POWERS

Dean S. Adler is CEO and Co-Founder of Lubert-Adler Partners, L.P., a real estate equity firm with over $9 billion in equity raised. Dean is the Head of the Investment Committee and is responsible for leading the strategic direction of the team. He is also an Executive Committee Member and Research Sponsor for the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center of The Wharton School and a member of the Board of Directors of the Dominion Real Estate Company. On this episode, Chris & Dean discuss: Analyzing the current market How to vet folks looking for private credit Thoughts on Office as an asset Accidentally building a grocery empire 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: Lubert-Adler Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:16) What are you thinking right now about capital markets? (00:05:36) Is there another cycle you could compare to today’s environment? (00:07:29) How do you think banks are thinking about upcoming renewals? (00:12:56) What needs to happen to normalize the market? (00:20:08) What are you seeing in fundraising? (00:21:56) How are you vetting folks looking for a private credit deal? (00:34:20) Thoughts on the Office Asset class (00:44:54) Does high levels of institutional investment in office affect the market? (00:49:13) Is there an asset class today that’s dying but no one knows? (00:53:56) How did you end up in the grocery business? (01:04:12) Is it possible to still pursue an opportunity like you did with Albertson’s today? (01:09:58) Looking back, what do you wish you had focused on more? Support our Sponsors Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq 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

Sieva is a founder and Managing Partner at Enduring Ventures. Enduring Ventures is a long-term holding company that buys beautiful businesses and holds them forever. Enduring owns a portfolio of 20+ companies across HVAC, B2B Maintenance, Plumbing, Swimming Pool Construction, and Software. Chris and Sieva discuss: Enduring’s structure and how they source opportunities Setting incentives for leaders in companies they acquire How an industry-agnostic HoldCo quickly assesses deals The story of acquiring Scribe via Twitter Links: Enduring Ventures - https://www.enduring.ventures/ Sieva on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SievaKozinsky 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 (00:01:29) Founding Enduring Ventures (00:12:06) What is the structure of Enduring today? (00:20:58) How do you approach fundraising? (00:22:47) How are you incentivized in your business model? (00:28:26) Is there anything you won’t look at? (00:29:51) How are you able to quickly assess the quality of a deal if you’re industry agnostic? (00:33:09) What are the characteristics of a business that looked great years ago but today would be mediocre? (00:37:14) What do you bring to the table when buying a deal? (00:42:13) How do you source opportunities? (00:44:24) Do you care if the founder or current operator stays on post-close? (00:47:11) How do you incentivize someone to stay on in a long-term hold scenario? (00:48:58) seller-note on full standby (00:51:58)How many businesses do you own today? (00:53:04) How do the businesses you acquire get cash to you? (00:56:59) Finding the line between the what’s the responsibility of an owned business and Enduring (00:59:39) Acquiring Scribe 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

Sean Dalfen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dalfen Industrial and leads the firm’s investment committees and management committees across its platforms. Under Sean’s leadership, Dalfen Industrial’s portfolio has grown to over 50 million square feet of industrial properties from coast to coast, making it one of the nation’s largest owners and developers of industrial real estate and a leader in the last-mile sector. Over his career, Sean has transacted on in excess of $10 billion On this episode, Chris and Sean discuss: - A deep dive on the state of construction - Predictions for the DFW market - Robotics implementation in industrial spaces - Industrial Outdoor Storage 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 Sean's first appearance on The Fort Dalfen Industrial Topics (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:25) Selling stocks in May 2022 (00:07:11) The state of construction (00:14:46) How are you thinking about the next 3 years? (00:21:36) Leasing (00:31:43) Predictions for DFW (00:39:18) Robotics implementation in industrial spaces (00:43:34) Categorizing leasing activity (00:45:49) Lending (00:49:42) Industrial outdoor storage (00:55:28) The evolving supply chain (00:57:45) Thoughts on Amazon (01:01:05) Supply vs. demand (01:04:01) What needs to be in place right now for you to jump on a deal? Support our Sponsors Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq 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

Alex Bridgeman is the host of Think Like an Owner, a podcast focused on how the most ambitious CEOs grow great companies. He started the podcast in 2018 while still in college, and the show has led to exciting opportunities like becoming Chief of Staff at HW Media in March 2022 which evolved into a Director of Data Strategy role at Altos Research, a data company acquired by HW Media in December 2022. Alex has a deep passion for content and data and how each can propel a creator into amazing opportunities they wouldn't have otherwise had. On this episode, Chris and Alex discuss: - The immense benefits of Podcasting - Alex's Chief of Staff role - The content customer acquisition flywheel - The world of Data Businesses Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:38) “If you want to buy a business, don’t start a search fund, start a podcast.” (00:08:22) The Impact of Think Like an Owner (00:12:22) The Chief of Staff role (00:24:33) The content customer acquisition flywheel (00:28:56) What are the structures of data companies? (00:33:26) Are we living in a world where everything we do is creating data for someone else? (00:37:08) Does AI impact the data world? (00:38:43) What would it look like to buy a data business? (00:43:19) Would you implement a content flywheel if you owned a data company? (00:45:17) How would you grow a data business? (00:46:55) What fascinates you about the sales side of data business? (00:51:24) Alex’s Chicken Theory 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/ Links: Think Like an Owner Podcast - https://tlaopodcast.com/ Alex on Twitter - https://twitter.com/aebridgeman Chenmark weekly newsletter - https://chenmark.com/weekly-thoughts/ HW Media - https://www.hwmedia.com/ Craig Fuller on TLAO - https://tlaopodcast.com/podcasts/craig-fuller-acquiring-flying-magazine-and-building-a-media-playbook/ Craig Fuller on The Fort - https://www.thefortpod.com/212-craig-fuller-founder-of-freightwaves-an-absolute-masterclass-on-global-supply-chain-transportation/ Smith Travel Research - https://str.com/ The economics of data businesses - https://pivotal.substack.com/p/economics-of-data-biz SafeGraph - https://www.safegraph.com/ World of DaaS Podcast - https://www.safegraph.com/podcasts Altos Research - https://www.altosresearch.com/ 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

Susan Miller Gruppi is the founder and co-president of M2G Ventures, a commercial real estate private equity and advisory development company based in Fort Worth, Texas. Guided by the leadership of Susan and her partner, Jessica Miller Essl, the fast-growing company carefully invests in mixed-use and industrial development projects located in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and the Austin Central Texas region. On this episode, Chris & Susan discuss: - Fundraising in today's market - Trends in what matters to Family Offices - Making Industrial cool - Revitalizing the Fort Worth stockyards Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:27) Susan’s experience in fundraising in this market (00:13:45) Why did you choose a GP fund? (00:16:25) What trends are you seeing in what matters to Family Offices? (00:17:43) Making Industrial cool (00:25:30) The Archetype in Brookhollow (00:28:16) Thoughts on the debt market (00:32:11) M2G’s Role in the massive success of the Fort Worth Stockyards and lessons learned (00:47:36) How have you seen massive projects like this get screwed up? (00:51:11) How do you handle a tenant who’s the lifeblood of an area but can’t afford a top dollar rent? Links: M2G Ventures - https://www.m2gventures.com/ Susan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-miller-gruppi-14653818/ Mule Alley in the Fort Worth Stockyards - https://mulealleyfortworth.com/ 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

Isaac French designed and built Live Oak Lake, a breathtaking 7-unit nature-immersive retreat located just outside Waco, Texas. In its first year, the property grossed $1 million, with a net profit of $550,000. Thanks to his cultivation of the brand’s social media following of 150K, over 80% of all bookings are direct. Isaac thrives on continuously expanding his repertoire of skills and sharing candidly from his experiences. On this episode, Chris and Isaac discuss: The process of designing and building Live Oak Lake Experiential hospitality Automated cost savings & touchpoint details Building out a social media engine & course 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: Isaac on Twitter Isaac's LinkTree to course, newsletter & consulting Live Oak Lake DallasSites101 Topics: (00:02:21) Isaac’s background & career (00:07:24) The love of design (00:09:55) The experiential hospitality model (00:13:32) The process of building Live Oak Lake (00:27:44) What does experiential hospitality mean? (00:32:17) Automated cost savings & touchpoint details that matter (00:41:56) What has changed about the property since you opened? (00:46:11) Can you fake an end-to-end experiential property? (00:48:12) How do you make sure labor is in check in a rural area? (00:53:28) Is there a number of units where you lose out on the magic? (01:00:25) Building a social media engine & course 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

Nick and Chris come together for an intimate conversation that goes beyond their normal public or online discussions. This is Nick's 9th appearance on The Fort. They discuss: Nick's upbringing & his relationship with his father A deep dive into the impact money has on people Chris reads an email his father sent him 3 days before passing Parenting & marriage philosophies The pressure on men in today's world and what it means to be influential 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 Nick on Twitter – https://twitter.com/sweatystartup You Have What it Takes by John Eldredge Nick's Companies Business Brokerage – https://nickhuber.com/ Personal Brand – https://sweatystartup.com/ Self Storage – https://boltstorage.com/ Bold SEO – https://boldseo.com/ Insurance – https://titanrisk.com/ Recruiting – https://recruitjet.com/ Landing Page / Web Development – https://webrun.com/ Overseas Staffing – https://supportshepherd.com/ Debt and Equity – https://bluekeycapital.com/ Tax Credit – https://taxcredithunter.com/ Cost Segregation – https://recostseg.com/ Performance Marketing – https://adrhino.com/ Pest control – https://spidexx.com/ Topics (00:03:43) Chris and Nick reflect on their relationship and careers (00:08:47) Nick on his father: Starting businesses & their relationship (00:15:16) Thoughts on money (00:23:59) Pivoting to build the Huber Empire (00:35:25) How much does it mean to you that your dad is proud of you? (00:36:35) Chris reads an email his father sent him 3 days before passing (00:40:25) Parenting & marriage philosophies (00:58:52) The pressure on men in today’s world and what it means to be influential (01:15:13) How Nick is building his Flywheel (01:20:56) What does this all look like in 5 years if it goes right? (01:25:42) Final thoughts Support our Sponsors RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

