POWERS

Chris Powers
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Jan 14, 2021 • 1h 5min

RE #103: Fort Capital's 2020 Year in Review

Fort Capital COO, Jason Baxter, returns to discuss Fort Capital's 2020 'Year in Review'. On this episode, Chris and Jason discuss the processes implemented in 2019 that helped our team through the pandemic in 2020, starting a property management company, doubling down on industrial, key improvements made to the team, the importance of technology & AI for your business, and much more. Click here to read Fort Capital's 2020 Annual Letter. 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/ (00:52) - What are the things we did as a company as it relates to COVID? What did we do in 2019 that positioned us for success? (04:45) - The Flywheel at Fort Capital Turning the Flywheel by Jim Collins (10:13) - The First 2 Months of 2020 and Getting Into Property Management Fort Capital 2018 Year in Review Fort Capital 2019 Year in Review (14:22) - Why We Selected Yardi (16:17) - Onboarding our Properties Pre-COVID and During COVID (16:57) - Doubling Down on Industrial (20:39) - COR Improvements in 2020 [Cutting Costs & Managing Data] (25:33) - Working With the Banks FORT Episode #59 with James Hill (On Banking) (29:02) - What are some key things we did to improve the company on a department level? (34:05) - Improving Investor Reporting (36:38) - The Importance of Technology to Make Your Business Better (41:01) - Some of the Tools We’ve Built and How We’re Thinking About Acquisitions in 2021 (45:05) - The Predictability Score (54:08) - Fort Capital’s Acquisition Consultant Program & Broker Incentive Program (58:27) - Final Stats for 2020 (Closing, Raising, Investors) and Goals for 2021 (1:00:58) - Our Shameless Ask & What Fort Capital is Looking For (1:01:40) - Final Thoughts and Goals Looking at 2021 The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts
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Jan 11, 2021 • 55min

RE #102: Jonathan Wasserstrum - Co-Founder & CEO of SquareFoot

Jonathan Wasserstrum is CEO and Co-Founder of SquareFoot, a personal commercial real estate assistant. Prior to business school, Wasserstrum worked in the International Capital Group at Jones Lang LaSalle where he advised foreign and domestic clients on more than $3 billion worth of transactions globally. On this episode, Chris and Jonathan discuss his experience starting his career in capital markets during the financial crash, starting SquareFoot in his parents' attic and the New York office environment through the pandemic. They also discuss the process of raising capital, operating a rolling fund, and the world of Angel Investing. 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/ (02:30) - Jonathan’s Story  (03:39) - What did the ’07-’08 crisis look like for you as you started your career in real estate? (04:31) - What was your specialty when you worked in capital markets? (06:05) - Do you remember any moments during the crash where it hit you how bad it was going to be? (07:14) - What’s the fulcrum piece of the capital stack? (09:47) - What was the journey like from business school to launching SquareFoot? (11:25) - Did you have a co-founder from the jump? (12:31) - Was the domain name available when you started SquareFoot? (13:08) - How did you go about purchasing the domain? (13:43) - What is SquareFoot? How are you all doing things differently? (16:12) - What’s a management agreement? (20:04) - Do you have a target customer? (21:00) - Is this target market trying to lease within a certain amount of time? (21:56) - What markets are you located in? (23:10) - What’s the office environment like in New York City right now? (25:46) - Are you seeing data of new folks moving to New York or is it an internal movement? (26:39) - What was it like raising capital? How was your experience working with VCs? (30:46) - How many VCs are there in the country that would be interested in something like SquareFoot? (31:28) - What are your thoughts on the office in the future? How will it be different and how will it be the same? (33:36) - Is there a world for the Airbnb home-office? (34:40) - The WFH vs. Office Debate (36:18) - How do you find new customers? (37:20) - What’s the ultimate goal for SquareFoot? (37:49) - Where are the brokers that you hire coming from? (39:55) - What technology do you provide your brokers with to give them a leg up? (41:32) - What was your experience buying PivotDesk? (43:14) - Jonathan’s Night Hobby as an Investor on AngelList (43:45) - How does a rolling fund work? (45:52) - Are you still doing syndicates? (46:58) - How many investments have you made? (47:45) - What’s considered a good performing fund? (49:10) - Do you have a childhood experience that’s shaped who you are today? (51:04) - What’s a book that’s had an impact on you? Danny Meyer - Setting the Table Meditations - Marcus Aurelius  (52:13) - If you had a billboard that you could put anything on, what would it say? (52:35) - Contact Jonathan: SquareFoot.com PivotDesk.com Jonathan on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-wasserstrum-8a77533/ Jonathan on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/JMwass Link to Jonathan's Rolling Fund: www.angel.co/v/back/jonathan-wasserstrum The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts
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Jan 7, 2021 • 1h 7min

