The Fort

Austin Rief is the Co-Founder & COO of Morning Brew, one of the largest business newsletters with over 2.5 million subscribers.  On this episode, Austin and Chris discuss the journey to founding Morning Brew, how they were able to rapidly acquire subscribers, the process of being acquired by Business Insider, and how they develop content for their readers. They also discuss the current state of decentralization, the future of news and media consumption, BitClout, Austin's rolling fund, and more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Follow Austin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/austin_rief (02:53) - Austin’s Background and What Led Him to Start Morning Brew (04:26) - What was it about Market Corner that caught your eye? (05:15) - What did you do to add value when you joined there? (06:01) - Was there a moment in time where you decided investment banking was not the route for you? (07:29) - When did you know that this had the potential to be a full-time business? (09:41) - What was your pitch to investors? (10:25) - How did you determine what content was important in the early days? Waitbutwhy.com  (12:49) - What did you do with your capital?  (14:40) - What was the most effective way to get subscribers for you and is it still the best way today? (18:15) - Do you have any data as to how much of each newsletter your subscribers consume on each edition? (19:32) - How have you thought about your sub-brews? (21:40) - How do you know the content is staying at the same quality as you get more removed from the daily writing? (23:07) - How do you hire great content writers? (24:03) - How does the relationship between you and Alex help drive the business today? (24:58) - How did the acquisition from Business Insider come about? (25:56) - How long did the deal take from start to finish? (26:35) - Was there ever a moment where you were mentally committed to selling the business and knew there was no going back?  (27:52) - Did the acquisition change anything about your operation strategy? (29:38) - Who were the hirers that were key in taking you to the next level? (33:02) - Are you fully remote or will you become office-centric as we come out of the pandemic? (38:30) - How do you think about delivering the truth and not just click-bait? (44:09) - Have you experienced people coming to MB from these legacy media companies? (44:57) - What’s your thesis on social capital transferring into financial capital? (49:05) - What do you think about the de-centralization of the world with things like crypto and BitClout? (51:45) - Do you think we’re headed toward government regulation as we see people like Elon being able to sway markets with a single tweet? (53:33) - Was the removal of Donald Trump from the Internet a pivotal moment in this new world of decentralization? (55:04) - What is the solution when you can’t actually get on the internet after being ‘removed’ at an AWS level? (57:36) - Has anyone ever tried to cancel MB for something that was written? (58:30) - How does your rolling fund work and how can people learn more about it? (1:01:03) - Do you have a childhood experience that shaped who you are today? (1:02:22) - Is there something that’s weighing heavily on your mind that a lot of other people aren’t thinking about? (1:07:52) - What’s the best way for people to reach you? Austin on Twitter The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

On this episode, Chris talks with the anonymous "Some Hotel Guy" (www.Twitter.com/SomeHotelGuy) about the hotel industry. SHG details the nuances of owning & operating both independent and branded hotels, the process of working with "The Big 4" Hoteliers, how the industry was affected by COVID-19, and how he sees the industry moving forward. Enjoy!Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChrisLearn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.comFollow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital(03:04) - What’s your position within the industry?(04:00) - Do you operate under one or multiple brands?(04:49) - What types of hotels are you involved in?(05:47) - Describe Upper Mid-Scale, Upscale and Upper-Upscale Hotels(07:26) - Do you have to get approved as an owner/operator to be associated with one of these brands?(09:26) - Is there ever conflict within owners working under multiple brands?(10:22) - Scenario: I’ve never owned a hotel, but I own a great piece of land for a hotel and I approach Marriott: How does that conversation go?(11:53) - How does the payment structure work as an owner?(13:45) - Do the “Big 4” have a true monopoly over the resources available to hotel owners such as booking software?(17:15) - What’s the difference between an independent hotel and brand affiliated?(17:49) - In an independent scenario, is the owner often the operator?(18:31) - Who’s bearing the risk in a situation of an owner franchising a hotel and hiring an operator?(48:35) - What’s going on at hotels that aren’t open?(51:26) - What’s the state of capital markets?