POWERS

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/surveyEPISODE #263 In today’s episode, Chris is joined by the co-founder of the Firestone & Robertson Distilling Company, Troy Robertson.Troy grew up in West Texas in a family that was heavily involved in the oil and gas industry. He studied business at Texas Tech University before going on to spend 10 years in the finance side of oil and gas.Troy took the responsibility of fundraising, structuring, strategy, and operations evaluation for more than 20 portfolio companies, some even reaching a size of $1 billion.But Troy decided to follow his creative entrepreneurial spirit and carved his own path in the business he is passionate about, the whiskey business.In today’s episode, Chris and Troy sit down to discuss behind-the-scenes in the whiskey business, how to build a world-class brand, and the details of building (and exiting) a successful business.Make sure to check it out!Key Takeaways:Intro (00:00)How Troy got started in whiskey (01:11)Why was nobody making whiskey in Texas before? (07:41)Pursuing whiskey full-time (11:09)Coming up with a name (18:03)Making a unique pitch (35:12)Troy’s big influence (39:12)Purchasing a golf course (1:01:11)Mistakes made along the way (1:04:53)Deciding to sell (1:14:16)Did Troy want to sell? (1:20:09)Additional Resources:➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud ➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/➡️ Subscribe 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!

EPISODE #261 In today’s episode, we are joined by Alex Olshansky, Principal, and Head of Investments at Zenith IOS. Zenith is one of the largest institutional owners of industrial outdoor storage assets in the US.Alex’s well-decorated CV began with a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College, and he received an M.B.A. from NYU’s Stern School of Business. After graduating, Alex worked in acquisitions and asset management for IDS Real Estate Group, with a focus on industrial, office, and retail assets in Southern California and San Francisco.He later joined Abingdon Square Partners in 2017 and was primarily responsible for sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities.In today’s episode, Chris and Alex go through what IOS is, how Zenith underwrites IOS deals, and how exactly they decided to go all in on IOS.Make sure to listen in!Key Takeaways: Intro (00:00) What is IOS? (01:02)  How did Alex get here? (02:14)  How has IOS been maturing? (04:36) What makes a great IOS deal? (11:00) How property management looks (14:10) How is the market developing (15:50) Zenith’s process for new markets (25:05) How Zenith is approaching 2023 (32:56) Driving value (40:07) Episode wrap-up (47:32) Additional Resources:➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square here➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube--The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE #260 In today’s episode, we are joined by Brian Good, the co-founder and CEO of iBorrow. iBorrow is a nationwide real estate lender made by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, with an impressive track record of over $1 billion.Brian also founded TenantDirect, the first web-based property management software. Brian has moderated and served on a number of panels during his career, including panels for UCLA, YPO, Bisnow, and IMN. Currently, he sits on the Board of Advisors for the Ziman Center for Real Estate as part of the Anderson School of Business at UCLA.In this episode, we’ll be covering everything from Brian’s backstory and why he moved from equity real estate to debt real estate to how iBorrow underwrites borrowers and how the private lending market has changed going into 2023.Make sure to listen in!Key Takeaways:Intro (00:00)What brought Brian to debt real estate? (01:39)Why did he want to make the switch? (05:46)The difference between iBorrow and other lenders (08:23)What Are Bad-Boy Carve Outs? (10:12)How has the market changed over the last year? (13:14)How should we plan out the year ahead? (29:12)How leasing activity is looking now (43:07)Episode wrap-up (55:36)Additional Resources:➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square here➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube--The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE #259 After being bailed out of his first company by his dad 15 years ago while in college, Aaron Rubin learned his lesson and founded ShipHero in 2013 as a warehouse management system for e-commerce shippers. Since then, ShipHero has gone on to serve around $8 billion per year in orders from e-commerce stores. In the last 3 years alone, they have opened up 9 warehouses across the country to manage shipping and fulfillment for medium and large businesses including Shopify, Canadian Tire, Glossier and Universal Music Group.Aaron is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. In today’s episode, Aaron sits down to discuss his backstory, how he almost went bankrupt in 2008, taking inspiration from Amazon, and what lies ahead in 2023 for the logistics world.Key Takeaways: Intro (00:00) How Aaron got started (01:30) What is ShipHero? (07:32) The problem with copying Amazon (13:25) Everyone hates logistics (22:51) The state of the market (28:08) What’s going on with supply chains (37:15) Is manufacturing leaving China? (43:33) What’s coming up in 2023 (48:44) The future of the workforce (58:36) Episode wrap-up (1:05:07) Additional Resources:➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square here➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube--The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE #258 In today’s episode, Chris Powers and Jason Baxter take a look at the last year for Fort Capital and discuss the biggest wins of the year. How our team and technology have progressed, how we are looking at the market in 2023, what makes Fort Capital so special, and much, much more.At Fort Capital, our mission is to become the best real estate operator in the entire world. We’re always considering how we can operate better, acquire more real estate, improve our credibility and track record, attract top-tier talent, and drive more profit and returns to our investors.So I’m delighted to say that following off the back of an incredible year in 2021, in which we smashed all of the targets we outlined in last year’s Year in Review, we have stretched even further in 2022 to outperform our initial goals in every metric we set out.Today, I'm excited to discuss and hope you can take something from what we’ve achieved in the last 12 months and carry it with you in 2023.Fort Capital's 2022 Annual Report: https://fortcapitallp.com/2022-annual-report/Key Takeaways: Intro (00:00) The background to 2022 (02:24) Our revamped investor reporting process (12:35) Our underwriting import tool (19:48) Our brand-new deal sourcing tool (29:29) How do we effectively work through markets? (36:55) What sets us apart in our industry? (43:01) How our dashboard utilization has improved so rapidly (52:11) Cash management for 2023 and beyond (1:01:36) What we achieved in 2022 (1:09:20) Fort Capital University (1:17:05) Additional Resources:➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square here➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com ➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ ➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris ➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ 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!