RE #101: Chris Weekley - Executive Vice President at David Weekley Homes

Chris Weekley is the Executive Vice President at David Weekley Homes, one of the largest privately-held home building firms in the country. On this episode, they discuss the culture at DWH, Weekley's different product types in home building, the challenges and opportunities in home building, markets across the country, what 2020 presented for home builders, and what 2021 looks like. 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/ Connect with Chris Weekley: www.linkedin.com/in/chris-weekley-892960/ (02:13) - Chris’ Story Acton School of Business | MBA (06:41) - Growing up, was your father’s work/family separation intentional in light of running a family business? (07:36) - How is 'The Life of Meaning Class' at Acton structured? How do they get the answer out of you? (10:05) - Where did you go after you got your MBA? (12:58) - How does David Weekley Homes's approach to team culture allow it to be able to retain talent for so long? (17:15) - What is David Weekley University and how did it come about? (19:43) - What’s the application process to get into DWU? (20:34) - How many markets are you in? How do you think about moving into new markets? (23:19) - Where are the hottest markets in the country right now? (24:52) - What are the 'Encore and Imagination' projects within David Weekley Homes? (26:36) - Do you focus more on central or suburban living for 'Imagination'? (28:33) - For the active adult communities you develop, do they have to be empty nesters or are they able to have kids with them? (29:31) - What are things that the 55+ age people want in a house & community? (31:17) - Are you anticipating a trend of home-offices being built in light of COVID? (32:44) - Are the millennials buying later in life? Are they requiring different things in their builds? (34:44) - How do you think about designing communities and commuting as Uber and self-driving cars continue to become more popular? (37:20) - How do you think about the growing asset class of single-family rental? (40:55) - What are the specific differences between the single-family rentals and what you normally build? (42:22) - How do you raise money to build all these homes if you aren’t public? (44:04) - How do you think about the year following a sale with home builders having to eat a lot of costs after the fact with different warranties or finishes that arise? (47:27) - How are you thinking about the high cost of lumber? Are you hedging your bet on that? (49:50) - What are the biggest challenges that you think about on a day-to-day basis? (51:53) - Is the USA under-built or over-built? (53:01) - Is there any technology on the horizon that will have a dramatic impact on the speed of building or cost of homes? (55:01) - Is there any silver bullet to combat the increased difficulty of working with cities? (57:23) - Do you have a childhood experience that has changed the direction of your life? Boy Scouts Outward Bound Amigos De Las Americas (58:57) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? (1:00:16) - Are there any books that have had an impact on you? Clive Cussler - The Dirk Pitt Adventures Grit - Angela Duckworth Shoe Dog - Phil Knight Adam Grant books The Dichotomy of Leadership - Jocko Willink (1:01:37) - Chris’ Book Club w/ His Management Team The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts
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Jan 4, 2021 • 1h 17min