As the founder of Creek Development, Shiloe has completed 63 commercial redevelopment projects and 5 land entitlement plays in the San Francisco Bay Area. Leveraging her deep construction expertise, she challenges project assumptions and incorporates impactful design to achieve remarkable outcomes for her clients and investors. On this episode, Chris and Shiloe discuss: - How Shiloe built Creek as an outsourced developer - How Creek converts Industrial space for biotech labs - A deep dive into the Bay Area RE market - Why design is such an important aspect of development Links: Shiloe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shiloebear Creek Development: https://creekdev.com/ Topics: (00:04:37) Shiloe’s upbringing and journey to doing development in the Bay Area (00:11:34) What are the projects you work on the most? (00:14:03) Why is there such a demand for outsourced development? (00:14:44) What makes your firm different? (00:18:09) Tenants not paying rent (00:19:49) Minimum Viable Projects (00:24:27) How early in a project do you need to be brought in? (00:27:48) What are some obvious parts of a project where you can save money? (00:30:05) How would you describe the Bay Area market right now? (00:35:48) Office to Residential (00:39:48) What’s the environment like for Oakland? (00:44:45) How Shiloe is planning to pivot her business into doing their own developments (00:50:19) How important are the relationships you’ve developed in The Bay over the past 10 years? (00:54:51) The BioTech market and development strategy (01:02:19) Why design matters (01:09:50) How far out are labs looking for space? (01:11:02) Lenders, Leases, and hold periods (01:13:48) Why did this become your niche? (01:15:27) Shiloe’s bird-watching skills & long-distance running Support our Sponsors RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Ana Lorena Fábrega is an edupreneur, writer, and Chief Evangelist at Synthesis. Growing up, she attended ten schools in seven different countries. She then earned her BS in Childhood Education and Special Education from New York University and taught elementary school in New York, Boston, and Panama. Today, Ana Lorena writes online to over 200,000 readers about the promise of alternative education. On this episode, Chris and Ana discuss: The current state of education Teaching children in a digital world How to teach children to fail The problem in America with ADHD We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links The Learning Game by Ana Lorena Fábrega Ana on Twitter Topics (00:02:22) The problem in America with ADHD (00:13:14) The current state of education (00:22:34) The role of an educator (00:29:38) How can teachers work differently within the school system? (00:35:40) Are tests even necessary? (00:39:36) Teaching kids in a digital world (00:46:53) Learning how to fail (00:59:57) Nature vs. Nurture (01:02:41) Negotiating with your kids (01:06:34) It’s useless to ask kids what they want to be when they grow up (01:09:34) How parents should approach their children’s education (01:13:54) Learning tendencies in single-child households vs. multi-child (01:16:06) How are you planning out your child’s education? Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Eric is a trusted deal lawyer with extensive M&A and capital markets experience. Having worked for elite law firms such as Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Eric has worked on high-stakes transactions for clients such as Amazon.com, Jerry Jones, Banc of America Securities LLC, Palantir and Greenlane Holdings. On this episode, Eric and Chris discuss: Starting the SMB Attorney Twitter account and launching the first Social Media-driven law firm A walkthrough of the process of closing on a business The realities of SMB searching Holdco's, Rollups and the Silver Tsunami Links: Eric on Twitter SMB Law Group Mundane Millionaires Podcast The Fort w/ Rich Jordan The Fort w/ Josh Schultz Topics: (00:01:57) Starting SMB Law Group - The first social media-driven law firm (00:09:14) How different types of searchers approach acquisitions (00:22:00) The Silver Tsunami (00:23:52) The types of businesses Eric works on and the world of business brokers (00:32:03) What makes a great buyer (00:34:44) The process of closing on a business (00:59:44) Installing a new CEO post-acquisition (01:01:56) Management buy-outs (01:03:17) Holdcos vs. rollups (01:07:03) ChatGPT’s impact on the legal profession (01:10:02) Reps, warranties, and insurance in SMB Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 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

Evan Baehr is the managing partner of Learn Capital, a venture capital fund that backs and builds companies that drive human flourishing. He’s Founder of Teneo, a national leadership organization, author of the best-selling book Get Backed from Harvard Business Press, and host of the Arena, a TV show celebrating bold founders. On this episode, Evan and Chris discuss: How Evan is advancing human flourishing The roles of government vs. community in human flourishing How to build and grow communities We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Learn Capital Teneo Evan on Twitter Topics (00:01:36) Human Flourishing (00:14:38) The rise in deaths of despair (00:23:03) The role of government in human flourishing (00:28:52) Teneo (00:34:17) How to build a community (00:41:43) How communities change as they grow (00:54:57) Writing a bill to protect international mail-order brides (00:58:06) Evan’s perspective on ESG Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 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

Joe Shelerud is Co-Founder and CEO of Ad Advance, a digital advertising agency and Amazon Advertising Advanced Partner. Joe’s career in business and engineering quickly pivoted into the Amazon space after he started selling on Amazon back in 2014. After scaling his own 7-figure brand, Joe and his business partner founded their agency Ad Advance in 2017. Together with his team, Joe has helped brands all over the globe scale their brands. Joe is also the host of The Ad Project podcast, a show that helps eCommerce brands scale and push their advertising to the next level. On this episode, Joe and Chris discuss: How bidding for online advertising works Amazon vs. Facebook in the battle for king of digital advertisers Dealing with algorithm changes Selling the business to Permanent Equity Links Ad Advance The Ad Project Podcast Joe on Twitter Topics: (00:01:54) Joe’s career (00:07:31) Getting on Amazon’s radar and working with them (00:10:29) How does bidding work? (00:15:08) Is there anything that worries you about increased browser privacy? (00:17:13) Are our devices “listening” to us? (00:18:33) Are you an outsourced ad buyer? (00:19:40) What does a great client look like and who do you screen out? (00:21:18) How do you know if you’re doing an excellent job for the client? (00:22:52) What are sellers prioritizing on Amazon today? (00:25:16) Could Amazon dethrone Facebook as the largest digital advertiser? (00:26:22) Do you plan to expand to retail media? (00:27:20) What have you learned from Amazon about running your business? (Twitter Vid) (00:31:03) Is the winner in e-commerce who can advertise online the best? (00:33:11) How do you deal with algorithm changes? (00:34:30) Who was most affected by the iOS14 update? (00:35:38) What are some big changes you’re seeing from sellers? (00:37:35) How does AI play in your business? (00:44:18)Amazon DSP (00:45:13) Selling to Permanent Equity (00:56:04) Visiting all 50 states with your kids Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 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

Chris is proud to be a 6th generation Utahn and a 3rd generation commercial real estate developer. His career has focused on helping people build their cash flow in commercial real estate and having fun while doing it. Chris has been involved in over 1,000 drive-thru deals throughout the mountain and desert states throughout his career. Chris joined the brokerage community in 2002. He spent tireless hours helping multiple national retailers such as Dollar Tree, Starbucks Coffee, Verizon, Wendy’s, and Wells Fargo expand throughout the Intermountain area. In 2008 he chose to pivot his career into the investment sales side of the shopping center business. From 2008 to present he has been involved in over $2.0 Billion of retail investment sales with a primary focus of representing family offices looking to acquire additional assets for their portfolios. On this episode, Chris and Chris discuss: Why Salt Lake City is a fantastic place to work and live Adopting a child from Tonga How Chris develops sites for national retailers What makes a great development site The science of the Drive-thru We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Chris Hatch on Twitter NNN Income Blog The Net Lease Podcast Topics (00:02:02) The hidden gem of Salt Lake City (00:05:32) “We need to have another baby” (00:14:33) Chris’ role at Triple Net (00:16:07) What makes a great site-selection person? (00:18:14)What are the characteristics of a tenant you want to work with? (00:20:42) How do you get in the door with these tenants to become their developer? (00:25:08) How should one look at buying a Dutch bros. vs. a building that could host multiple tenants (00:28:15) The importance of the Drive-thru (00:31:33) Exclusive use provisions (00:33:02) Best practices for structuring leases (00:35:01) Providing a developer’s perspective (00:37:23) Why would someone buy a building like yours instead of buying treasuries? (00:42:01) The decision to enter MF development (00:45:16) Family breakups (00:52:30) The Red Lobster to Olive Garden story (00:59:18) Modular buildings (01:02:46) Chris on taking 30-day vacations Support our Sponsors Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 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

Growing up in Wichita Falls, Texas, Donald Zale watched his father, a Russian Jewish immigrant from an orthodox family, turn a small jewelry store into the Zale Corporation. Don worked alongside his father in the jewelry store and assumed the role of chairman of the board in 1980. In addition to being a successful businessman, Don and his wife, Barbara, became known as a philanthropist, using their wealth to help build hospitals, fund scholarships and aid the homeless. Don works chiefly on his family’s foundation, which funds community services and programs involving health, education, and Jewish heritage across several states.\\ On this episode, Chris and Don discuss: The founding story of Zales and growing up in the family business The diamond industry Managing shareholders within the family alongside external shareholders Zale's hostile takeover and being pushed out Life lessons for listeners We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Topics (00:02:28) The founding of Zales (00:13:38) The power of relationships (00:15:13) The biggest changes from the 40s to today (00;16:52) Don’s relationship with his father and experiences growing up in the business (00:24:38) When did the business really start to take off? (00:29:47) The shift to focusing on Diamonds (00:37:21) How do you think about marketing? (00:39:27) Lessons learned growing up in a family business (00:42:32) Managing shareholders within the family as well as external shareholders (00:43:41) Don on Zale’s hostile takeover (01:03:38) The potential in the diamond industry (01:06:59) Life lessons for listeners Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 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

Emily Holdman is Managing Director of Permanent Equity - a firm using 30-year funds to invest with no intention of selling in small and medium-sized private businesses. In her role, Emily is principally responsible for leading the firm's origination and investment process, and its marketing. On this episode, Chris and Emily discuss: How to know when a seller is ready, and when to move forward on a business Underwriting businesses Buying an Amusement Park Ride Manufacturer How to ask great questions when entering an unfamiliar industry We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Permanent Equity Emily on Twitter Topics (00:02:34) Emily’s background and career (00:06:47) Acquiring MediaCross and growing the business (00:13:00) Moving into Acquisitions at 23 years old (00:18:06) Going three years without acquiring (00:24:10) How to know when a seller is ready (00:31:50) Emily’s role at PE (00:33:25) When do you know it’s time to move forward with a seller? (00:38:40) How many businesses do you see before moving on one? (00:45:21) Why does everyone disagree over working capital? (00:47:23) How to underwrite a business in Alaska (00:56:21) Why PE loves Texas & Enthusiast Businesses (01:02:02) Buying an Amusement Park Ride Manufacturer (01:07:04) What are some questions you ask early on to become familiar with an industry? (01:12:32) How do you know if a seller is giving good answers if you’re unfamiliar with an industry? (01:16:52) Transaction tensions (01:23:46) Why the Twitter sentiment on self-reliance is annoying (01:32:02) Women in Investing (01:39:23) Advice for girls Support our Sponsors Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 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