Kyle O'Hehir, co-founder of Constitution Lending and a specialist in real estate debt investing, shares his fascinating journey from a J.P. Morgan trading desk to buying crack houses. He discusses the thrill of distressed real estate and different high-yield loan strategies. O'Hehir also explores the emotional challenges of transitioning from Wall Street to entrepreneurship and navigates the complexities of acquiring non-performing loans. He provides keen insights on the 2023 real estate market, emphasizing the importance of data in making investment decisions.

Ryan Eisenman is the co-founder and CEO of Arch, a digital solution utilized by over 180 private investment firms to automate the administration and management of tens of $Bs of alternative investments. Ryan is a Houston native, graduated from Vanderbilt University, and now lives in New York City where Arch is headquartered.On this episode Chris and Ryan discuss: the story of how he got the idea to build and execute on Arch the issues behind managing wealth and private investments how he raised VC capital Ryan asks Chris several questions about his career Support our Sponsors:Frank Kent CadillacCRE Daily Newsletter Fort Capital Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.comFollow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQLinks:Ryan on TwitterArchTopics:(2:27) - Ryan’s background and career(3:49) - The Israeli Entrepreneurship scene(6:41) - Ryan’s journey to founding Arch(12:16) - What are you solving with Arch?(14:15) - Who are the customers for Arch?(15:13) - What was your experience raising capital in 2021?(17:14) - What do you lean on VC’s for?(19:20) - How do you break into the VC world and start setting meetings?(20:30) - How long did it take to convince your first major investor?(23:09) - How often do you talk to your investors?(23:25) - What’s “the next stage” of the business?(24:53) - Why was $1mm in revenue the point where you brought in more sales staff?(26:37) - How has your role changed as the company grows?Ryan Interviews Chris(28:17) - Chris’ thoughts on what’s broken in this industry(33:11) - What is and what should your first step be after a major liquidity event?(35:16) - What separates a great advisor from the rest of the pack?(38:27) - Chris’ role as an asset Manager and the purpose of Fort Capital(40:54) - How did you raise your first deals?(42:13) - Where do you see FC in 5 years? 15 years?(43:29) - How is the current market affecting your strategy?(48:43) - Being fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful(52:10)- What would you be building if you had to work somewhere else?