#100: Tommy McGuire - President of Echo Evironmental

Tommy McGuire is the President of Echo Environmental, which specializes in electronic recycling, IT asset management, and scrap metal purchasing. Echo Environmental has raised the bar and redefined what it means to be an end-of-life recycler.  On this episode, Chris and Tommy discuss the world of scrap and how Echo has been able to recycle hundreds of thousands of pounds of technology per day to be used again in the American supply chain. They'll talk about what actually happens when these products end up in landfills, the importance of taking initiative when bringing new ideas to leadership, Tommy's meteoric rise at Echo, and much more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.Linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ (02:25) - Introduction & Tommy’s Story (04:02) - Tommy’s Experience Working in Insurance & Being a Natural Salesman (05:47) - What did the world of scrap look like in 2012 and what was your role? (07:31) - Where does scrap come from? How do you define it? (08:54) - How much scrap is created in America each year? (10:30) - Who are your typical customers? (11:05) - What do you do when all of this material arrives at your facility? (13:15) - Are you usually getting the same amount of material out of each charter box? (14:15) - What happens to the materials once you’re done processing it all? (15:03) - Is copper pulled from a circuit board still as useful as the first time it was used? (16:31) - What was the process of growth like going from 50-pound sales in 2012 to 100K+ pounds per day now? (18:04) - Are there any other business components besides Echo and ITAD? (19:08) - Do you need licenses to do all of this or could I just start this in my garage? Watch: 60 Minutes Episode of Town in China With Mountains of Old Electronics (23:20) - What actually happens when these products end up in landfills? How does it affect the Earth? (26:29) - How would an individual dispose of these electronics? (28:01) - Is contaminating the groundwater the biggest risk from all of this? (30:06) - Thoughts on ESG (33:19) - Is there any innovation going on that's working against you in technology? (35:32) - Are hard drives ever really wiped? (38:06) - Is there a business to be created that offers a ‘seal of approval’ that something is truly wiped? (42:39) - Is it really cleared in consumer products when an individual does a factory reset? (43:01) - What about smashing a phone? Can that data be retrieved? (44:19) - Has COVID helped your business? (47:10) - How have you managed to make such a progression in your career in going from salesman to President? What’s your playbook? (55:10) - Innovating by Presenting Ideas & Taking Initiative (57:58) - Re-Using Company Products to Make Really Cool Things (1:01:48) - Why did you go to business school? Was it a value-add?  Read: Reed Hastings - Your Company Is Not a Family (1:08:43) - Is there a childhood experience that formed who you are today? (1:10:12) - Do you have a morning routine? (1:11:27) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? (1:12:45) - If you had a billboard that you could put anything on, what would it say? Learn more about Echo Environmental: www.echoenvironmental.com Follow Tommy on LinkedIn The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts
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Dec 31, 2020 • 1h 12min

#99: Abraham Shafi - Co-Founder & CEO of IRL

Abraham Shafi is the Co-Founder and CEO of www.IRL.com, one of the fastest growing social networking apps in the world.  IRL was founded along with Henry Khachatryan and PayPal’s first board member Scott Banister. "IRL: Do More Together" has raised a total of $11 million in funding, with five investors backing up the company. The company's goal is to provide a place to discover events and allow users to do those things with other people. On this episode, Chris and Abraham discuss his rise in the tech world after dropping out of college, his previous venture being acquired by Dice, organic growth best practices, working with venture capitalists, how COVID has impacted IRL, and much more. Enjoy!  Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com (02:19) - Abe’s Story (08:38) - When did you formulate the plan for IRL and take the leap? (12:21) - Did you raise VC for IRL? Are you a technical or non-technical founder? (14:18) - What impact did your co-founder Scott have on the company? (17:04) - Are there best practices that come to mind when talking about organic growth? (19:41) - What is IRL? How would you describe it to someone about to download the app? (21:44) - How do you publish events on the platform? (25:05) - How would this be different from something like Twitch? (26:03) - Is there anything that stands out about how people have used the product differently than you imagined? (27:37) - How has COVID impacted you & IRL either positively or negatively? (30:40) - Is there data showing pent-up demand for people to get back into the world? (32:28) - How does your college ambassador program work? Why did you implement it? (36:39) - Is there a unique way someone has used the platform during COVID that was really inspiring? (37:37) - What was your experience raising a series-B during 2020 given the unique challenges of the year? (38:42) - What makes a great Venture Capitalist? (40:59) - How is leadership considered when different VC’s lead different rounds of funding?  (43:00) - What would you tell first-time founders as they deliberate who to approach for raising funds? (44:40) - What is your opinion on the state of social media? How do you think we can get back to it being a positive thing? (52:07) - Do you have a childhood experience that’s shaped who you are today? (57:26) - Do you have a morning routine? (58:16) - Are some of San Francisco’s brightest days ahead? (1:00:51) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? (1:03:16) - What's the best book you’ve ever read? The Art of Power by Thich Nhat Hanh (1:06:54) - If you had a billboard that you could put anything on, what would it say? (1:09:12) - How can people find you? www.IRL.com www.Twitter.com/Abrashafi The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts
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Dec 28, 2020 • 55min

