarlan is the founder of Macfarlan Capital Partners, a real estate investment sponsor based in Dallas, TX. He has 40 years of industry experience in the development, acquisition, repositioning, and sale of investment properties exceeding the $1.5 billion mark. On this episode, Chris and Dean discuss: Marriage philosophy Life over living Dean’s 10 Life Lessons 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 Dean's 10 Life Lessons Macfarlan Capital Partners Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:19) - Who is Dean? (00:12:01) - Coming to Christ (00:18:06) - Marriage (00:29:54) - Life over Living (00:38:19) - 10 Life Lessons Support our Sponsors 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: X: 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

George Young is the CEO of Pegasus Resources, a mineral and royalty company based in Fort Worth, Texas, focused on the acquisition and management of properties primarily located in the Permian Basin. Pegasus is financially backed by a $600 million equity commitment from EnCap Investments L.P. On this episode, Chris and George discuss: George’s career in Oil and Minerals The history of the Texas Oil Fields Leadership stories and philosophies 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 Pegasus Resources Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:23) - The Cook Ranch (00:12:45) - The Young family’s entrance into the oil business (00:18:40) - George’s early life & career (00:40:24) - 10% Ted (00:59:06) - Career stories (01:22:52) - Getting into the mineral world Support our Sponsors: 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: X: 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

Chris, aka @Gas_biz, is the owner of Vi-Mac, Atlanta’s hometown gasoline transportation company, which services approximately 1000+ gas stations throughout the State of Georgia. We discuss: The economics of the gas station business Chris’ career: the rise, the fall, and the comeback How to flip gas stations Where gas stations stand in an EV world 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 on X 'Fuel for Thought' Newsletter Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:54) - The family gas business and Chris’ early life (00:08:41) - How is money made in gas stations? (00:12:00) - The perfect site for a gas station (00:14:13) - What is ‘great service’ in gas stations? (00:17:13) - What are the anchor products in the shop? (00:22:34) - Buying 25% of the family business (00:24:33) - The economics of check cashing (00:27:12) - Growing the business (00:30:32) - Making mistakes (00:41:13) - The light at the end of the tunnel (00:50:20) - How do you flip a gas station? (00:52:58) - Selling the business (01:01:14) - Gas station crime (01:03:51) - The trucking business (01:05:48) - Management philosophies (01:06:51) - Running a great trucking company (01:09:14) - The gasoline supply chain (01:10:09) - What do you see as disruptive to the gas station industry? (01:15:15) - Environmental processes (01:17:19) - The video poker industry Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Simon Wagner is the Founder and Managing Partner of Granite Oak, a private investment firm with over $250mm of assets across Real Estate and Venture Capital. His career spans more than 20 years of investing and entrepreneurship in financial markets and alternative investments. On this episode, Chris and Simon discuss: Working in mortgage-backed securities at Morgan Stanley in 2006 Developing his commercial mortgage thesis The Irish real estate market Planning & Entitlements 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 Granite Oak Simon on X Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:51) - Meeting Simon and his journey to the United States (00:10:44) - Working in mortgaged-backed securities at Morgan Stanley in ’06 (00:24:35) - Forming the commercial mortgage thesis (00:39:54) - Lending Lessons learned (00:42:26) - Entering the Ireland market (00:45:24) - Simon’s first deal (00:56:25) - Irish vs. American loans (00:57:13) - Simon’s portfolio today (00:59:37) - Ireland’s influx of foreign capital and housing shortages (01:07:21) - Fundraising (01:13:53) - Planning and entitlements 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: X: 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

