Richard McGirr interviews Hiten Samtani, founder of ten31 Media and creator of The Promote. Hiten shares how his background running the newsroom at The Real Deal shaped his approach to storytelling, why he built a media company that treats real estate like the character-driven, high-stakes world it truly is, and how entertainment is the secret ingredient missing from most industry coverage. He and Richard dig into niche media strategy, viral growth, CRE culture, and why “knowing your audience” is the only real moat. They also explore Twitter/Retweet’s rise and collapse, the LP Whisperer saga, the structural issues behind traveling HFCs in Texas, and the massive power shift happening as Blackstone and other institutions move aggressively into retail capital. Hiten explains why syndicators face new competition, why pref is dominating the capital stack, and how storytelling shapes who wins attention—and deal flow.
Hiten Samtani
Current role: Founder, ten31 Media & Creator of The Promote
Based in: New York, New York
Say hi to them at:
https://www.thepromote.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-promote-podcast/id1801355295
https://x.com/hitsamty
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hitsamty
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