RE #98: How To Assemble & Entitle Urban Land

On today's episode, Chris is joined by Jason Baxter, President and COO of Fort Capital to discuss the ways in which they think about the process around assembling and entitling land. They break down the due diligence work needed, why you need to know the end-user, what it's like entering under contract, and the importance of getting people on your side through zoning.  We’re planning on doing more episodes like these in 2021. If you have any questions on how we operate at Fort Capital, email us at thefortpodcast@gmail.com and we may just make an episode dedicated to it! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/ Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitallp.com (01:59) - What do Entitlements mean? (02:44) - What is the due diligence process we do before buying a property we want to entitle? (04:30) - Which city official do you try to set a meeting with to learn the future plan for an area? (06:10) - Easements in Due Diligence (08:17) - Environmental Issues VCP- Voluntary Clean-Up Process (12:18) - Determining Your Price to Pay and Value (15:37) - Knowing Your End-User (16:58) - Making an Offer that Can Close Quickly and Making Plans to Approach Sellers (27:07) - Moving Quickly to Avoid the Word Getting Out to Other Real Estate Investors (30:14) - Be Willing to Put in the Effort (32:13) - Factors like NextDoor and Your City’s Vision (35:26) - What We Do Once We’ve Bought a Property and What it's Like to Enter into a Contract (38:22) - What do future developers need to be able to close? What does a typical contract look like so expectations are met by both parties? (42:57) - Getting Plans Ready for a Permit & Zoning (45:05) - Getting People on Your Side When Going Through the Zoning Process (52:48) - Wrap Up The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts
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Dec 24, 2020 • 1h 6min

RE #97: How Fort Capital Performs DD, Onboarding, & Business Plan Execution on Assets

On today's episode, Chris is joined by Corey Price, Director of Asset Management, and Steve Bailey, Director of Property Management & Construction for Fort Capital. They'll discuss how they think about due diligence, onboarding, and execution in the first year of purchasing an asset. They also discuss their roles, the nuances of their day-to-day operations, some of the mistakes they've made, and how they’ve improved. We’re planning on doing more of these episodes in 2021. If you have any questions on how we operate at Fort Capital, email us at thefortpodcast@gmail.com and we may just make an episode dedicated to it!Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChrisFollow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitallp.com(01:21) - A High-Level Overview of Steve’s Role in Property Management in Construction(02:01) - Corey’s Role in Asset Management(03:43) - What happens in each of your worlds from “we’re buying this asset” to the day it actually closes in a multi-tenant industrial deal?(05:07) - How do we continuously keep leveling up and identify red flags as we gain more data about the asset?(06:10) - When we underwrite and put together a Cap-ex plan, how do you think about the projected Cap-ex and build a budget?(07:41) - Are there other things you do during due diligence that fall under the asset management responsibility?(08:46) - How do asset management and property management work together during the due diligence phase?(10:13) - How are things different after bringing property management in-house? What are the advantages of doing so?(12:08) - What are we doing on each side in terms of our due-diligence checklist?(14:06) - Why is it so critical to review each lease individually?(16:51) - Are we interviewing every single tenant with each property?(17:32) - What happens on our team during onboarding now that we own the asset?(19:03) - Do you have any experiences where tenants are much happier after Fort Capital has taken over as property managers?(20:41) - What does day 1 look like for asset management after closing on a property?(22:00) - How do you determine who will be leasing our assets?(23:16) - What is our process for how we continue the relationship with leasing brokers once we acquire an asset?(24:40) - How does information about tenants that won’t re-up their lease flow from leasing broker to asset & property management?(28:20) - Is having knowledge 90 days out before a tenant is leaving a requirement in the lease?(29:53) - Why are we able to lease things that prior owners weren’t able to?(31:33) - Are our TI costs pretty consistent across our portfolio?(33:25) - Is anyone ever putting money into warehouse spaces beyond clean up or is it mostly allocated to office?(34:11) - What is the re-forecasting process like? Why is it valuable?(36:40) - Is it cost-prohibitive for small tenants in an environment where we see 10-15% rent jumps?(38:17) - How do you attempt to stabilize an asset from a tenant perspective?(39:53) - How do you think about creating a budget for the year after purchasing?(41:02) - How valuable is the massive amount of data available to us since bringing these operations in-house?(54:12) - Merrick Park - An Example of ‘How the Sausage is Made’ Between the Property & Asset Management Teams(56:30) - How would this asset process have gone with a third party group?(58:36) - Do we tell our tenants during DD about our plans for the building or do we wait until we close?(59:24) - How do you think about the 9 months after the first 90 days are under our belt? Does anything change?(1:00:45) - What have you learned after 9 months of bringing property management in-house?(1:02:26) - What breakthroughs have we made in Asset Management?The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts
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Dec 21, 2020 • 1h 15min