Jamie Winship has decades of experience bringing peaceful solutions to some of the world’s highest conflict areas. After a distinguished career in law enforcement in the metro Washington D.C. area, Jamie earned an M.A. in English and developed a unique process of resolving inner conflict that results in the ability to lead and innovate from a position of authenticity and freedom. His unconventional efforts to bring about societal and racial reconciliation led him to Indonesia, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Israel, and back to the U.S. We discuss: How to discover your true identity Separation and Connection world views Jamie’s experiences working in the Middle East Bringing terrorists to the US and converting them to Christianity 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 Jamie's website Living Fearless by Jamie Winship Identity Exchange Finding Hope in Depression Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:55) - Jamie’s background and upbringing (00:05:49) - Being recruited into the CIA (00:11:43) - What is identity? (00:15:32) - How can I discover my true identity? (00:27:32) - Separation vs. connection world views (00:35:41) - Jamie’s experiences working in the Middle East (00:52:55) - How to change the mentality of another person (01:06:30) - Bringing Palestinian terrorists to a Christian men’s retreat Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Ian is the founder of MicroCapClub.com, a global community of microcap investors. He is also the founder of Intelligent Fanatics Capital Management LLC, where his team works with private wealth clients to help give them exposure to the smallest public companies in the world. We discuss: The world of microcap investing Why the greatest investors started in microcap Building MicroCap Club Ian’s process for investing in a company 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 Ian on X MicroCapClub.com Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:06) - Growing up near the Amish (00:06:31) - Getting into Microcap investing (00:13:42) - Why most microcaps lose money (00:16:02) - The cost of being a public company (00:17:57) - Why the greatest investors started in microcap (00:21:22) - Experiences during the GFC (00:26:29) - Starting MicroCapClub (00:32:20) - Ian’s process (00:49:30) - Do you expect stock movement when you buy into a company? (00:54:40) - Due diligence (01:02:01) - Finding undervalue (01:03:32) - Emotion in Investing (01:07:05) - Thoughts on the market (01:12:02) - What size does a microcap end? (01:14:06) - What are the best sources of information for mIcrocap? Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Bill Cawley is the brand and vision behind Cawley Partners, a full-service, Dallas-based real estate company historically focused on commercial office product. Over the course of his career, Bill has owned all classes of commercial real estate in multiple markets across the country. He is continually recognized as one of the most influential business leaders in Dallas-Fort Worth. Cawley Partners has been the premier office developer along the Dallas North Tollway, developing more than $500 million of Class A office space and totaling more than 1.5 million square feet within the last 5 years. On this episode, Bill and Chris discuss: Bill's near-death experience and coming to Christ Experiencing the 80's crisis in Dallas The state of the Office market Advice for folks entering RE 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 Cawley Partners Avery Capital Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:23) - Bill’s near-death experience and coming to Christ (00:19:10) - Rebuilding burned bridges (00:25:19) - Legacy (00:28:36) - Bill’s mission trip to Cuba (00:31:52) - Bill’s career in real estate (00:40:50) - Being in Dallas during the 80’s crisis (00:44:13) - How the DFW tollway has evolved (00:52:06) - The state of the Office market (01:02:28) - The buyer market (01:04:33) - Construction (01:06:11) - Reflecting on Bill’s career (01:16:05) - Building Multifamily (01:19:24) - Advice to RE folks Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Barry Sternlicht is Chairman & CEO of Starwood Capital Group, the private alternative investment firm he formed in 1991 that is focused on global real estate. He also serves as Chairman & CEO of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), a leading diversified finance company. For the past 32 years, Barry has structured investments with an asset value of $240B+. Starwood Capital’s investment vehicles have invested in approximately 290,000 residential units, 4,000 hotels, 103M SF of office properties, 75M SF of industrial, 56M SF of retail and 70,000 lots of land in residential subdivisions. On this episode, Chris and Barry discuss: - Stories of scaling the business to 120k employees in 6 years - The value of “A Shared Pair” REIT - How to take a company from $1B in AUM to $10B - Selling Caesars Palace - Thoughts on the 2024 market Links: Starwood Capital Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY CRE Daily: https://bit.ly/4bteOQw Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:07) - AI & Hotels (00:08:48) - The Midas touch (00:10:46) - Scaling to 120k employees in 6 years (00:15:48) - Shared Pair REITs (00:28:41) - Thoughts on Blackstone (00:36:26) - How to buy a REIT (00:40:39) - Taking a company from $1B in AUM to $10B (00:49:57) - How did you keep Starwood Capital moving while you stepped away? (00:58:42) - Selling Caesars Palace (01:08:01) - Thoughts on the market in 2024 Chris on Social Media: X: 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