Dive into the world of business insights and leadership as influential figures share their journeys. Initially focusing on real estate, the conversation now spans various industries, revealing strategies and market dynamics. Discover unique perspectives that can inspire and inform your own ventures. Tune in for valuable lessons that extend beyond business to life itself!

Greg Gordon has a rich history in construction as a third-generation builder with over 25 years of industry experience. He started his career in shell construction and eventually transitioned to commercial interiors before founding Gordon Highlander in 2007. Under Greg’s leadership Gordon Highlander has experienced tremendous growth and received numerous awards as a result. But Greg’s true passion is for people and the relationships developed with both his team and clients. With a servant leadership approach to business, he has built a team of leaders who take ownership and pride in their work. It’s a reflect the organization’s mission of “building a legacy of helping others reach their God-given potential”. Greg attributes Gordon Highlander’s success to this culture model.On this episode Chris and Greg Discuss: a look into the commercial construction industry from 2007-Present what it's like to build for Amazon and how they built a prototype in 6 weeks how Greg views leadership and building a world-class culture leadership above and beyond "HR" Support our Sponsors:Frank Kent CadillacCRE Daily Newsletter Fort Capital Juniper SquareLinks:Gordon HighlanderGreg on LinkedInTopics:(3:22) - Gordo’s experience as 3rd generation in the Construction industry(5:12) - What does Gordon Highlander do?(7:57) - What is a “Gordon Highlander”?(10:03) - How has Industrial Finish-out evolved since ’07?(15:10) - At what point in development does GH get involved?(18:18) - What does a perfect project look like to you?(19:44) - How do you budget a project in this market?(23:45) - Are there any permanent changes to the industry since 2020?(28:00) - What do people need to unlearn?(31:42) - What are you seeing in Industrial innovation?(36:47) - Developing the GH/Amazon relationship(46:25) - How do you think about the final days of a project?(47:15) - What are you seeing in the market?(51:40) - What’s different in building office within industrial and office in a place like Old-Parkland?(54:52) - How do you think about change orders?(56:35) - The headlines vs. reality pertaining to Amazon slowing down development(58:24) - How do you think about legacy, servant leadership and culture?(1:06:51) - Teaching culture at Gordon Highlander(1:11:36) - Advice for young people(1:12:49) - Friendship, business(1:18:00) - Pain distorts your memory(1:19:51) - Treating your employees like people

Sarah has 20 years of experience in office brokerage in the DFW region. Prior to founding Thirty-Four Commercial, she was previously a Principal at Peloton Commercial Real Estate (acquired by JLL in 2019) and an Associate at Transwestern. Sarah graduated from Miami University before relocating to Dallas, Texas in 2003. Sarah focuses her life on wellness and balance. In 2018, she obtained a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification. Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband and children, as well as traveling whenever their schedule allows. On this episode, Chris and Sarah discuss: her career stories and the lessons she learned along the way her view of the current office environment and where we go from here how to lease Class A Office buildings how she leased a Class AA office building from the ground up how she manages a growing family and business Links:Thirty-Four CommercialThe Purpose-Driven Life by Rick WarrenTopics:(3:21) - Sarah’s career & background(30:11) - What did you learn selling gym memberships that translate to any sales position?(33:01) - What does good training look like for people early in their RE career?(37:53) - How do you build trust with owners?(47:50) - How would you describe the office market today?(59:40) - What’s your process of working in development?(1:01:40) - Where do people waste money in office development?(1:07:53) - How do you approach marketing?(1:11:22) - When are you able to start leasing a building?(1:16:36) - Is there a point where you realize a deal isn’t going to get done?(1:18:43) - What’s your role once a new building is fully leased?(1:20:08) - What needs to happen for a lease to turnover?(1:23:05) - How do you balance building a family and a business?