RE #96: Sam Sawyer - Founder & CEO of Archetape - Cloud Brokerage for RE Agents

Sam Sawyer is the Founder & CEO of Archetape, a full-service cloud brokerage for real estate agents. Before founding Archetape, Sam worked for the Y Combinator graduate and venture-backed start-up ZeroDown in Silicon Valley as their VP of Real Estate Operations.  On this episode, Chris and Sam discuss the issues facing real estate agents and how Archetape is working to transform their experiences. They also discuss Sam's vast experience in real estate and tech, trends in home buying, major players like OpenDoor & Zillow, the process of building a remote company during COVID. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com (02:15) - Sam’s Story and Career (03:54) - What was the acquisition from Compass like? (06:05) - What was your experience like working for a PropTech company ZeroDown in Silicon Valley? (08:07) - What was it like going through Y Combinator? (09:26) - As the only one in the field, were you bringing back all of your experiences and data to share with the software teams to build out necessary widgets? (10:14) - At what point did you realize you needed to go and start your own deal? (11:44) - Was there a co-founder involved? (12:33) - Did you raise any funding? (13:21) - What is Archetape? What’s the spin on brokerage? (16:48) - What software are you building that would make an agent want to come work for your company? (22:03) - Technology Partnerships at Archetape (24:55) - How do you identify what partnerships are needed? How do you vet suitors? (26:53) - Is there any training involved for new agents? (30:47) - Do you use any software to gather Net Promoter Scores? (31:40) - How do you find new agents? (32:51) - Are you looking to recruit seasoned agents or newcomers? (35:35) - What advice would you give to folks looking to become agents? (37:38) - Building Smaller Teams Within Archetape (38:44) - When was the first transaction at Archetape? (39:16) - How are you ending the year as opposed to what you thought it would be like? What’s it like launching a company in the middle of a pandemic? (41:59) - Deeper Dive into the Compass Experience (44:05) - Why would agents be more likely to use the software that's used at Archetape if they generally aren’t open to changing their software habits? (45:49) - How are you thinking about growth? (48:32) - How are you partnering with lenders? (50:25) - How do you use a startup mindset without getting distracted from your core product? (53:12) - What are some trends that you’re seeing in home-buying? (55:33) - What are the top reasons someone buys a home besides location & affordability? (56:46) - What is iBuying? (58:24) - What do OpenDoor and Zillow do when they buy a home? (1:00:10) - Is OpenDoor a direct competitor to you? (1:01:03) - Is the open house experience going to die? (1:01:56) - Did you know that you’d be building your company on the back of platforms like Slack? (1:05:07) - How do you build strong relationships with a fully remote company? (1:06:49) - Do you have a morning routine? (1:07:55) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? Book - Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (1:10:01) - What’s a great book you’ve enjoyed? Built to Sell - John Warrilow Elon Musk Biography (1:12:26) - How can people find you and Archetape? Medium Article - Gatekeeper to Superhero archetape.com Email: Sam@archetape.com Subscribe to Sam's Newsletter here Sam's Twitter The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts
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Dec 17, 2020 • 1h 2min