In this conversation, I sit down with my partner and Fort Capital CEO Jason Baxter to talk about our current fundraise, company wins, building out Fort’s custom AI, deal pipelines, profitability, how the team has grown, and an outlook for 2024. Past 'Year in Review' episodes: 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 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: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:17) - Reflecting on 2023 (00:08:07) - Fundraising (00:16:16) - Company Wins (AI, Company Challenges, Team Meeting Structures) (00:35:05) - Fort Capital’s custom AI - Foster (00:52:30) - Pipeline (01:00:49) - Profitability (01:07:20) - Highlighting the Team (01:10:33) - 2024 Outlook Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Devon Eriksen grew up with images of the galaxy and the imagined worlds of the golden age of science fiction. Now a retired software engineer, he writes with one purpose in mind: to give the reader something to love. On this episode, Chris and Devon discuss: Why culture is upstream of law The era of whining being over Property Rights Why we need to push back on bad ideas Artificial Intelligence Rent-Seekers Links: Devon on X Devon's Book: Theft of Fire 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: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:23) - Devon’s multiple careers (00:03:42) - “Culture is upstream of law, and law affects us.” (00:17:33) - How does the non-left get back into the cultural dialogue? (00:30:54) - The era of whining is over. (00:34:43) - Property Rights (00:41:48) - Pushing back on bad ideas (00:46:13) - Artificial Intelligence (01:00:26) - Predicting the future (01:03:11) - Rent-Seeking (01:07:05) - Who are the fiction gatekeepers? (01:14:18) - Who is ‘they’? (01:16:53) - The Principle-Agent Problem Support our Sponsors: Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Chris Hoffmann currently serves as the CEO at Deutschmann Lane Holdings (DLH), which operates a family of companies including Hoffmann Brothers, Ferguson Roofing & Exteriors, Deutschmann Lane Real Estate, and HBH Investment Company. Before joining DLH, Chris served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, leaving active duty in 2014. On this episode, we discuss: Chris' experience in the Marine Corps Taking over the family business Scaling the business Retaining and training labor The future of the trades Scaling acquired businesses 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 Hoffmann on X Chris Hoffmann on LinkedIn Hoffmann Brothers Nexstar Network Tugboat Institute ServiceTitan Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:19) - Chris’ time in the Marines (00:10:17) - Taking over the family business (00:14:41) - Scaling the business (00:19:18) - The first year in the business (00:23:04) - What metrics matter in your industry? (00:25:25) - Scaling the business after $20mm (00:27:30) - Successfully retaining labor & Hoffmann Brothers University (00:32:43) - The future of the trades (00:34:06) - Purpose-driven ownership vs. PE (00:41:09) - What questions should sellers be asking buyers? (00:45:12) - Scaling acquired businesses (00:48:01) - Call centers (00:50:34) - The future of marketing is not paid search (00:51:58) - The importance of Google reviews (00:52:29) - Is B2C harder than B2B? (00:54:13) - Recession resistance (00:57:06) - Business ideas: House managers (00:59:29) - What do the next 10 years look like for Hoffmann Brothers? (01:02:40) - The family dynamic within the business (01:06:19) - Do you have a succession plan? (01:09:03) - Mistakes made (01:12:23) - What do you see for the future of your industry? Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