Chris is joined by his business partner and Fort Capital CEO Jason Baxter to celebrate the 300th episode of the Podcast. On this episode, Chris and Jason answer listener-submitted questions regarding: How to build a successful partnership How Fort Capital is navigating the real estate economy Implementing technology and artificial intelligence in a business We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Links Ego is the enemy by Ryan Holiday Good to Great by Jim Collins Fort Ep.180 - GP Fees and The Pathway to Building a World-Class REPE Operating Platform Jeremy Giffon on Invest like the Best Topics (00:04:13) Reflecting on 300 episodes (00:06:22) Jason and Chris deep dive and answer questions about partnerships (00:46:44) Answering questions about Fort Capital (01:14:10) How Fort Capital is incorporating Artificial Intelligence Support our Sponsors RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Chris on Social Media: Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0 Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Born in Siberia, Artem immigrated to the United States at the age of nine. In 2009 he formed SCHON | TEPLER Partners to capitalize on the unprecedented opportunities in distressed residential real estate during the GFC and has evolved into a full-service, vertically integrated, multi-family real estate development firm. Since his first purchase of a single-family house as an investment for $300k at the age of 23, Artem has been involved as a principal in the development/redevelopment of more than $400m of real estate. On this episode, Chris and Artem discuss: ➡️ life in Siberia under Communism ➡️ immigrating to the United States ➡️ the thread between Jiu Jitsu and Career success ➡️ a walkthrough of putting together a Los Angeles Multifamily project We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉Artem on Twitter 👉Schon Tepler Partners Timestamps (00:04:02) Discovering Zyn (00:05:41) Life in Siberia under Communism (00:13:14) Immigrating to America (00:19:14) Thoughts on Russia/Ukraine (00:27:21) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (00:32:58) Artem’s early RE career (00:48:56) Buying a home from a murderer (00:51:10) Artem’s business today (00:54:10) Self-performing construction vs. outsourcing (01:03:54) Measuring success in construction (01:14:19) How an LA project comes together (01:25:10) Covid’s Impact on Multifamily (01:31:26) Affordable housing (01:34:00) Thoughts on the near-term market Links ➡️ Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH 💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ 📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Chris Hutchins is the host of the award-winning All the Hacks podcast, where he helps listeners upgrade their life, money and travel. Previously, he was the founder/CEO of Grove (acquired by Wealthfront), an investor at Google Ventures, and a co-founder of Milk (acquired by Google). On this episode, Chris & Chris Hutchins discuss: ➡️ Chris' filter for finding hacks in life ➡️ the business of credit card points ➡️ travel hacking ➡️ the business of Podcasting We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 All the Hacks 👉 Chris' Website 👉 Chris on Twitter 👉 How Airlines Quietly Became Banks 👉 AllTheHacks.com/CardValue 👉 AllTheHacks.com/TP 👉Point.me 👉Roame.travel 👉Seats.aero 👉Oceansxyz.com 👉 The 2-Hour Cocktail Party by Nick Gray Timestamps (00:03:03) Chris’s career (00:07:57) Is it fair to say almost everything is hackable? (00:08:55) What filter do you apply to find a hack? (00:20:22) The business of credit card points (00:33:32) Choosing the right credit card and travel hacking (00:52:31) Business hacks for entrepreneurs (00:57:38) The Business of Podcasting ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH 💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ 📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Mark Brooks is Chief Operating Officer and Co-President of Permanent Equity - a firm that invests with no intention of selling in small and medium-sized private businesses. In his role, Mark and his team are responsible for the operations of PE's 13 (and counting) portfolio companies spanning multiple industries including aerospace, construction, manufacturing, ad tech, and professional services. On this episode, Mark & Chris discuss: ➡️ what makes a great and a terrible manager ➡️ how Mark manages owners of acquired businesses ➡️ how to create alignment and incentives ➡️ why Management is not a Trade We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Permanent Equity 👉Mark on Twitter 👉The Permanent Equity Podcast Timestamps (00:03:05) Mark’s career at AOL and The Motley Fool (00:08:21) What is a good manager and what is a bad manager? (00:11:29) What does your role look like at PE? (00:17:37) What’s the cadence of communications with the businesses under PE? (00:23:14) Are there cues in conversations with owners of a potential acquisition that put a deal in question? (00:25:07) Do any of the businesses you buy already have a board in place? (00:27:03) How do you handle owners who may not be as open to being managed? (00:31:22) How do you incentivize owners differently than other Private equity shops? (00:39:22) The 'Working with Mark' document (00:43:41) Management is not a trade (00:48:53) Do you agree that people leave managers, not companies? (00:51:23) What’s the difference between a Manager and a Principal? (00:56:03) What do you use in addition to personality tests to identify talent? (01:01:11) How do you play out a scenario when you have two equals in a business and need to have one move up to manage the other? (01:07:23) How do you know you’ve struck a balance between being too flat and being too management-heavy? (01:12:17) How do you create alignment and incentives for teams that may not necessarily be impacting the bottom line? (01:22:39) Why are incentives so much easier to understand in hindsight? (01:27:34) What should the communication cadence between managers and teams look like? (01:30:39) True Management is an inversion ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH 💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ 📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Sean Burton is CEO of Cityview, a vertically integrated real estate investment management and development firm that specializes in developing, acquiring and operating opportunistic and value-add multifamily projects in gateway markets across the Western U.S. Cityview has invested in more than 130 projects and was named the decade’s largest multifamily developer in LA by Los Angeles Business Journal. On this episode, Sean and Chris discuss: ➡️ land entitling ➡️ an overview of the Los Angeles market ➡️ what makes a great multifamily developer and operator We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉Cityview 👉Sean on LinkedIn Timestamps (00:03:57) Sean's journey into Real estate (00:05:11) Learnings from working in the White House (00:07:26) An Overview of Cityview (00:10:25) What matters to you when considering a market or an asset to acquire? (00:12:02) Are you finding sites that are already entitled or do you need to entitle before closing? (00:14:48) Is it taking longer to entitle land these days? (00:16:05) The desire to build more housing in LA, the homeless crisis, and an overview of the LA market (00:21:38) Where in LA are you looking for sites? (00:22:51) Do you see any similarities between today’s market and the GFC? (00:25:11) Have building costs stabilized? (00:26:56) What would it take for a development deal to make sense right now? (00:31:22) What makes a good tour when showing equity a project? (00:32:47) Is Office to Residential even realistic? (00:35:06) What makes a great MF developer and operator? (00:36:51) Is there any from an amenities standpoint that you’re focusing on? (00:39:21) Is there any technology you’re implementing? (00:41:55) How are you positioning yourself for the next few years? (00:45:47) How do you capitalize deals? (00:48:15) Thoughts on the First Republic Bank takeover ➡️ RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH 💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ 📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Jim O'Shaughnessy serves as Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of Stability.ai. He is the Founder and CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures, LLC (OSV). O'Shaughnessy Ventures focuses on his deeply rooted interest in art, science, investing, and tech, marrying them with his long-held desire to establish positive sum scenarios through partnerships and investments. OSV focuses on 4 specific areas: Infinite Adventures (venture capital), Infinite Films, Infinite Media, and the O'Shaughnessy Fellowship program. Prior to OSV, Jim was the Founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC (OSAM), an asset management firm that Franklin Templeton acquired in 2022. Jim is the author of four books on investing, was awarded several U.S. Patents on investment strategies and investment technologies, and was called a "Legendary investor" by Forbes.com. On this episode, Chris & Jim discuss: ➡️ the cumulative cultural evolution ➡️ quant investing ➡️ the difference between probabilities and possibilities ➡️ how Jim is navigating O'Shaughnessy Ventures We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Jim on Twitter 👉O'Shaughnessy Ventures 👉Stability.ai 👉Jim's Books 👉The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich 👉 The Flynn Effect 👉Wait but Why by Tim Urban 👉The True Believer by Erif Hoffer 👉 The Internet Contrarian by Jim O'Shaughnessy 👉A Generational Buying Opportunity by Jim O'Shaughnessy 👉Claude Shannon's information theory Timestamps (00:02:17) Jim’s grandfather (00:04:15) “You can always understand the son by the story of his father.” (00:14:00) Cumulative Cultural Evolution (00:26:16) What is Quant Investing? (00:36:54) How does a Quant investor know they have their algorithm right? (00:45:29) How does our emotional predisposition affect our investing approach? (00:50:43) The huge difference between probabilities and possibilities (00:54:43) How TV news devolved into propaganda (01:01:48) How America is distinguished from other countries (01:07:28) The Great Reshuffle (01:22:00) What’s something you’ve done at OSV you wouldn’t have been able to do with LPs? (01:23:13) Why did you invest in Stability AI? (01:28:35) What does success look like for OSV? ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH 💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ 📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Sahil Bloom is an inspirational writer and content creator, captivating millions of people every week through his social insights and bi-weekly newsletter, The Curiosity Chronicle. Sahil is also a successful entrepreneur and owner of SRB Holdings, a personal holding company currently comprised of seven cash-flowing businesses, and the Managing Partner of SRB Ventures, a $10 million venture investment firm committed to investing in and accelerating the most compelling startups in the world. Prior to launching SRB Ventures in January 2022, Sahil was an early-stage investor in 40+ startups across the technology landscape, including multiple unicorns. On this episode, Chris & Sahil discuss: ➡️ Sahil’s upbringing and core influences ➡️ building an audience & spinning up online businesses ➡️ where he’s reinvesting money ➡️ His forthcoming book We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Sahil on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn 👉 The Curiosity Chronicle - Sahil's Newsletter 👉 Sahil's website ➡️ Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ 🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH 💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ 📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Timestamps (00:05:12) Sahil’s life in New York (00:07:45) Sahil’s upbringing and core influences (00:20:19) The day Sahil decided to start writing online (00:25:10) How do you explain what you do? (00:28:09) Finding a network on Twitter (00:30:53) Making the decision to not engage in Twitter BS (00:35:17) Realizing this could become a business (00:41:37) Making big decisions requires speed (00:43:50) Spending time simply to think (00:47:13) Sahil’s vision for a future ecosystem (00:54:50) How Sahil spins up new businesses (00:56:33) How would you describe your flywheel? (01:01:53) Writing a book (01:08:12) The power of LinkedIn (01:10:35) How are you reinvesting the money you’re making? (01:17:01) Plans for the future (01:21:06) Is there an infinite amount of things to talk about in your brand? -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Chris is joined by Fort Capital CEO Jason Baxter and Executive Vice President Steve Bailey to discuss how the company has executed on its mission to establish a world-class Property Management arm of the organization. On this episode, they discuss: ➡️ how and why FC got into property management ➡️ cost savings & economies of scale ➡️ how the team utilizes data ➡️ incentivizing folks to think like owners We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Fort Capital 👉 Jason on LinkedIn 👉 Steve on LinkedIn ➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq ➡️ Check out Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Timestamps (00:04:52) How and why Fort Capital got into Property management (00:10:06) The relationship between FCP and Fort Capital (00:10:57) Fort’s philosophy around tenant retention and tenant relationships (00:13:54) The emphasis on face-to-face interaction (00:15:51) How PM prepares to take over an asset (00:20:20) Operation Paperless (00:25:53) Cost Savings & Economies of Scale (00:30:51) Converting Gross Leases to NNN (00:32:45) Tenant Improvements and appeasing tenants vs. falling back on the lease agreement (00:35:29) Bringing maintenance technicians in-house (00:37:20) Intangible benefit of having in-house PM (00:40:29) The PM team’s role in underwriting new opportunities (00:45:09) Adjusting leasing rates (00:47:46) The Lease Admin team (00:51:34) The reason to bring leasing in-house (00:56:58) How leasing is looking at the data coming in (00:59:26) Holding 3rd party leasing teams accountable (01:03:19) What to look for when hiring a great PM (01:06:40) Using technology in PM (01:15:32) Re-forecasting (01:19:03) Why a company with an in-house PM team would still take on 3rd-party (01:21:40) Effectively communicating with 3rd parties (01:27:50) The process of onboarding a new 3rd party partner (01:32:10) Why won’t a lot of 3rd parties manage industrial properties? (01:35:57) How to incentivize people to think like owners -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Ryan is a trust and estates attorney. He represents entrepreneurs, families, and financial institutions with a primary focus on shouldering his clients’ problems and helping them achieve their objectives. On this episode, Ryan and Chris discuss: ➡️ the 6 Basic Estate Planning Documents ➡️ how parents can set up plans for their children ➡️ succession planning for family businesses ➡️ using trusts in PE investments We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Baker Heath 👉 Contact Ryan: 817.769.2745 👉 Email Ryan: [email protected] 👉 The 6 Basic Estate Planning Documents Deep Dive Videos 👉 Estate Recommendations based on Net Worth ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Timestamps (00:03:27) Ryan’s background and career (00:05:15) The 6 Basic Estate Planning Documents (00:08:10) Planning parents can do for their young kids (00:15:27) When you should be revisiting your plan? (00:17:53) Are there any functions within a trust that kick in before a child becomes an adult? (00:19:03) What happens when a beneficiary is incapable of managing money? (00:22:52) Handling planning when you have multiple children (00:30:01) Succession planning for businesses (00:46:26) Adjusting plans when a loose cannon marries into the family (00:53:00) Planning at different levels of net worth (01:02:06) Money by surprise scenarios (01:07:01) Controlling from the grave (01:11:03) Scenarios when you’re worth >$100 million (01:13:48) Transferring Real Estate (01:17:38) Twitter Questions (01:20:47) Using Trusts in PE Investments (01:23:27) Vertical Slicing for Fund Managers -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Dupree Scovell is the managing partner and chief investment officer at Woodbine Development Corporation, a full-service real estate company that specializes in hospitality. He got his start in the hotel business at the age of 16, working as a dishwasher at Hyatt Regency Dallas. In 2011, Dupree joined Woodbine and expanded its footprint with the opening of a West Coast office in Los Angeles before returning to Dallas in 2019. Currently, he and his brother, King, work together as managing partners to lead the team, cast vision, and provide strategic direction for the company. Dupree is also responsible for Woodbine’s acquisition platform and capital markets efforts, as well as overseeing Woodbine Legacy Investments, a private equity fund dedicated to the acquisition and development of upscale select-service and full-service branded and boutique hotels throughout the United States. On this episode Chris & Dupree discuss: ➡️ the impact of our fathers and great mentors on both of us ➡️ Woodbine's Story and history ➡️ how Woodbine invests and creates world-class experiences ➡️ current market insights We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Woodbine 👉 Dupree on LinkedIn ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Timestamps (00:03:05) Dupree’s Background and Career (00:06:11) Lessons learned playing for Mike Leach (00:10:20) The role apprenticeship plays in the success (00:13:12) Fatherhood Lessons (00:31:50) Buying a business from your father (00:36:16) Woodbine and the Hunt Family (00:40:11) Experiences raising from Family Offices (00:49:38) Woodbine’s Approach to Hospitality (01:01:15) Setting prices and booking practices (01:05:40) Thinking differently about Hospitality (01:12:33) Thoughts on Office (01:17:29) Full-Service operations & Food and Beverage (01:21:44) How do STRs play into the whole picture? (01:33:34) Thoughts on the market (01:26:53) Closing advice -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Bob is Head of the NY Private Capital Group within JLL Capital Markets in New York City. Bob was Chairman and Founding Partner of Massey Knakal Realty Services, New York’s #1 building sales firm. In 2014, Cushman & Wakefield acquired Massey Knakal. At Cushman & Wakefield, Bob served as Chairman of New York Investment Sales. He was ranked the top originating investment sales broker at Cushman & Wakefield, globally, in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Bob joined JLL in September of 2018 as Chairman – NY Investment Sales. Since 2009, Bob has written a regular column on the New York City Real Estate Market called Concrete Thoughts for the Commercial Observer. On this episode, Chris and Bob discuss: ➡️ the techniques Bob has used to do over $24B in business ➡️ stories from over 40 years in the business ➡️ how development projects happen in NYC ➡️ a discussion of the current NYC market We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉Bob on Twitter 👉LandGlide 👉NY Private Capital Group ➡️ Visit Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq ➡️ Visit Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Timestamps (00:03:13) Bob’s upbringing and early career (00:08:36) Does the playbook you used still work in this industry? (00:10:24) Defining Market Presence (00:13:13) How are you known in the brokerage industry? (00:16:35) Why did you choose to only represent sellers? (00:20:00) Role-playing a scenario (00:25:57) Is cold calling still the most effective way to navigate this business? (00:28:06) The value in following up (00:32:20)Bob’s NYC war room of maps (00:41:22) How selling development sites works in NYC (00:50:36) Trading Air Rights (00:55:34) Development and land assemblage processes (00:58:58) Bob’s most memorable deal (01:06:15) Bob’s experience in the GFC and thoughts on today’s market (01:10:45) Thoughts on Office assets (01:17:09) Why did the market start to tip in 2015? (01:24:00) If you had to invest $1B in NYC what would you do? -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Brett is the CEO and Co-Founder of New Story, an organization pioneering market-driven solutions to end global homelessness. Brett is a Y Combinator graduate, and New Story was named among Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies in the World” four times in the last five years. New Story aims to bring life-changing housing solutions to 1M people by 2030. Brett is also a Co-Founder of Hometeam Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on housing innovation. On this episode, Chris and Brett discuss: ➡️ the massive scale of inadequate housing ➡️ how New Story is not only building homes, but creating housing markets ➡️ taking a non-profit through Y-Combinator ➡️ how to approach raising capital as a non-profit We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 New Story 👉 Brett on Twitter 👉 The Builders Program ➡️ Go here to save $500 on your Re-Convene Tickets! ➡️ Check out RE Cost Seg ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX (00:05:08) Brett’s career leading up to New Story (00:14:10) What is inadequate housing? (00:16:08) What happens when you introduce a more stable way of living for these families? (00:18:56) Experiences at Y Combinator (00:23:36) Finding problems behind the problems (00:27:21) Where New Story operates and how they develop housing markets (00:36:33) Does your approach change when you enter different markets & cultures? (00:38:28) Why is the issue of adequate housing growing? (00:39:40) Who is in charge of the architecture? (00:41:09) Is any of what you’re doing applicable to the United States? (00:44:05) What are the other benefits of creating a market like this? (00:47:34) How would you advise entrepreneurs wanting to get into the non-profit space? (00:51:27) How should someone do due diligence on a non-profit before giving them money? (00:55:25) How do you approach raising money for philanthropy? (00:59:48) Is there any replacement for people who don’t have the means to do missionary trips? (01:02:37) What’s the best way for people to learn more? newstoryhomes.org -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Wilkie has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Contango Oil & Gas since 2018. Prior to Contango, he was employed by Goff Capital, the family office of John C. Goff, from 2007 until August 2018. Mr. Colyer was responsible for the firms’ energy investing and has held a material role in public and private investments in sectors including financial services and real estate, among others. On this episode, Chris & Wilkie discuss: ➡️ lessons learned working for John Goff ➡️ story of buying and becoming CEO of Contango ➡️ how they find value in oil & gas assets ➡️ why all energy resources are critical We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Additional Resources 👉 Wilkie on LinkedIn 👉Contango Oil & Gas 👉Goff Capital ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Timestamps (00:02:18) Wilkie’s career, investment philosophies, and learning under John Goff (00:18:19) Acquiring Contango and becoming the CEO (00:32:07) The Mission of Contango (00:35:58) Acquiring Whitestar at the 11th hour (00:57:03) Crescent (01:14:52) Thoughts on the Fossil Fuel industry (01:21:57) Where do you see supply coming from going forward? (01:26:52) Is there any technology in Upstream that’s on the horizon? (01:29:38) When you’re looking at a business investment opportunity, what sticks out that gets you excited? (01:34:14) What were some biggest takeaways while working under John Goff? -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 Scott Everett founded S2 Capital in 2012 to acquire multifamily Real Estate. In the past 11 years as CEO of S2 Capital, he has built a Real Estate investment company that has transacted on $10B of multifamily assets totaling 45,000 units and 3 operating companies that generate annual revenues in excess of $400M with over 600 employees. This is Scott's second appearance on Fort, if you want to hear his first episode, you can do so here. On this episode, Chris and Scott discuss: ➡️ reflecting on Scott's fixed rate debt claims ➡️ capital markets & slowing rent growth ➡️ bear market predictions ➡️ S2's strategy going forward Additional Resources 👉S2 Capital 👉Scott's First Appearance on Fort ➡️ Go here to save $500 on your Re-Convene Tickets!: https://bit.ly/3MGFEJl ➡️ Learn more about Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I ➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX Timestamps (00:06:25) Reflecting on last year: Fixed Rate Debt (00:13:51) Factors creating deal flow in Multifamily (00:16:36) Capital Markets (00:21:57) Slowing Rent Growth (00:23:29) Equity and lending in the next 24 months (00:27:11) What are capital providers wanting to see in the next year? (00:33:31) Debt markets (00:34:40) A Bear-ish market prediction (00:44:35) What metrics matter to you the most? (00:50:19) S2’s strategy going forward (00:55:47) What kills growth markets? (01:00:22) Is the sun belt still the place to be? (01:02:02) How are you thinking about pacing your capital deployment? (01:06:16) How are you leading your company in this environment? (01:08:40) How are you thinking about AI? (01:12:31) How do you generate deal flow that isn’t acquiring assets? (01:16:31) What’s your approach to development? (01:18:49) What will consume your days over the next 10 years? (01:22:33) What do you envision S2 looking like in 10 years? (01:24:26) Why Scott left Twitter -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/survey Joe Pohlen is the Founder and Partner of Cardinal Senior Management, an assisted living company operating facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania. This is Joe's second appearance on The Fort, if you'd like to hear round 1, you can do so here. On this episode, Chris and Joe discuss: ➡️ Family dynamics and American culture towards how we treat our elders ➡️ Why assisted living has been in decline since 2017 ➡️ Joe's ideas to improve assisted living long term ➡️ Discussion on the current market and what he expects in the next few years ➡️ Cardinal's recent sale and how they'll structure the company differently going forward Additional Resources 👉 Live Cardinal 👉 Joe on Twitter ➡️ Go here to save $500 on your Re-Convene Tickets! ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube Timestamps (00:04:54) Why is there a decline in care quality within Assisted Living? (00:07:04) Why is the government trying to push people out of Nursing homes? (00:09:46) Why is it so much harder for elderly people to be obese? (00:11:16) Joe’s first day in Assisted Living - Showering the elderly (00:18:45) Why are we seeing fewer people entering the industry? (00:23:06) What can the everyday citizen person do to help our elderly population? (00:26:58) How are your planning on leveraging Cardinal to radically change Assisted Living? (00:46:16) How would you structure a long-term hold? (00:52:50) Are there any national brands in this industry? (00:54:03) How much scale do you need to justify a back-office? (00:58:34) How would you begin to attack expenses and operational issues in the day-to-day? (00:59:50) What happens when a tenant can’t pay rent? (01:00:42) Are there any state or federal support options to help residents? (01:01:46) Are there ways to design buildings in a more efficient way? (01:03:20) Are people waiting longer to move into Assisted living? (01:03:58) Are there any lingering effects of Covid? (01:05:16) Why are you only in PA and MI? (01:06:00) Are there any states you wouldn’t go into? (01:08:45) Who is the ideal investor for Cardinal? -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 Gabe is responsible for all aspects of the investment process including deal origination, due diligence, financing, investor relations, dispositions, and refinancings. Gabe works closely with the Head of Renovations on building repositioning and the Chief Operating Officer on asset management and property management. Gabe believes that a deep understanding of market and economic fundamentals are key to pricing real estate assets and leverages his 25 years of investment analysis to understand and forecast the risks and cash flows of investing in metro Denver real estate. Gabe has led more than $50mm of multi-family investments in metro Denver, across more than 500 apartment units in Denver, Lakewood, and Aurora. Gabe is also the co-manager of over $25mm of multi-family investments (164 units) in Los Angeles. On this episode, Chris & Gabe discuss: ➡️ His investing principles ➡️ What he learned from years on Wall Street ➡️ Why he chose sub-institutional MF ➡️ How he underwrites opportunities and creates value ➡️ Current market discussion and Tekton's plans for the future Additional Resources 👉 Tekton Group 👉 Gabe on Twitter ➡️ Go here to save $500 on your Re-Convene Tickets! ➡️ Learn more about BetterPitch ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube Timestamps (00:00:00) Intro (00:05:02) Gabe’s background and career on Wall St. (00:08:33) Investment principles developed on Wall St. and in Real Estate (00:15:29) Don’t fight the FED! (00:25:58) Only play winnable games (00:33:02) Making the jump from Wall St. to Real Estate (00:36:44) Sourcing deals (00:41:14) What a great deal looks like for Gabe (00:51:02) Creating value on assets (00:57:03) Finding a great 3rd party manager (01:00:49) Unit renovations and turnover times (01:04:14) Landlord horror stories (01:12:29) How are you positioning your company for the next three years? (01:21:51) Syndications and Funds -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 Kelcey Lehrich is the Co-Founder and CEO of 365 Holdings. 365 Is a vertically integrated owner and operator of consumer product brands focused on eCommerce. On this episode, Chris & Kelcey discuss: ➡️ How they look at investing in niche e-commerce businesses ➡️ Why they've chosen shared services hold-co structure ➡️ The current eCommerce market ➡️ Deep dive into two of their businesses (cloth diapers & good for preppers) Timestamps (00:04:14) Kelcey’s background and 365 Holdings (00:05:14) What does shared services mean? (00:06:39) Acquiring the first eCommerce business (00:07:09 How do you think about your role in the organization? (00:08:12) What’s happening in eCommerce right now? (00:09:44) What happened in your eyes when Apple and Facebook went at it in the Ad space? (00:10:43) What are the best ways to market online today? (00:11:44) What caused the end of the ‘Covid bump’? (00:12:41) What goes through your mind when you want to buy a business? (00:14:00) The business of cloth diapers and emergency food (00:21:41) What have you learned about structuring a deal? (00:22:57) Amazon: A Necessary Evil (00:25:37) What’s your goal for these 9 businesses? (00:26:56) What happens when you sell a business? (00:28:46) - Are the big 3 in eCommerce gaining more dominance? (00:31:06) AI in eCommerce (00:31:57) What type of HoldCo do you run and how would it differ from others? (00:37:10) Why do you have manufacturing here in the US? (00:39:42) How is the business capitalized? (00:41:17) HoldCo Conf (00:53:28) Twitter Additional Resources 👉 Kelcey on Twitter 👉 365 Holdings 👉 HoldCo Conf ➡️ Visit RE Cost Seg for a free proposal to see your potential tax savings ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 Levi Benkert is a proven innovative business leader with 20 years of experience in strategic real estate-related business development. Levi founded Harbor Capital, a private equity firm focused on industrial real estate in Texas. Levi has leveraged his skills to identify unique opportunities, maximize growth, raise capital, and create a lasting vision for companies that he has founded and led. Levi has bought, managed, and developed over $450M in real estate properties in his career. On this episode, Chris & Levi discuss: ➡️ Lessons learned during the 2008/2009 Great Financial Crisis ➡️ Story of moving to Ethiopia to build an orphanage and several businesses ➡️ Why he chose to focus on Class B Industrial throughout Texas ➡️ How Harbor underwrites deals and structures their real deals ➡️ Discussion on current real estate market Learn more about The Fort Podcast by going to https://www.thefortpod.com/ Timestamps (00:04:44) Levi’s career in home building through the GFC (00:22:06) Building an orphanage & 4 different businesses in Ethiopia (00:33:40) Building Harbor Capital with a focus on Class B Industrial (00:36:06) Levi’s focus within Class B Industrial (00:46:21) Doing a deal in Katy, TX that ended up being next to the Tesla Factories (00:52:02) Insights on the Houston & San Antonio markets (00:56:07) “Buy, Refi, Die.” - Long-term holds (00:57:46) Harbor and Fort Capital’s future plans (01:06:36) Harbor’s organizational structure (01:09:30) Twitter Additional Resources 👉 Levi on Twitter 👉 Harbor Capital ➡️ Get $500 off your ticket to Re-Convene! ➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square ➡️ Check out The Distribution by Juniper Square Podcast ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 Matt began as a top consultant at McKinsey, where he witnessed the power of customer loyalty programs and immediately understood why large companies pay millions of dollars to create them. His vision for Fivestars was to make the power of a Fortune 500 customer loyalty program accessible to local businesses. Fivestars has gone from two guys in a garage to serving thousands of businesses across the country. In October 2021, Fivestars was acquired by global payments leader, SumUp. Matt has led technology at FiveStars since its founding, spearheaded their transformation into a payments company, and drives ongoing business development and payments strategy. Before Fivestars, he volunteered with TechnoServe in Uganda, was a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company, and an analyst at AVM, a 32-year-old global macro hedge fund. On this episode, Chris & Matt discuss: ➡️ Their process for deciding what startup idea to pursue & why they chose a loyalty program for small businesses ➡️ Lessons learned while building a startup ➡️ The challenge of finding product market fit, even if the business is growing like a rocket ship ➡️ How AI will impact businesses and consumers Timestamps (00:03:00) From El Paso to the Tech world (00:09:26) What does an entry-level person at McKinsey even do? (00:11:17) Did you have a filter for easy no’s while in consulting? (00:12:48) What’s an example prototype you were working on in Technology? (00:15:07) How did you transform your skillsets to become