#95: Michael Girdley - The One-Man Venture Studio

Michael Girdley (www.Twitter.com/Girdley) is a serial entrepreneur and investor based in San Antonio. He is the chairman and co-founder of Dura Software, owner of Codeup, Toro Coffee, Alamo Fireworks, and the tech-venture fund Geekdom. On this episode, Chris and Michael discuss Michael's experience moving to San Francisco during the late '90s and what it was like in the 'tech bubble', and then leaving the tech world to take over his father's firework business where technology was almost non-existent. Michael discusses the process of helping found and scale his various companies and implementing executive teams so he can step away from their day to day operations. They also dive into the workings of Michael's various companies, the pitch for the future of San Antonio, and much more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChrisLearn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com(02:30) - Michael’s Background and What Led Him to Today(04:00) - What is cryptography?(04:35) - How did you get into your passion for computer technology?(06:11) - When did you move out to the Bay Area?(06:30) - What was Silicon Valley before the Dotcom bust? What was it like going through that bust?(08:12) - Did people see the crash coming or did it come out of nowhere?(09:55) - Was revenue actually growing when the stock price jumped or was it all part of just the bubble?(11:28) - Were most of these businesses VC-backed before they went public?(12:02) - What was the culture shift like going from Silicon Valley to running a family firework business?(13:57) - What was the transition like when taking the business over from your father?(16:03) - Did you already have an executive team in place or was that a process to implement before you transitioned out?(16:46) - What was the process like of finding a CEO?(17:43) - How do you set up a compensation system to incentivize those who aren’t the owners in a family business?(19:28) - How does the current CEO communicate business strategy with you?(20:43) - What are you accountable for as a semi-active owner?(29:52) - How do you find the right people to bring into the business?(31:11) - What were your roles in getting the business off the ground if you weren’t going to be involved in the day-to-day?(34:08) - Is this a business that will require funding to scale quickly or do you want to go the self-funded route?(35:08) - What is Codeup?(36:24) - How do you define ‘not getting a job’ in terms of Codeup’s policy to refund the student?(38:23) - What’s the process of education in Codeup?(39:23) - How long is the process and how much does it cost?(40:02) - Is it a full-time job or can students work while they’re in the courses?(40:36) - Is there always going to be a need for code in a world where no-code is a growing movement?(41:53) - What is Dura Software?(43:44) - Is this similar to a Berkshire model?(44:50) - What’s the difference between vertical and horizontal market software?(46:15) - Are you designing the third phase of your career where you can keep adding businesses or is there a limit?(47:02) - What does Culture Index mean to you? How has it impacted your career?(49:14) - Do you require the companies you buy to adopt Culture Index?(52:05) - What’s your 2-minute pitch for the city of San Antonio?(53:45) - How has the growth of Austin impacted San Antonio?(54:59) - Do you have a morning routine?(55:43) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?(56:38) - If you owned a billboard and could put anything on it, what would it be?(59:24) - How can people get in touch with you?Follow Michael on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/GirdleyLearn more about Michael Girdley here www.Girdley.comThe FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts
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Dec 14, 2020 • 1h 9min

#94: Milo Ramirez - Building an Empire. 1 Taco at a Time.

Today's guest is Milo Ramirez, the Founder & Owner of Salsa Limon, a quick service Taqueria serving some of the best Mexican food in Texas. Milo's Oaxacan roots and upbringing of farm-to-table Hispanic cuisine led him to found Salsa Limon after an unbelievably successful career in media and advertising where his clientele included McDonald's and GM.  In this episode, Milo tells the story of how his unique experience inspired Salsa Limon, his career before becoming a restauranteur, the immense amount of work that goes into creating a successful brand, finding your target customer, and more. Milo and Chris will also touch on how COVID has affected the service industry, the government response, and the downside of food delivery apps. Enjoy!  Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com (02:30) - Milo’s Story and What Led to Salsa Limon (24:22) - How much time passed between meeting with Andrew Segal to opening the first Salsa Limon? (26:38) - What are the things you did right when planning a restaurant? What were some of your early mistakes? (29:29) - What makes a great restaurant location? (32:27) - How can business owners become really fine-tuned into who their target customer is? (36:20) - The ‘Pizza’ Pie Chart Concept of Food Margins (40:22) - The 4 Step Process for Salsa Employees (43:39) - What makes the best restaurant operators so great? (4-4-9) (50:33) - Is there truth to the idea that beverages are where you make all your money? (51:46) - How do you keep your recipes proprietary? (52:49) - What has it been like owning 7 restaurants during a pandemic? What did you do right? (55:53) - Do you think the government has left the service industry out to dry in all of this? (1:00:21) - Is there any kind of stimulus that’s just for the service industry? (1:01:35) - Do the food delivery apps help or hurt you? (1:03:47) - What’s your favorite restaurant in the US? (1:05:01) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? (1:05:21) - If you had a billboard on a major highway that you could put anything on, what would it say? (1:07:03) - How can people reach you? Visit Salsa Limon: www.salsalimon.com Connect with Milo on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/milo17ramirez  The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

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