David Moore is the founder and Managing Partner at Knightvest. Under David’s leadership, Knightvest has acquired over 55,000 units at a total capitalization of approximately $10.0 billion. Since inception, Knightvest has sold over 15,000 units with an average IRR and multiple of over 30% and 2.2x, respectively. On this episode, Chris and David discuss: Making key hires to grow the company The explosion of the Class B multifamily market A walkthrough of a typical deal The American renter in 2024 Construction & labor cost hikes State of the market update 2022-2024 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 Knightvest Capital - https://knightvestcapital.com/ David on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-moore-03005a39/ Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:45) - David’s first property (00:13:08) - The decision to focus on multifamily (00:20:46) - Scaling Knightvest (00:24:01) - Multifamily is HARD work (00:27:25) - Becoming the best renovator (00:29:47) - Making key hires to grow the company (00:34:40) - The Class B MF market taking off (00:42:32) - Walkthrough of a typical deal (00:46:20) - The American renter in 2024 (00:54:09) - Thoughts on construction & labor cost hikes (00:58:17) - State of the Market Update 2022-2024 (01:19:22) - Technology innovations (01:21:32) - What do you think about often in multifamily? Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Billy is the founder and Managing Partner of Pearl Energy Investments and manages the firm. He currently sits on the board of most Pearl portfolio companies including Permian Resources, SLANT Energy, Infinity Natural Resources, and Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. Before founding Pearl, Billy served as Co-Managing Partner of Natural Gas Partners (NGP) for almost 20 years. As Managing Partner, he co-managed NGP’s investment portfolio and played an active role in the full range of NGP’s investment process. In addition, Billy gained valuable investment experience working for Rainwater, Inc. and Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst, Inc. He also worked as an analyst in the investment banking divisions of Bear Stearns & Co. and BT Securities Corporation. On this episode, Chris and Billy discuss: Running due diligence on a fund and operator Predicting the potential success of a company you acquire How to be a great capital partner How the industry has changed over 30 years The future for PE-backed Oil and Gas companies Fundraising, hiring, and building relationships 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 Pearl Energy Investments Billy on LinkedIn Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:46) - Billy’s career in Oil and Gas PE (00:10:01) - Finding equilibrium in owning oil and buying oil (00:13:21) - Running due diligence on a fund and an operator (00:19:05) - Backing Permian Resources (00:24:05) - The importance of being close to the asset you operate (00:25:12) - How can you predict the potential success of a company you acquire? (00:29:10) - How to know you’re being a good partner (00:33:02) - Experiences during Covid (00:40:22) - Leaving NGP and forming Pearl (00:49:38) - How has the industry changed over 30 years (00:54:00) - What’s the best price for oil? (00:54:59) - Consolidation in the industry (00:56:43) - The Future for PE-backed Oil and Gas Companies (00:59:20) - Is capital coming back into the industry? (01:04:13) - What’s your strategy around fundraising? (01:13:08) - How do you think about hiring and relationships? (01:14:34) - Billy’s love for MMA 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/ Chris on Social Media: X: 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

Marc is Chief Executive Officer at DigitalBridge and has been an investor and operator in the digital infrastructure sector for over 25 years. He has led DigitalBridge’s transformation to become a premier platform for digital infrastructure and real estate investment. Marc founded Digital Bridge Holdings in 2013 and, as its CEO, built the firm into a leading global manager of digital infrastructure assets with more than 20 billion in AUM, until its merger in July 2019 into the current public company, DigitalBridge Group, Inc. On this episode, Marc and Chris discuss: How the industry has evolved over the decades AI's impact on this industry The different verticals of data centers Value add digital Lease structures & Cybersecurity Digital real estate 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: DigitalBridge Marc on LinkedIn DigitalBridge on X Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:36) - Marc’s early career (00:07:28) - The world of cell towers (00:17:05) - Gauging the needs of small providers vs. large ones (00:20:18) - How has the industry changed over the past few decades? (00:24:08) - Is there going to be an increase in demand for AI data centers? (00:26:54) - The different verticals of data centers (00:31:03) - Do Amazon and Microsoft dominate the cloud industry? (00:31:48) - How far out can companies see how far out on how much data they’ll need? (00:33:32) - Is all data equal? (00:36:13) - Value add digital (00:38:15) - Is your work spec build or do customers commit to a location first? (00:40:27) - Data center lease structures (00:41:52) - Cybersecurity (00:43:13) - How do you enhance a fiber optic cable? (00:44:02) - Can offices be converted to data centers? (00:46:01) - Will electric vehicles be an issue regarding power availability? (00:48:30) - Is crypto putting a dent in the industry? (00:49:44) - The US’ strength in cybersecurity (00:51:28) - How do you run your business ops in the Middle East and Asia? (00:54:08) - Digital real estate (00:56:03) - Were there any shifts coming out of covid? (00:57:02) - What’s the bear case for digital? Support our Sponsors 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: X: 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