a CTO? (00:17:10) What did you get from Y Combinator and learn from Paul Graham? (00:19:46) What was the origin of Fivetars? (00:24:42) If you were building another company now is there a way to avoid the mistakes you made the first time? (00:26:09) Finding Product Market Fit (00:30:06) How do you avoid the trap of taking on too much overhead? (00:36:13) How were you able to take the credit card fee and turn it into more CRM users? (00:38:56) When did you begin to decide it was time to sell? (00:43:10) What was the transition like going from start-up culture to integrating into a larger organization? (00:47:32) How are you receiving the entrance of AI? (00:50:29) Will the job of the VC change with AI? (00:52:48) How Chris thinks AI will affect RE (00:58:49) How should we simplify all of these different AI languages available? (01:01:44) How is the American Customer right now? (01:05:18) What are you predicting for the Startup scene over the next five years? Additional Resources 👉 Fivestars 👉 Matt on LinkedIn 👉 [email protected] ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 Kyle Matthews is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Matthews Real Estate Investment Services™ and has served in this role since the company’s founding in 2015. Matthews™ is the parent company of a diversified group of real estate service, investment, debt, leasing, and asset management firms. Through Kyle’s leadership, Matthews™ has become one of the country's largest commercial brokerage firms in both transaction volume and by a number of agents and employees. Prior to founding Matthews™, he led Matthews Retail Group, Inc. to become the number one real estate investment sales group at a publicly-traded, global real estate investment service company. Under his guidance, Matthews™ has experienced total revenue growth of 1,225% in the company’s first five years since its founding and has grown from 18 agents and employees to presently over 400. Furthermore, Kyle oversees the expansion of Matthews™ with the footprint having expanded from one office in El Segundo, CA, to over 14 offices nationwide. On this episode Chris & Kyle talk about: ➡️ His story of becoming a broker and eventually starting Matthews ➡️ The characteristics and work ethic of the best brokers ➡️ Why having fun is important in business ➡️ What's going on in the current real estate market Chapters: (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:28) Kyle’s upbringing in an NFL family, playing football at USC, winning a national title (00:15:33) Lessons learned from playing for Pete Carroll (00:29:27) Kyle’s career in brokerage (00:38:40) Working through the GFC (00:55:24) Starting Matthews REIS (01:14:20) The Matthews Culture (01:29:09) How Matthews is scaling and implementing technology (01:45:25) Work-Life Balance (01:55:37) A Discussion on the RE Market Additional Resources 👉 Follow Kyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KyleMatthewsCRE 👉 Matthews REIS: https://www.matthews.com/ ➡️ Learn more about Better Pitch: https://www.betterpitch.com/ ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 Robert Bryce is an author, podcaster, and film producer. He is the acclaimed author of six books on energy and innovation, including most recently, A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations. Bryce has given more than 400 invited or keynote lectures to groups ranging from the Marines Corps War College to the Sydney Institute as well as to a wide variety of associations, universities, and corporations. He is the host of the Power Hungry Podcast and the co-producer of the feature-length documentary: Juice: How Electricity Explains the World, which is available on iTunes, Amazon Prime, and other streaming services. On this episode Chris & Robert discuss: ➡️ Russia and China's influence on global energy ➡️ Europe headed toward de-industrialization? ➡️ Climate becoming a religion based on hopes rather than facts ➡️ Nuclear is on the rise ➡️ Climate NGOs - do as I say, not as I do. Topics: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:54:) We need Energy to live (00:04:00) What’s driving the chaos and uncertainty in the world? (00:06:35) How would we compare Japan to America in regard to energy policy? (00:09:55) Are we going to see more global coal plants being built in the near term? (00:14:50) What is Russia’s role in global energy? (00:19:15) Does America buy natural resources from Russia? (00:20:09) How dependent is Europe on Russia’s resources? (00:21:33) What is the relationship between Russia and China? (00:22:19) Does the Russia/Ukraine conflict end anytime soon? (00:26:25) Is Nuclear gaining popularity? (00:31:36) Why wouldn’t the US subsidize Nuclear energy? (00:33:37) What is a Climate NGO? (00:34:43) Why would billionaires be anti-energy? (00:36:45) Are Carbon Credits a sham? (00:39:10) How is China emerging as a global energy leader? (00:42:02) The USA’s affect on Climate (00:47:18) Control over energy & population (00:50:25) How hydrocarbon cuts cause starvation (00:54:45) Politics: The Disgusted Party (00:58:48) Is there any indication the pendulum is swinging toward pro-energy? (01:01:38) What can America do better? Additional Resources 👉 Robert's Substack 👉 Robert's Podcast: Power Hungry 👉 Robert's Books on Amazon 👉 Robert's website ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 John Andrew is a Thiel Fellow, recipient of the Forbes 30 Under 30 award and he was recently named to Business Insider’s Rising Stars of Real Estate. He started his first internet company at age 13, and at age 17 he co-founded Coder.com (“Coder”) - a platform that moves the development environment (where software engineers write code) to an organization’s cloud infrastructure. Coder is backed by Redpoint, GGV, Founders Fund, and Bessemer, with large enterprise customers such as Goldman Sachs and Palantir. After co-founding and running Coder as CEO for six years, he stepped down in 2021 and began his next venture, Wander.com which enjoys the support of QED Investments and Redpoint among others. On this episode, Chris & John discuss: ➡️ Starting his first business at 13 and eventually becoming a Thiel Fellow ➡️ How Wander works and what they're looking to accomplish going forward ➡️ Wander's STR REIT and how the capital markets work in STR ➡️ What travel and hospitality will look like in 10 years Chapters (00:02:40) - John’s upbringing and early career (00:07:02) - The impact John’s father had on him (00:10:56) - The experience of being a Thiel Fellow (00:15:22) - John’s skillset as a Founder (00:19:36) - Wander (00:27:41) - Are you able to capitalize this with Debt? (00:30:05) - What is a great yield on a well-performing STR? (00:30:31) - What makes a great home for Wander? (00:34:28) - How are your homes outfitted to make them stand out? (00:37:52) - How do you work with vendors? (00:40:31) - What are some member benefits? (00:43:48) - What needs to die off in this industry? (00:47:19) - What does the typical customer look like? (00:49:44) - Is there room in your market for hotel-sized homes? (00:51:56) - Do you ever worry about zoning or STR regulations? (00:55:32) - Is there concentration risk? (00:57:39) - How would one value a business like Wander? (01:02:04) - Where will you be in 5 years? (01:07:24) - Where is your favorite Wander? Additional Resources 👉 Follow John on Twitter 👉 Wander 👉 Thiel Fellowship 👉 Bandon Beach, OR ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 Moses Kagan is co-founder and partner at Adaptive Realty, a Los Angeles-based real estate development and property management company with $200MM in AUM and more than 1,000 apartments under management. He is also a co-founder of Re-convene, a real estate private equity un-conference, and ReSeed, which provides mentorship and capital to early-career operators. Rhett leads ReSeed's strategic direction and daily operations. He most recently served as Co-Managing Partner at Minot Capital, LP, where he led real estate investing. Previously, Rhett was President and Director of Research at Stillwater, a long-short hedge fund, and Chief Investment Officer at Arlington Family Offices. Rhett received a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University with a double major in Business Economics and History. On this episode, Chris, Moses and Rhett discuss: ➡️ How ReSeed works ➡️ What ReSeed is looking for in Partners ➡️ How ReSeed empowers Operators to build their own companies ➡️ What success looks like for Operators working with ReSeed ➡️ Thoughts on the state of the Real Estate Market Chapters (00:03:31) - Rhett’s career (00:04:26) - Moses’ evolution in thinking over the past 5 year (00:06:40) - Launching ReSeed Partners (00:19:05) - Defining Subinstitutional (00:20:58) - Cohort #1 (00:34:18) - The ReSeed Partner Track (00:39:35) - Is this a renovation strategy or is there any ground-up involved? (00:40:22) - What does a partnership with y’all look like in the first year? (00:43:58) - What markets are you open to? (0048:28) - How would you determine a successful year for an operator? (00:53:44) - How does the partnership work? What does someone get from y’all and what do they give up? (01:00:20) - Do partners have the opportunity to exit? (01:01:45) - Holding assets for the long term (01:04:40) - Autonomy for the operator (01:07:18) - Is there anything that is off-limits? (01:08:41) - Moses’ playbook (01:11:16) - How are you capitalizing this? (01:17:15) - How many people can be in one market before it's saturated? (01:17:57) - Other members of ReSeed (01:19:04) - Guaranteeing loans (01:22:11) - What are the couple of things people spend the majority of their time on? (01:25:39) - Is there a minimum size deal? (01:27:06) - What can this business look like 10 years from now? (01:29:06) - Thoughts on the current market Additional Resources 👉 ReSeed Partners 👉 Moses on Twitter 👉 Rhett on LinkedIn ➡️ Learn more about BetterPitch ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 Liberty writes about business & investing, science & technology, and the arts. He allows others to leverage his curiosity by sharing the most interesting things that he finds and thinks about in his newsletter and podcast, Liberty’s Highlights. It’s a Serendipity Engine to add some exploration in your life. On this episode, Chris & Liberty discuss: ➡️ His process for discovering the best things on the internet and writing about the to 16,000+ readers ➡️ Why he'd put 100% of his net worth into Constellation Software ➡️ The impacts of ChatGPT & AI ➡️ The value of being a creator and a discussion about Founders Podcast Chapters: (00:03:48) - Coming up with the Liberty RPF name (00:05:07) - How would you describe ‘Exploration as a Service’? (00:07:46) - What have you learned from writing 400+ Newsletters? (00:10:40) - How do you know if you’ve done your best work? (00:11:53) - If you had to invest 100% of your net worth in one company, which would it be? (00:22:44) - How would you value Founders Podcast? (00:27:57) - Is there any pattern you’ve seen that makes a company explode in growth? (00:30:21) - The changing business model of spokespeople having equity or owning the brands they promote (00:36:23) - Is legacy media dead? (00:45:03 - ChatGPT vs. Authenticity (00:50:19) - The hyper growth of AI companies (00:56:38) - The power of the Sauna (01:02:08) - How can people find you online? Additional Resources 👉 Subscribe to Liberty RPF: https://twitter.com/LibertyRPF 👉 Follow Liberty RPF on Twitter: https://www.libertyrpf.com/ ➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://bit.ly/XealEnergy ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