(53:49) - Are you having to underwrite differently now?Twitter Questions(54:57) - What does the hotel industry think about Airbnb and its place in the industry?(57:10) - Is Airbnb going to get into the hotel industry?(59:11) - What are your thoughts on the Kayak hotel opening?(1:00:21) - If you had $100m, what would you go do in the industry?(1:01:53) - Do you see the check-in experience changing?(1:03:02) - Is there any technology that interests you right now?(1:04:42) - What amenities matter in hotels or things on the horizon people want?(1:06:35) - Room Service vs. Uber Eats/DoorDash(1:08:41) - “If I own a 1960’s hotel in Trenton, NJ that is primarily longer stays for low-income folks: Do I sell now and cash out before it’s too late? Or, how long do people with roach motels have before it’s an obsolete asset?”(1:10:17) - What are some common mistakes independent operators make pre-opening?(1:11:57) - What are some common mistakes inexperienced operators make?(1:14:17) - Is there still room for independent boutique hotels in the industry?(1:15:06) - SomeHotelGuy’s Fear of HeightsThe FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Rich Jordan is the Owner of Strongpoint Management Group and is a Marine Corps veteran. Strongpoint owns and operates real estate assets and buys small businesses to scale. This episode highlights Garon T Plumbing, an SMB in the Northeast that Rich has grown substantially over the past year. On this episode, Rich discusses his experience in the Marines and doing his first real estate deal before diving deep into his acquisition of Garon T Plumbing. Rich and Chris talk about the most nuanced parts of Rich's journey, including the buying experience, dealing with sellers and brokers, meeting his new team for the first time, implementing incentive programs for his employees, and the decisions made to radically grow the business. Enjoy!  Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Follow Rich on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/StrongPointRich Check out Strongpoint Management: www.RealStrongPoint.com (02:53) - Rich’s Background in the Marine Corps and What Led Him to His Current Position (08:49) - Did you always want to be a Marine? (10:59) - How many Marines do we have in the Middle East? (11:23) - What did you do with your first RE deal to make it double in value? (15:30) - What was it like being married for several years but living long distance? (17:30) - Was it always the plan to buy a small business? (20:15) - How did you source this deal and how many deals were you looking at? (32:35) - Was there anything you needed to prove to the broker before they got serious with finding you deals? (33:22) - What deal terms mattered to the seller in the LOI that was surprising? (35:12) - How long was it from LOI to closing? (35:50) - What mattered to you during Due Diligence to get you comfortable with the deal? (37:58) - How long does it take to get an SBA loan approved? (39:27) - What was the agreement with the seller in terms of them staying on after the sale? (41:47) - What was their motivation for selling? (42:58) - Looking back, is there anything you wish you had done during due diligence? Gusto Payroll Processing (48:15) - What was the conversation like meeting your employees as the new owner? (51:50) - What was the team’s reaction to the sale? (59:12) - How did you start making your impact on the business?  (1:04:16) - How did you go through the exercise for setting fixed price changes? (1:07:24) - Have you implemented any incentives for employees? Service Titan (1:19:13) - What’s your ultimate goal for this business? (1:23:57) - Is this unique to your area or is this something that can be done everywhere? (1:27:22) - How do we get more people into the blue-collar industry and make it sexy again? (1:33:00) -  What did the Marines teach you that you couldn’t have learned anywhere else? (1:35:54) - Do you have a morning routine? (1:37:31) - How can people reach you? Twitter: www.Twitter.com/strongpointrich The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Dan Go is the CEO of High Performance Founder, which aims to get high-achieving entrepreneurs into their ideal body with minimal stress. On this episode, Dan discusses his journey into the world of fitness, diets that work, myths about diets, how the average person can determine what will be best for their health journey, the negatives of having too much body fat, and some great recommendations for maximizing your workouts and sleep. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Follow Dan on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FitFounder (02:03) - What lead you to create High Performance Founder? (07:16) - Why do you think you got ‘hooked’ on fitness and stuck with it? Why don’t most people stick with it? (10:12) - What matters most in fitness? (13:33) - Simple vs. Easy (16:27) - What are ‘real’ foods? What’s your philosophy on diet? (22:38) - How does the average person learn about what their body requires as far as food? Macro Calculator  Dexa Scan Fat Free Index If It Fits Your Macros (28:09) - What are some of the biggest misconceptions you see about health? (34:18) - What does fat do to your body and how does that affect your ability to work? (40:15) - What’s the ideal amount of body fat for a person? (41:43) - Is having excessive fat genetic? (44:58) - What does alcohol do to the body? (49:18) - How long does it take to recover from a night of excessive drinking? (50:59) - When is the best time for someone to get their workout in? (53:12) - Is there anything you recommend people do before bed that’s helpful for the body? Blue Light Blockers Chamomile Tea 1 Hour Before Bed Read a Fiction Book Eat Last Meal 3+ Hours Before Bed No Alcohol 3-4 hours Before Bed (58:21) - Going to Masterminds and Seeing Entrepreneurs That are Obese (1:01:30) - How do you know that you’re in a great spot with health and not constantly in a struggle of getting ‘there’? (1:05:05) - What’s your take on the state of the fitness industry? What does the future of fitness look like post-COVID? (1:08:04) - Is there a book you recommend for people? The Leangains Method - Martin Berkhan (1:09:20) - If you had a billboard that you could put anything on, what would it say? “If you wanna change your mood: move your body.” (1:10:30) - How can people reach you? www.Twitter.com/FitFounder www.highperformancefounder.com The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Michael Barlow is the Founder and CEO of Fernish, a furniture rental service that will deliver, assemble and arrange your home or apartment.  On this episode, Michael discusses his journey to founding Fernish, the details of how the service works, his experience hiring, and working with former Amazon standouts. They also discuss the importance of customer obsession, COVID, raising VC money, and much more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Follow Michael on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/mleebarlow (02:00) - Michaels Background and The Idea for Fernish (06:12) - What happened from having the idea to putting it into action? (10:43) - Who are your customers? (12:45) - How does the contract work with customers? (15:19) - What’s your relationship like with the multi-family owners and what’s the incentive for them? (17:34) - How do you conduct the design consultation? (18:11) - How much is the average person saving on renting furniture vs. buying their own? (20:19) - Are most people needing fully furnished places or just certain pieces? (21:47) - How are they choosing pieces? (22:32) - What did COVID teach you about your business model? (24:05) - How much furniture do Americans buy each year? (25:51) - The Recycling Aspect of the Business and Determining What’s Reusable (28:24) - What are the most common items people rent? (29:31) - How do you think about growth & entering new markets? (31:32) - How have Amazon-ians impacted your business? (35:44) - What does "customer obsession" mean? (38:36) - What are some interesting data points you’ve learned from the customer? (41:03) - How do you handle things that you don’t wanna hear? (42:49) - Is there anything interesting you’ve learned from Jeff Wilke? (45:26) - Raising Capital (46:28) - What do your best VCs do for you? (48:46) - How does the communication dynamic work with VCs? (49:29) - What do you hope to achieve over the next few years? (52:27) - What do local logistics mean for the company? (55:34) - How do you think about the capital intensiveness of buying all this furniture for people? (57:26) - Do you have a childhood experience that shaped the trajectory of your life? (59:52) - Do you have a morning routine? (1:00:45) - Is there a book that’s had a big impact on you? Against the Gods - Peter Bernstein (1:02:56) - How can people reach you?  www.Fernish.com Email: michael@fernish.com The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Johnny Peterson & Straight Up Podcasts

This special Bonus episode is a livestream Chris did with Nick Huber (www.Twitter.com/SweatyStartup) on March 22nd, 2021. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital

On this episode, Stinson Dean (www.Twitter.com/LumberTrading), the Founder of Deacon Lumber, joins Chris to provide a deep dive into the Lumber industry. Stinson explains his role as a Lumber trader, why most homes in the US are built from Canadian Lumber, the tariff issues between the US and Canada, the Lumber supply chain, and why we are seeing the highest prices ever recorded. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ (02:40) - Stinson’s Journey Into Lumber and What He’s Doing Today Deacon Lumber (08:18) - Why are futures under-utilized? (11:44) - How many people are doing what you do in lumber? (12:39) - Why do a lot of people not participate in lumber as opposed to other commodities? (14:43) - Are there government subsidies for lumber? (16:48) - What’s the shelf life of lumber? The Business Model for Lumber (18:11) - Who are you buying from and where are you storing it? West Fraser Saw Mill (22:34) - Where does your business fit in the supply chain? (23:49) - How does the full supply chain work starting with the tree? (34:14) - How long does it take a tree to grow to a point where it can become lumber? (34:54) - Why are lumber prices skyrocketing right now? (40:50) - Is there still COVID caution in the market? (45:21) - Opportunities in an Inefficient Market (46:15) - Who’s making all the money in a market with historically high prices? (49:05) - Blue Stain Lumber (52:33) - Have the tariffs that are in place been the reason for Canadian sawmills buying mills in the US? (54:53) - Why does Lumber grow better in Canada? Are fires more likely in the US? (57:49) - How do most of these forest fires start? (59:32) - Why aren’t mills adding capacity? (1:00:27) - Is there an opportunity for VC to step in and make a giant change in the industry? (1:02:35) - Are you betting lumber prices will go higher or lower? Types of Lumber & Pricing (1:04:38) - What are the main types of lumber being used? (1:06:42) - The quality of Lumber Being Used in Custom Homes vs. Production Homes (1:09:44) - The Price of Multi-Family Lumber vs. Single-Family (1:12:04) - What % of a typical home is comprised of lumber in single vs. multi-family? (1:14:28) - What are some tips for a regional/small home builder to better hedge this risk? (1:19:55) - What’s the current time frame for locking in prices right now? (1:20:30) - How are smaller builders purchasing their lumber? (1:22:19) - Is there any interesting technology being created within the industry? (1:25:50) - What is the biggest risk right now in lumber? (1:27:38) - How is money made or lost in this industry? What are general risks in your part of the industry? (1:36:32) - Do you have a childhood experience that shaped who you are today? (1:40:00) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? (1:40:27) - What’s your favorite book?  King of Capital by David Carey (1:42:55) - How can people reach you? The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Kenneth Schlenker is the Founder of Opal, an app that was created to give control back to the users of screens. Opal uses a VPN to block access to distracting apps in a way that encourages us to think about the 'why' of what we are doing when we mindlessly pick up our phones.  On this episode, Kenneth explains how Opal works, data on just how addicted we are to our screens, how the scientists hired by social media giants are designing their apps to keep us online as long as possible and much more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Follow Kenneth on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KSchlenker Check out Opal: www.Opal.so (03:50) - Kenneth’s Story and Career Leading Up to Opal (05:45) - What’s the inflection point that people are starting to realize there’s a problem with our addiction to Social Media? (07:51) - Is there data around how much we don’t know what we’re getting into when we open up social media? (10:06) - Are we becoming conditioned to pull out our phones on instinct? (11:32) - What are these scientists you talk about doing that incentivize us to stay on our phones? Opal on TechCrunch (13:23) - Well-Timed Notifications The Social Dilemma  (19:21) - What data are you seeing with regards to the Zoom'er generation and their usage of social media vs. other age groups? (22:58) - Was there a moment in time where you felt so convicted that you needed to start Opal? (25:25) - How does Opal work? (28:24) - Is there any customer requests you’ve been getting that you didn’t expect? (30:00) - What was your experience raising a seed round during the pandemic? (32:27) - How do you think about the incumbents like Facebook who may not be super excited about your entrance? (34:00) - Is there something you believe that many others don’t? (35:27) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever received  (36:06) - What’s the best book you’ve ever read Indistractable - Nir Eyal Power of Breath - Swami Saradananda  (37:31) - How do people grow up differently in French culture vs. American culture? (40:04) - Which country uses their phones the most? (41:11) - How can people reach you? The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Today's episode features the Co-Founder of Tiny Capital, Andrew Wilkinson. Tiny Capital owns 30+ companies and focuses on buying, starting, and investing in internet businesses. On this episode, Chris and Andrew discuss his childhood creating MetaLab which led him to help design some of the most well known companies like Slack and CoinBase. They also talk about the process of acquiring businesses, Andrew's habit of starting businesses when he's bored, his experience going public with WeCommerce and much more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Follow Andrew on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/awilkinson (02:51) - Andrews Background MetaLab The Making of an American Capitalist  (09:50) - How did you think about money at an early age?  (13:54) - Do you consider yourself a designer? How did you learn this? (17:17) - Did you have founder’s guilt when it came time to replace yourself? (19:21) - Doing the Things You Hate Doing in Business (21:35) - Do you actually like reading a P&L and balance sheets? (22:16) - What’s an immediate ‘no’ of all the businesses that cross your desk? (26:00) - Once you’ve agreed to buy a business, what’s the process like going forward to close? (29:32) - Do you negotiate? (30:13) - Structuring CEO Comp and What Questions You’re Trying to Answer When Developing a Plan (32:27) - Will you steer founders to go get a bank loan for a new company project or will you deploy capital? (34:43) - If you had one hour to talk to each of your CEOs per year, what would you discuss with them? Tao of Charlie Munger (36:09) - Twitter Q: What is the key role, or person, to take a company from $500k-1M in revenue to $5-10M? (38:00) - You speak very highly of your partner Chris. What do you do and what does he do? (39:03) - Do y’all have a standing meeting or when do you communicate? (39:51) - WeCommerce  (43:17) - A Traditional IPO vs. a Reverse Takeover  (45:20) - When did you decide it was time to go public? (46:11) - What was your involvement in the Stamped Acquisition? (47:28) - What have you learned from Bill Ackman and how did you meet him? CharityBuzz (51:26) - What's your process like to go from an idea to the launch of a business? (58:19) - What’s the biggest thing content creators are missing when it comes to monetization? Joe Rogan Got Ripped Off by Spotify (1:02:34) - If you were the CEO of Twitter, what would you do to change the company? (1:06:38) - Is there a childhood experience that shaped where you would go in life?  (1:07:49) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? (1:08:57) - How can people get in touch with you? Twitter: www.twitter.com/awilkinson

Chris Bakke is the co-founder and CEO of Laskie. Previously, he was the co-founder of Interviewed (acquired by Indeed), COO of 42Floors (acquired by Knotel), and managed business development for Zillow and RentJuice (acquired by Zillow). On this episode, Chris discusses his experiences selling his companies and then working for the acquirers such as Zillow and Indeed during the pandemic. He also discusses the growth of the freelancer economy and how companies are starting to think about their approach to full-time employees vs. contract workers. Finally, they talk about founding Laskie, Twitter and the founders-dilemma of deciding whether to sell when an offer comes by or continuing to build. Enjoy! (02:18) - Chris’ Background Working for Early Stage and Public Tech Companies (04:42) - What was it like working at Indeed in the midst of the pandemic? (07:47) - What is it like to transition from a founder of a company to being an employee after an acquisition? (10:09) - When you take on the new role do you know what’s required of you from the jump, or is it expected your role might change? (13:01) - Are there questions that you wish you asked in previous acquisitions to understand what it will be like on the other side? (15:13) - How did the idea for Laskie come about? How do you describe what y’all do? (19:02) - How long does it take to get approved as a vendor? (21:14) - How many times do companies hire full time people when a freelancer would do just fine? Are we entering a world where companies cut down on full time people in exchange for more freelancers? (24:31) - How do you overcome the issue of freelancer loyalty between competitors? (28:23) - Personality Testing in Freelancing (30:40) - Should hirers think about the idea of 1-3 days of working on a project with a potential employee before deciding to hire them? (36:04) - Has there been anything unique in this COVID era in terms of requested services you’ve seen? (39:18) - Chris’ Experience Working With the Same Group of Founders for All of His Companies (40:10) - Are the roles of the group pretty clear each time you start a company together? (45:31) - Was there someone who told you to stop doing founder-led sales and bring someone on or was it something you had to figure out? (47:07) - What is “the game” of being a venture-backed company? (50:19) - Was your goal to be the next billion-dollar company or did you know you wanted in and out in two years? (53:22) - Do you think there’s a lot of companies that should have sold much earlier but keep pushing for that $10B sale? (56:42) - What did it do to your psyche when you saw that first offer from a founder's perspective? (1:01:45) - Why are you bullish on San Francisco/Silicon Valley? (1:05:47) - If you were CEO of Twitter for the next year, what would you do? (1:09:17) - Do you have a childhood experience that put you on your life path? (1:12:20) - If you had a billboard on the busiest highway in Danville, what would it say? (1:23:43) - How can people reach you? Twitter: www.Twitter.com/ChrisJBakke LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bakk3/