Herb is Executive Chairman of Weitzman. In 1990, after nearly 30 years in the real estate business, Weitzman founded the company, a full‐service commercial real estate brokerage firm that now ranks as one of the largest retail‐focused real estate services firms based in Texas. On the brokerage side, Weitzman leases a retail portfolio of approximately 44 million square feet in Austin, Dallas‐Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. As a property manager, Weitzman is responsible for managing a statewide portfolio of more than 22 million square feet of retail and commercial properties. On this episode, Chris and Herb discuss: Herb's real estate career Timeless lessons for success in real estate What makes a great retail deal Leadership philosophies The future of DFW Innovation in retail 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 Weitzman 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 Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:06) - Herb’s career in RE (00:16:02) - Timeless lessons for being successful in RE (00;16:42) - Future growth for DFW (00:18:18) - The opportunity to buy 25% of Highland Park Village for $100k (00:22:21) - What it takes to see the future potential of a market (00:24:38) - Starting Weitzman (00:33:10) - Experiencing the 80’s Savings and Loan Crisis (00:42:08) - Raising capital (00:43:45) - Why have you chosen to stay exclusively in Texas? (00:49:30) - Leadership philosophies (00:52:25) - What makes a great retail deal and what do people get wrong? (00:55:01) - Suburban vs. urban retail (00:59:22) - Ikea (01:00:53) - The importance of relationships in retail (01:05:33) - Thoughts on construction pricing (01:10:02) - What areas of DFW are going to explode over the next 10 years? (01:12:50) - Innovation in retail (01:19:44) - What does work look like for you today? The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Micah is the President and Founder of Anchor Investments, which is on a mission to Build America’s Most Generous Real Estate Company. Micah focuses on identifying real estate investment opportunities for Anchor, raising capital, and leading the team. He is also the founder of Mission Hotels, the only hotel brand in America that gives away the majority of its profits to support underserved communities. On this episode, Chris and Micah discuss: Growing up in urban Memphis The need for great schools & father figures The state of retail real estate Building Anchor How to give away money Links: Anchor Investments Micah on LinkedIn Lloyd Reeb on The Fort Die with Zero by Bill Perkins Halftime by Bob Buford 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 (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:07) - Growing up on the wrong side of Memphis (00:07:40) - The working poor (00:09:58) - The importance of good schools (00:17:05) - Micah’s early career (00:19:28) - Experiences in the GFC (00:23:27) - Micah’s job today (00:28:36) - Thoughts on the retail market (00:29:39) - Developing a trait of generosity (00:33:30) - Building America’s Most Generous Real Estate Company (00:41:15) - Buying churches and converting them to hotels (00:47:51) - How to give away money (00:54:06) - What does the inner-city need to change? (00:57:03) - Charter Schools (00:58:20) - How to get people involved in giving (01:02:22) - Raising grounded children (01:08:55) - Why people with money don’t give (01:12:53) - How to know where to give (01:17:22) - Thoughts on giving across the street vs. across the ocean (01:18:50) - The Halftime Institute (01:24:38) - Final thoughts Support our Sponsors 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

Edward Pitoniak is the founding Chief Executive Officer of VICI Properties, one of America’s largest real estate investment trusts and the first American REIT to go from IPO to S&P 500 inclusion in less than 5 years. Since its inception in late 2017, VICI has carried out over $30 billion of transactions. VICI is the largest real estate owner on the Las Vegas Strip, the most economically productive street in America, where VICI owns such iconic assets as The Venetian, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, MGM Grand, and Mandalay Bay. VICI also has partnerships with Cabot Destinations, Canyon Ranch, Great Wolf Resorts, and other leading experiential operators. On this episode, Chris and Ed discuss: - Maximizing the hospitality experience in Vegas - The story of building VICI - Investing in Canyon Ranch - The Inevitable Gaming Future in Texas 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 Vici Ed on LinkedIn Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:04) - Ed’s career (00:07:42) - How career “obsession” has changed since the 1970’s (00:18:05) - The history of the ski industry (00:28:10) - Maximizing the 24-hour experience of Las Vegas (00:30:35) - Are people craving experience more than ever? (00:35:06) - The Las Vegas Sphere (00:39:33) - Risk-taking (00:42:06) - VICI (00:47:57) - What makes a great purchase for Vici? (00:51:50) - How did you achieve the highest gross margins of any publicly traded company? (00:54:17) - Who else does what you do? (00:55:36) - Project ShitCo (00:56:48) - Canyon Ranch (01:04:37) - The Fontainblue Las Vegas (01:06:45) - The impact of influencer marketing on in-person casino experiences (01:09:19) - The future of Texas & Gaming Support our Sponsors 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