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 Jake Wurzak is the Founder and CEO of DoveHill Capital Management, LLC. Jake also serves as the President of Wurzak Hotel Group. Since founding DoveHill in 2011, he has led the investment in over $1.5B of hospitality projects across the United States. Jake aims to differentiate DoveHill by focusing on distinct hospitality assets that create a sense of place and impactful experiences. Jake holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University and earned a BBA with a concentration in finance from the University of Miami. Jake sits on the board of the Broward Center for Performing Arts and the Fort Lauderdale Art Museum. In addition, Jake is a member of the Young Presidents Organization Gateway chapter. Jake is passionate about traveling with his family and one of his favorite destinations is Brush Creek Ranch in Wyoming. He is an avid skier and once hiked up the Highlands Bowl four times in one day! On this episode, Chris & Jake discuss: ➡️ How he creates an exceptional hospitality experience ➡️ How they underwrite hotel investment opportunities ➡️ Partnering and learning from Barry Sternlicht ➡️ How they add value to different types of hotels Chapters: (00:03:47) - How do you experience hotels? (00:06:00) - What is hospitality? (00:09:03) - Why and how did you get into this business? (00:10:31) - Jake’s companies (00:12:22) - How did Covid affect Hospitality? (00:18:48) - How has the industry changed post-pandemic? (00:20:54) - How did you approach hotel conversions? (00:22:28) - How do branded hotels differentiate from each other? (00:23:58) - What does good operating look like in a branded hotel? (00:25:50) - How are daily rates set & What are the major KPIs? (00:33:25) - AirBnb vs. Hotels (00:36:01) - How do you define Lifestyle? (00:37:07) - Who are great people or companies that are creating amazing lifestyle experiences? (00:39:48) - Are there any emerging brands that will overtake the top luxury hotels like 4 Seasons and St. Regis? (00:41:38) - How would a hotel development come together? (00:45:04) -What are you looking for in a hotel when you want to buy? (00:48:07) - What’s a soft brand? (00:49:05) - Do you need to have experience to partner with a Hilton or Marriott? (00:50:00) - What does upgrading management look like? (00:55:20) - What feedback do you see most often from guests? (00:58:33) - Partnering with Barry Sternlicht (01:04:36) - Experiences at the One in Miami (01:08:42) - How do you approach the Food & Beverage side of your properties? (01:10:16) - What’s the greatest hotel in the world? (01:14:02) - How do you view hotels as an investable asset over the next 5 years? (01:17:05) - Is there anything on the horizon that will make hotels more profitable? Additional Resources: 👉 Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JWurzak 👉 Jake's Podcast - Masters of Moments: https://mastersofmoments.com/ 👉 Dovehill Capital Management: https://www.dovehillcos.com/ ➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://bit.ly/XealEnergy ➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey Andy Dunn co-founded the menswear brand Bonobos and served as CEO until its 2017 acquisition by Walmart. As an investor, he has backed more than eighty startups, including Warby Parker, Coinbase, Away, Glossier, Real, Parade, SeatGeek, and Alula. In May, Dunn will release a memoir, titled Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind, which explores the intersection of entrepreneurship and mental illness. Dunn’s next business venture, called Pumpkin Pie, is a social media app currently in beta that aims to detoxify digital culture. Dunn, a graduate of Northwestern and Stanford's MBA program, also serves on the boards of Monica + Andy, an organic baby apparel company founded by his sister Monica Royer, tech social good nonprofit Raised By Us, and the Network for Executive Women. On this episode Chris & Andy discuss: ➡️ How he's dealt with bipolar disorder and why its something common in entrepreneurs ➡️ Why apparel companies succeed and why they fail ➡️ Selling to Walmart ➡️ The future of e-commerce and brick & mortar Key Takeaways (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:03) - Andy’s experience dealing with mental illness and depression (00:12:18) - What is it about someone with mental illness that would make them a great entrepreneur? (00:19:19) - Elon, autism, and narcissism (00:21:42) - Are these illnesses genetic or nurtured? (00:24:04) - How is mental illness looked upon now vs. when you were diagnosed? (00:28:44) - Andy’s experience working for Mark Lore (Of Walmart??) (00:37:53) - Why did your apparel company succeed and why do so many fail? (00:44:25) - Were people buying the Bonobos brand or a high-quality garment? (00:49:33) - What is the world of e-commerce like in 2023 vs. when you started in ’07? (00:56:07) - Selling Bonobos (01:02:51) - Walmart vs. Amazon Additional Resources 👉 Andy on Twitter 👉 Bonobos 👉 Pumpkin Pie 👉 How I Built This - Bonobos: Andy Dunn 👉 Burn Rate by Andy Dunn (Releases on May 9th) 👉 Monica + Andy ➡️ Learn more about Xeal ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey Paul oversees the strategic direction and development of Arcadea across all areas of the firm alongside his partner, Daniel. Paul began his career as a member of the Citigroup Global Analyst program, where he gained exposure to a number of divisions before landing on the high yield and investment grade credit research desk. After Citi, Paul joined Arsenal Growth, a VC & Growth Equity firm in the US with offices in Palo Alto and Orlando. Starting as an Associate and leaving as a Principal, Paul focused on high-growth b2b enterprise software and eCommerce businesses. Paul then joined Constellation Software (“CSI”), where he had a number of executive roles including leading the global investment team of one of CSI’s six operating groups, acting as CEO of a public sector business, and leading a group of businesses in various verticals. On this episode, Chris and Paul discuss: ➡️ Lessons learned from working at Constellation Software ➡️ How they underwrite investment opportunities ➡️ Investing with permanent capital and a long-term horizon ➡️ How Arcadea creates value for their portfolio companies Key Takeaways: (2:55) - Paul’s career and background (6:28) - How was Constellation structured? Why was it 6 operating groups? (8:14) - What’s the benefit of carrying a light corporate office? (10:37) - Thinking in a high-clarity manner (13:19) - Is there anything about your family’s history or your love of classical music that played into your ultimate career in acquiring SAAS companies? (15:15) - How did you end up building Arcadea Group? (17:58) - Does high growth always mean early stage? (19:53) - Have most of these businesses you acquire taken on VC? (24:15) - What is a Vertical SaaS? (26:35) - What can you do differently operationally in VSaas versus other Software services? (27:56) - What is Long-termism and why are you pursuing that route? (32:55) - Do you only offer one injection of cash or do you inject as needed? (36:38) - Who’s making the decision of whether the business needs more capital? (40:16) - Do companies mature to a point where they no longer fit the Arcadea model? (42:11) - What is a quick ‘no’ for you when looking at a company? (44:54) - What happens in the first year of an acquisition? (50:03) - What makes an exceptional operator? (52:32) - How do you make your CEOs think like investors? (54:51) - What are your investors expecting from you as permanent capital? (56:27) - What does it do for your business to have such an accomplished advisor on your board? (59:07) - What happens when a founder or CEO abruptly exits? (1:01:30) - Are you successful because you’ve been in the seat of the CEO and operator? (1:03:22) - What are Kanban and Scrum? Additional Resources 👉 Arcadea Group: https://www.arcadeagroup.com/ 👉 Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pyancich/ ➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://xealenergy.com/ ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey Bill D’Alessandro is the Founder and CEO of Elements Brands, one of the original holding companies for direct-to-consumer brands. He has acquired or founded more than a dozen businesses with over $100M of revenue and has realized seven exits in both DTC and SaaS. Bill is also the co-host of the Acquisitions Anonymous podcast. On this episode Chris & Bill discuss: ➡️ Lessons learned from Element Brands and owning 6 businesses ➡️ His pivot to owning Natural Dog Company and why focus is powerful ➡️ How to decide between marketing & product innovation ➡️ Insights on the pet industry and why it's huge Key Takeaways: (3:13) - What was your strategy in 2016 and why have you totally flipped on it in 2023? (4:57) - DTC is not a business model (6:14) - Prioritizing marketing over product innovation (10:36) - Was there ever a time when you thought this massive ad spend was unsustainable? (12:23) - What’s happened in the past 18 months since Apple changed its advertising privacy model? (14:33) - Putting brands on autopilot (16:22) - When did you start to realize only one of your eight brands was worth working on? (19:53) - How has your life changed after consolidating your focus? (22:14) - Is there a way to make the Aggregator model work? (25:46) - How big is the pet industry and where is its potential? (26:59) - What are you going to do with this business now that you’re solely focused on the one instead of 8? (30:14) - Why have you chosen to go into retail? (33:18) - How do you get your product into 4-5k stores? (35:55) - Is there any brand with leverage over Walmart? (36:54) - What could make this move into retail go wrong? (39:35) - What’s your approach to product packaging and design? (42:45) - How did you arrive at the decision to launch 12-16 new products this year and how do you decide what they’ll be? (46:32) - What needs to happen in order to get into Walmart and Target? (48:59) - Would you get a higher valuation on your company if you’re in Walmart/Target and successful there? (49:46) - What has podcasting done for you? Additional Resources 👉 Bill on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillDA 👉 Natural Dog Company: https://naturaldog.com/ 👉 Acquisitions Anonymous Podcast: https://www.acquanon.com/ 👉 BillDA.com: https://billda.com/ 👉 PickFU.com: https://www.pickfu.com/ ➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://xealenergy.com/ ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey Michael is CEO of Girdley Enterprises, LLC, a diversified holding company of 11 businesses. In this episode Chris & Michael discuss: ➡️ Becoming a creator and the business of creating ➡️ How he has built a hold-co and keeps everyone accountable ➡️ How he takes a business from idea to a running business ➡️ Why he wants to focus on BIG ideas Key Takeaways: (2:08) - Sudden Deafness & Insights into Girdley’s Persona (6:52) - Why have you chosen to spend so much time building your presence online? (10:05) - What makes for great content on Twitter? (11:38) - How much time is spent on your threads and writing? (17:41) - Building a media team (23:38) - Twitter’s change under Elon (27:44) - Girdley on changing his Twitter strategy (29:33) - Has LinkedIn translated well for you? (31:46) - Girdley on Remote teams (33:10) - How are you able to stay on top of multiple different companies? (37:27) - What do you fail at? (38:44) - Do you teach the EOS or hire someone to implement it? (40:53) - What do you feel like you still have to learn? (41:43) - What does your Chief of Staff do? (45:49) - Was there a pivotal moment when you realized where you were the strongest in your role? (47:06) - What do you mean when you say you only want to work on “big” things? (49:36) - What is your process from formulating an idea, to launching, to stepping back? (56:23) - Are you still involved in VC? (57:16) - How do you approach capital allocation in your HoldCo? (59:41) - What happens when you’re not aligning with a CEO? (1:01:41) - Are there best practices for incentivizing a CEO? (1:02:40) - What is a Holding Company? (1:06:02) - Why did you decide to create a course? (1:10:14) - How do you approach distribution and scaling content? (1:11:59) - How do you see the 4th quarter of your career playing out? (1:13:33) - Why have you chosen podcasting as a medium? Additional Resources 👉 Girdley on Twitter: https://twitter.com/girdley 👉 The Complete HoldCo Course: https://holdco.girdley.com/ 👉 All of Michael's Links: https://links.girdley.com/ 👉 Traction by Gino Wickman ➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ CRE Daily Newsletter: https://www.credaily.com/ ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey Peter Askew runs a bootstrapped, .com domain development business (often solo). He typically sources domains from the expired aftermarket and uses their descriptive nature as inspiration for each venture. Current projects: VidaliaOnions.com | RanchWork.com | DudeRanch.com On this episode Chris & Peter discuss: Investing in domains 101 and why ".com" is king How to build job boards & why they're so valuable How to build businesses from purchased domains Key Takeaways: (2:05) - How did you become a failed domain investor? (6:42) - What does “building a project” mean in your world? (13:30) - How would a common person find these domain marketplaces? (16:36) - How do you value Domains? (21:47) - How did you get from buying a domain for onions to actually selling the onions? (27:05) - Why aren’t you in a hurry to grow the business? (28:30) - The domain industry (31:24) - What makes an amazing domain investor? (33:15) - Can I simply license out domain names? (37:21) - Can people hack and steal domain names? (39:04) - Does AI or Web3 disrupt this space? (40:37) - What’s the most valuable domain name in the industry? (42:14) - Do you have to have a site in order to monetize a domain? (45:47) - How would you build a job board for an industry from scratch? Additional Resources 👉 Peter on Twitter - https://twitter.com/searchbound 👉 Peter on how to build a niche job board 👉 Snap [NAMES] - https://www.snapnames.com/ 👉 DropCatch - https://www.dropcatch.com/ 👉 UDRP - https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/help/dndr/udrp-en 👉 NamesCon - https://namescon.com/ 👉 NameBio - https://namebio.com/ 👉 Sedo.com - https://sedo.com/us/ 👉 Dan.com - https://dan.com/ 👉 GoDaddy Auctions - https://auctions.godaddy.com/beta ➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ CRE Daily Newsletter: https://www.credaily.com/ ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey Charlie started the John W. Rich parody account, which became the springboard for his content agency, Alpha Social. Charlie has helped dozens of clients build up their personal brands with Twitter content, amassing millions of followers for his clients and 190,000+ followers on his John W. Rich account. In June of 2022, Alpha Social was acquired by Workweek. On this episode Chris & Charlie discuss: How starting a parody account on Twitter (John W. Rich) led to launching a ghostwriting agency How to build an online audience The value of twitter for building a business & brand How to use Twitter to launch a business Key Takeaways: (2:02) - Charlie on creating the John W. Rich Twitter account (8:04) - Is there a way to monetize this account to be a full-time business? (10:19) - How’d you select John’s profile photo? (11:22) - How have you leveraged this account into a content agency? (13:10) - What is a client looking for when they come to work with you? (18:02) - What’s the cadence for a client’s content release? (20:09) - Do you encourage your clients to basically “do whatever they want” alongside the content you’re creating for them? (21:57) - What is the value of taking Twitter seriously? (24:07) - How are your clients building up accounts into businesses? (28:15) - How often should you be telling the story that you build your account on? (30:22) - Are there any hacks you’ve learned from Twitter to make it a better experience? (34:53) - Has Twitter gotten worse since Elon took over? (40:21) - Why do you think users enjoy reading threads? (44:59) - Is there any emerging trend you’re seeing that is working for Twitter engagement? (49:38) - Do you think that people can separate the shit post from the shit poster? (55:42) - What was the process of selling your agency to Workweek and what is your role with them now? (57:10) - How will the creator economy evolve over the next 5 years? Additional Resources 👉John W. Rich on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cokedupoptions 👉Charlie Light on Twitter: https://twitter.com/charliewrich 👉Alpha Social Group: https://alphasocialgroup.com/ 👉Workweek: https://workweek.com/ 👉Brett from Designjoy: https://twitter.com/BrettFromDJ ➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ CRE Daily: https://www.credaily.com/ ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode! The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey Brandon Sedloff is Managing Director and Founding SVP of Sales at Juniper Square where he focuses on business development, and strategy and serves some of the world's largest institutional investment managers. Juniper Square empowers GPs and LPs to focus on building enduring relationships and exceptional investment opportunities. Our partnership enablement solutions empower investment partners to connect and communicate seamlessly across every interaction, freeing teams from the disjointed and siloed systems, operations, and processes holding organizations back from realizing their full potential today. On this episode Chris & Brandon discuss: Chris' story and timeline of career Lessons learned and unique strategy at Fort Capital Discussion on raising capital and why Fort is considering institutional capital Topics (3:02) - Chris’ journey into commercial Real Estate and early career (6:23) - Why do you think Real Estate was your calling? (9:05) - Did your studies at TCU play into your eventual career? (12:24) - When did Fort Capital come into existence? (20:08) - Who’s Jason Baxter and what’s his role? (21:47) - How did you transition out of housing development and into industrial? (26:02) - When you got into industrial, how did you find your niche within this asset class? (34:54) - What are the headline stats on Fort Capital today? (37:05) - What is the process of finding a deal and the syndication model you pursue? (45:20) - How have you become so skilled at raising capital? (51:38) - The power of social media & Twitter (59:43) - What do the next 5 years for FC look like? (1:06:00) - How do you think about transitioning from building trust with non institutional capital to raising from institutional capital? (1:09:42) - How has technology played a role in the success of Fort Capital? (1:20:54) - What are 3 reasons investors should care about Class B Industrial in the Sun Belt? Additional Resources 👉 Brandon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/ 👉 Working Backwards by Bill Carr: https://bit.ly/3FpKQ1I ➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ CRE Daily ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey In today’s episode, Chris is joined by Chad Cook, founder of Quadrant Investment Properties, a Dallas-based real estate investment company specializing in urban office opportunities. Before founding QIP, Chad was Vice President of Acquisitions at Hillwood Investment Properties, where from 2004 to 2012 he focused on development and acquisition opportunities in numerous markets nationally. In addition to helping lead the company’s acquisition team, Chad also coordinated over $1 billion in dispositions and played an integral role in the sourcing and structuring of numerous institutional joint ventures and development partnerships. Prior to joining Hillwood, Chad was the Director of Leasing and Disposition at Emerson Partners, a Dallas-based owner, and operator of office and industrial properties. Today, Chad and Chris talk about their edge in developing urban office properties, how to create places where people want to be, what's happening in the capital markets, converting offices into apartments, Hudson Yards, and what happens to offices that aren't in demand. Key Takeaways: Intro (00:00) Chad’s background (02:46) What happened when Chad left Hillwood (14:40) What Chad is doing today (19:14) The Design District in Dallas (28:38) On offices (37:03) The impact of COVID-19 on the real estate market (42:48) Considering the halo effect when planning (51:34) Office-to-residential conversions (53:38) The secret sauce to creating likable places (1:03:45) On Hudson Yards (1:07:57) Developments that inspire Chad (1:12:35) Outro (1:15:14) Additional Resources: Quadrant Investment Properties: https://quadrantinvestments.com/ Chad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-cook-9a151a/ Fulton Market Chicago: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dcd/supp_info/fulton-randolph-market-land-use-plan.html Hudson Yards New York: https://www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud: https://www.relayhumancloud.com/ Learn more about Oshman Aviation: https://www.oshmanaviation.com/ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ Subscribe to The FORT with Chris Powers on YouTube — The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey EPISODE #267 In today’s episode, Chris is joined by Collin McLelland, co-founder of Digital Wildcatters, a community of energy professionals who are changing the way that we think about energy. After leaving high school, Collin knew that he wanted to be an entrepreneur and decided to learn about the oil and gas industry. He worked on roughnecking oil rigs in West Texas. Collin spent the next 10 years working on every major oilfield across the country, from Alaska all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. In 2018, Collin decided that millennial engineers needed a new way to think about oil and gas, and realizing that there was no way for people to get more information about the industry, and started The Oil and Gas Podcast. Just before the pandemic in 2020, Collin decided to go full-time on Digital Wildcatters, which tries to educate society and raise their awareness of the energy industry. Today, Collin speaks with Chris about his views on different energy types, why Bitcoin mining is actually good for the environment, and how he thinks about building a community. Key Takeaways: Intro (00:00) Collin’s background (02:55) What Digital Wildcatters is trying to achieve (05:49) Why do oil and gas have such a bad reputation? (12:20) The US energy policy (19:01) What’s interesting about geothermal energy (36:50) The impact of bitcoin mining around the world (40:23) The future of energy (49:43) Are oil and gas the most prolific energy source? (55:06) Additional Resources 👉 Digital Wildcatters: https://digitalwildcatters.com/ 👉 Collin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collin-mclelland/ 👉 Collin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FracSlap 👉 DW Podcasts: https://digitalwildcatters.com/podcasts/ 👉 Collin McLelland on The Convergence of Energy and Bitcoin Mining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1ctGsfluRs 👉 Collide by DW: https://appadvice.com/app/collide-by-digital-wildcatters/1569044309 ➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash. http://www.thefortpod.com/survey EPISODE #266 In today’s episode, Chris is joined by Billy McFarland, the founder of the controversial Fyre Festival event. The Fyre Festival dominated headlines in April 2017 when videos surfaced online promoting the festival featuring celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and others. However, after suffering a series of management and administration problems, the festival was canceled after some guests had arrived, leading to a number of lawsuits and US federal investigations. Just six weeks later, Billy was the subject of an FBI search in his apartment and soon handcuffed and taken to jail, where he was eventually sentenced to 6 years imprisonment before being released early in 2022. Since then, Billy has started his newest venture, PYRT, which he describes as a “virtual immersive decentralized reality.” In today’s episode, Billy and Chris sit down to discuss what happened at the Fyre Festival, stories from his time in prison, why things go viral, and what he’s working on now. Make sure to check it out! Key Takeaways: Intro (00:00) How Fyre App began (01:38) What actually happened at Fyre Festival (07:36) What did Billy learn from the event? (14:32) The aftermath (17:38) First day in prison (26:39) How Billy got in trouble in jail (31:47) What did Billy do there? (44:05) Getting a second chance (54:25) The power of virality (59:19) Billy’s new venture (1:05:03) Additional Resources 👉 Check Billy out on Twitter 👉 Check out Billy's latest project: PYRT ➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ ➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/ ➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube -- The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more. Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!