Craig Fuller is the founder and CEO of FreightWaves, the leading provider of global supply chain market intelligence and news. Before FreightWaves, Craig was the founder of TransCard, a major provider of fleet fuel and debit cards. He is also the CEO of FLYING Magazine, the world’s most widely read aviation magazine. Previously, Fuller founded the Xpress Direct division of US Xpress, the leading provider of on-demand expedited truckload services. On this episode, Chris and Craig discuss: What Craig sees in the freight industry today The economic state of China The reshoring renaissance Craig’s media strategy Buying Flying Magazine How to double the size of an established niche media company 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: Craig on Twitter FreightWaves FLYING Magazine Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:04) - Reflecting on correctly predicting a freight recession (00:06:24) - What are you seeing today in the industry? (00:15:29) - Are supply chains better now than pre-2020? (00:20:44) - China (00:30:54) - The Reshoring renaissance (00:34:42) - The Panama Canal (00:36:11) - The Merger of Canadian Pacific w/ Kansas City Southern (00:42:42) - Yellow’s bankruptcy (00:47:53) - What’s your media strategy? (00:53:49) - Valuing a media business (00:56:36) - Buying Flying Magazine (01:05:38) - How would you double the size of an established niche media company? (01:11:38) - How would you enter the Golf industry? (01:16:11) - Craig on buying an e-commerce business with his son Support our Sponsors 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

Kaes has worked at Diamondback Energy since July 2016 in various roles and as President and CFO since February 2022. Prior to that, he was CEO of Bison Drilling and Field Services in Midland, TX from September 2012 to June 2016. He began his career at Citigroup as an investment banking analyst, and worked for Wexford Capital prior to joining Bison. On this episode, Chris and Kaes discuss: Learning the Oil & Gas business A timeline of Diamondback Energy The Permian Basin How to get people to love Oil & Gas again 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 Diamondback Energy Kaes on Twitter Topics (00:01:48) - Kaes’ career & tennis (00:09:32) - Learning the Oil and Gas business (00:16:37) - Building Windsor (00:26:15) - High yield vs. investment grade businesses (00:31:20) - Diamondback’s merger with Energen Resources (00:34:12) - Experiences during Covid (00:39:03) - How do you source deals? (00:42:18) - The 2021 market (00:45:24) - Hedging (00:46:41) - Thoughts on the Permian basin (00:49:09) - Being a low-cost producer (00:52:07) - Learning to manage people (00:53:43) - Thoughts on the $60b Pioneer acquisition (00:55:28) - Is there a way to make people love OIl & Gas again (00:01:46) - This business is a trade (01:03:06) - Are investors coming back into the space? 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/ 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

Nancy is the Founder and Managing Partner of Park Madison Partners. As a leading real estate capital markets firm, Park Madison is an advisor to investment managers and operators and provides capital placement services for institutional investors. The firm has placed over $25 billion of equity in PMP-sponsored vehicles and maintains relationships with over 2500 real estate investors and managers. On this episode, Chris and Nancy discuss: - Nancy’s perspective on the capital markets - Capital allocation - Development valuations - Fundraising structures - Wisdom for folks pursuing a first-time fund 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: Park Madison Partners Nancy on LinkedIn Real Estate Capital Podcast hosted by Nancy Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:04:12) - Nancy’s perspective on the capital markets (00:14:40) - Pref equity in Industrial (00:16:09) - A discussion on the Office class (00:20:40) - Capital allocation (00:22:42) - What do institutional investors care about in contrast to private investors? (00:26:59) - Development valuations (00:29:30) - Fundraising structures (00:43:21) - Wisdom for folks pursuing a first-time Fund Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY 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

Reg is the founder and CEO of CaneKast, a privately-owned company focused on revolutionizing and rolling up small manufacturing in the US, with a current focus on non-ferrous foundries. We discuss: - The world of foundries - Offshoring & onshoring - How Reg rolls up foundries - Due diligence - Training - The process of closing on a business Links: Reg on Twitter - https://twitter.com/RegZeller CaneKast - https://canekast.com/ Topics: (00:00:00)- Intro (00:00:47) - The world of Foundries (00:05:56 - Offshoring (00:07:48) - Ideals specs of a foundry (00:14:14) - Josh’s impact (00:19:16) - Reg’s big-picture vision (00:25:20) - The process of rolling up a new foundry (00:30:01) - Determining whether to buy part of a foundry or the whole (00:33:16) - Negative margins (00:37:03) - Due diligence (00:38:59) - Pursuing the car deal model (00:42:28) - The nearshoring movement (00:51:11) - Training employees (00:57:02) - Equipment as part of the moat (01:01:44) - 3D printing (01:03:22) - The process of closing on a business Support out Sponsors: Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY 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

Casey Mericle is a real estate investor out of Missouri who specializes in deal structuring, negotiating, and putting people and resources together to solve real estate puzzles. He's been in real estate for about 15 years now and has done hundreds of deals. We discuss: How to find out what a seller wants Note structures Walkable debt Nontraditional negotiating Creative ways to finalize deals 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 Casey on Twitter/X Casey's mentor: Jack Shea Topics (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:55) - Poker & real estate (00:05:02) - How do you find out what a seller wants? (00:10:24) - Installment sales (00:14:13) - Characteristics of deals Casey plays in (00:15:33) - Sourcing deals (00:19:31) - Why is now the best time for seller-financing? (00:21:07) - Note structures (00:23:26) - Walkable debt (00:27:18) - Foreclosing on yourself (00:33:32) - Nontraditional negotiating (00:42:25) - What do you know that most people in RE don’t? (00:46:29) - Thoughts on the market (00:49:28) - Paying more to a seller than the asking price (00:51:14) - Creative ways to get things done (01:07:07) - Building trust with people (01:08:30) - Creating debt and making money off the debt rather than the deal Support our Sponsors Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY 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

Artem Tepler sadly passed away on November 2nd, 2023. He visited me in Fort Worth and I'll never forget it. He was funny, and kind, and had a servant's heart. His story was infectious. I know he loved his daughter more than anything. That made up most of our conversation at lunch. Pray for Artem and his family. If you're able to give, there is a GoFundMe set up for his daughter, which can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/artem-tepler On this episode, I am joined by Andrew Kirsh and Zack Streit. Andrew is an experienced commercial real estate transactional attorney, whose clientele includes a broad spectrum of national, regional, and local investors, funds, developers, operators, syndicators, private equity providers, and lenders. Andrew’s practice involves all aspects of the real estate industry, including acquisitions, dispositions, equity investments, syndications, fund formation, development, leasing, financing, note purchases, and foreclosures. Zack has 15 years of multifaceted commercial real estate investment and advisory experience, including as an equity capital provider, a debt capital provider, and a capital advisor. His 8 years of institutional principal investment experience laid the foundation for a career as a capital advisor, where he has co-founded a capital advisory platform and closed billions of dollars in commercial real estate ventures. We discuss: Personal Guarantees Personal vs. Non-recourse loans What to do when a deal and loan goes bad Foreclosing on a personal guarantee Filing for bankruptcy Links: GoFundMe for Artem's daughter Andrew on Twitter Zack on Twitter SklarKirsh WAY Capital Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:42) Personal Guarantees (00:10:57) Personal vs. non-recourse loans (00:20:14) How lenders are treating covenants in today’s environment (00:25:03) Lookback periods (00:31:18) Capex Busts (00:33:41) Is the banker really my friend? (00:37:28) What to do when a loan goes bad (00:57:54) Deciding to foreclose when you have a personal guarantee (01:00:36) Filing for bankruptcy (01:09:46) Final Thoughts 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 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

John Marsh is the Co-Founder of Marsh Collective, host of the Redemptification Podcast, and investor helping steward over $1.5b in redemptive real estate in 12 small towns (with populations of 800-180k) around America. Over the last 25 years, John and Ashely have guided over 60 startup businesses in various industries, such as Hospitality, Construction, Real Estate Investing, Advertising, and multiple Restaurants. John and his wife have renovated 280+ buildings within ten blocks of downtown Opelika to help save their city. Today, John's current focus is helping others make generational differences in communities and companies. By helping patrons bridge the gap between redeeming vision, financial sustainability, and execution to pioneering a new asset class of real estate which they have coined "Irreplaceable Real Estate." 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 On this episode, Chris and John discuss: The power of influence Humility Blind spots of entrepreneurs Divorce & money Changing the hospitality landscape Links Marsh Collective John and Ash's story John's first appearance on The Fort Topics (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:41) The Power to influence and love (00:10:07) Why is humility so attractive? (00:13:06) Blind spots in the entrepreneur type (00:33:19) Learning forgiveness (00:37:26) Being hard on yourself (00:40:41) Reversing bad momentum (00:44:25) Divorce & money (00:53:13) Taking counsel (00:54:43) Applying these lessons to business partnerships (00:59:21) What’s wrong with hospitality today? 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/ 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

Jillian Murrish is Co-founder and CEO of Pier Asset Management, where she manages the firm and heads business development. Before founding Pier, Jillian was EVP of Capital Markets at Patch of Land and an investment banker at Houlihan Lokey. On this episode, Chris and Jillian discuss: Senior Credit Facilities Litigation Finance Underwriting risk Consumer Loan defaults Why private credit firms should not be regulated like banks 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 Jillian on Twitter Pier Asset Management Topics (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:30) Jillian’s background and career (00:10:39) Getting great prices for great assets vs. great prices for messy assets (00:15:24) Providing senior credit facilities (00:16:39) Why would someone borrow from you vs. a bank? (00:19:28) Do you have a capacity of how much you can lend? (00:21:58) Litigation Finance (00:33:42) How are you sourcing deals? (00:35:11) Are there common traits in deals that allow you to underwrite risk? (00:37:53) Music royalties (00:44:05) What are you seeing in today’s environment? (00:46:14) Is the consumer paying their loans? (00:49:07) What’s the shortest duration you want to be in a loan for? (00:50:39) What’s happening in the auto loan world? (00:56:17) How do you think about secured vs. unsecured notes? (00:58:23) What % of deals do you write that you need to repo? (00:59:19) Why and why not private credit firms should be regulated like a bank (01:01:43) Do you have a favorite story when it comes to a non-performing loan? (01:03:07) What gave you the entrepreneurial bug? 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

David Gibson is the Minister of Trinity Church, in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he has lived for the last 19 years. David is passionate about reaching the city where he lives with the gospel, and the Trinity congregation is preparing to restore Aberdeen's largest church building (built in 1904) after decades of neglect. Most recently, he has published in academic and more popular contexts on the beauty of the Wisdom literature in everyday life: Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches us to Live in Light of the End. On this episode, Chris and David discuss: Christianity in Europe/The UK vs. The United States Making sense of the Gospel and coming to Christ David's journey buying and restoring a church The book of Ecclesiastes The value of embracing death Introducing your kids to Ecclesiastes 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: TrinityAberdeen.org.uk Trinity Church Aberdeen on YouTube Living Life Backward by David Gibson Remaking the World by Andrew Wilson The Air We Breathe by Glen Scrivener The Pastor by Eugene H. Peterson The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:27) David’s background and career (00:05:32) Christianity in the Europe/UK vs. the United States (00:11:56) Making sense of the Gospel and Coming to Christ (00:15:24) The Christian environment in Ireland (00:20:20) Buying a church (00:25:02) How to help David (00:28:17) The book of Ecclesiastes (00:42:09) The value of embracing death (00:54:18) How to NOT become the messiah (00:54:18) Introducing your kids to Ecclesiastes 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

John C. Goff is an investor based in Fort Worth, Texas. His family office, Goff Capital, invests across multiple sectors including wellness, aerospace, energy, gaming, entertainment, and real estate. Among his holdings are Canyon Ranch – the world’s recognized leader in health and wellness, and Crescent Energy (NYSE:CRGY), where he serves as Chairman of both companies. John is also Chairman and principal owner of Crescent Real Estate which has assets under management, development, and investment capacity of over $10 billion. On this episode, Chris and John discuss: - John’s career working with Richard Rainwater - Building, selling, and buying back Crescent from Morgan Stanley - Thoughts on the current real estate market - The challenges and opportunities facing the city of Fort Worth 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 Crescent Real Estate Canyon Ranch Topics (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:02) Suffering from ADHD (00:05:11) The impact of studying accounting (00:07:35) Richard Rainwater (00:17:41) Building Crescent & selling to Morgan Stanley (00:37:49) Buying Crescent back (00:46:57) Thoughts on the current RE market (00:55:27) The future of work is in the office (01:01:11) Class AA Office opportunities (01:02:35) Raising a GP fund (01:04:16) Thoughts Oil & Gas (01:18:06) Canyon Ranch (01:28:11) The opportunity for Fort Worth (01:43:58) What do you wish you had spent more time doing or less time doing? Support our Sponsors 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