
The Fort
Here, we uncover the proven strategies, insights, and inspiring stories of today’s greatest leaders in the worlds of business, real estate, entrepreneurship, and investing. Each episode’s mission is to help you to level up your entrepreneurial game by hearing directly from the men and women in the arena. Chris is able to uniquely uncover things not commonly discussed because he is an entrepreneur himself. We not only cover business, but we also cover the personal side of entrepreneurship.The Fort began in 2018 as a way for Chris to publicly explore the fascinating world of entrepreneurship. Since he was a child, he’s been characterized as obsessively curious about the world around him. The Fort has now been downloaded over 2M times, across more than 50,000 unique listeners.Each week features conversations with entrepreneurs, Founders, CEOs, and Executives from some of the leading companies in America. Past guests have represented companies such as JLL, Hillwood, S2 Capital, Chick Fil A, Morning Brew, Founders Podcast, Tiny Capital, Permanent Equity, Fort Capital, Matthews REIS, Bonobos, and ConvertKit.🐦 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/@FORTpod
Latest episodes

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dec 10, 2020 • 1h 13min
RE #93: Chris Powers - How to Get Your First Job In Real Estate
Fort Capital CEO Chris Powers discusses the ins and outs of finding a job in the real estate industry for those graduating college. He discusses the top 3 things people should know when looking for a job, the importance of networking, what to look for in companies when you start to narrow your search, preparing for the interview, big vs. small company experiences, and much more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com (01:56) - Disclaimer to College Students (02:29) - The 3 Things College Graduates Should Know When Looking for a Job (03:59) - #1 Picking the Right Asset Class to Work In (05:24) - #2 Pick a Market You Want to Be In (06:45) - #3 Picking a Line of Work (14:58) - Proptech (18:01) - Networking and Honing in on Places to Work (21:00) - Reaching Out to Folks You May Want to Work With/For (25:32) - Things to Think About When Analyzing Potential Companies You May Work For (28:41) - Find Out How a Company is Using Technology (31:28) - What are some red flags in employers? (33:51) - Getting a Masters Degree vs. Work Experience (36:11) - Things to Be Prepared for in an Interview Situation (37:07) - Things that Catch our Eye for New Hires Coming Out of College (42:26) - Big Company vs. small company: Which do you join? (51:49) - What is an entry-level position that gives you the most optionality as you move through your career? (1:02:36) - Other Things to Think About (1:02:51) - Internships for Current Students, Argus Course, Utilizing Free Online Resources, Getting a Real Estate License (1:04:14) - Sitting in on City Hall Developer Meetings and Zoning Commissions (1:04:43) - Find Physical Places that are Interesting to You (1:08:00) - Wrap Up Did this help you find a job, or maybe you have a question that wasn’t answered? Email Chris at thefortpodcast@gmail.com The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Dec 7, 2020 • 1h 8min
#92 Cody Campbell: Co-CEO of Double Eagle Energy Holdings III
Cody Campbell is Co-Chief Executive Officer of Double Eagle Energy Holdings III LLC, a partnership formed with Apollo Global Management and co-founder of Double Eagle Development. Campbell began his business career as a student at Texas Tech University, where he and John Sellers founded a successful commercial real estate development firm. He graduated with honors with a Bachelor’s in finance and economics and a master’s in finance. After graduation, he played offensive guard for the Indianapolis Colts. On this episode, Chris and Cody discuss the early days of building Double Eagle, the state of oil & gas and its opportunities and challenges ahead, what things might look like under a Biden administration, how they were able to partner with Apollo, and much more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com (02:15) - Cody’s Background and Business Career to Date (11:12) - What’s an option of a lease? (13:45) - How long would you anticipate you’d have to sit on a lease before it sells? (15:57) - When did you formalize that Double Eagle would be your full-time job? (18:39) - When did you partner with Apollo? How did that relationship start? (23:31) - What was it like working with Aubrey McClendon? (25:45) - Was Double Eagle #2 similar to Double Eagle #1? (28:00) - How long did Double Eagle #2 take from start to finish? (28:50) - When were you able to get away from the scrutiny of being able to purchase deals? (29:43) - Why did you choose the Midland over the Delaware? Are there major differences between them? (31:09) - How many transactions does it take to put together 70,000 acres in the Midland? (31:55) - When you’re buying thousands of leases, how often are you committing to a lease that you know still needs some work? (33:47) - What’s the minimum amount of acreage needed to be able to drill? (35:01) - You’ve sold Double Eagle #2, so what does Double Eagle #3 look like? (37:32) - With today’s technology, how many drilling sites could you have? How much oil can you get from these 96,000 acres? (39:06) - Do you hedge your oil? Are you able to decide that or does Apollo choose? (39:42) - Do you put the hedge in before you drill a well or during? (40:29) - How big is your team now? (40:48) - How do you see where we are today vs. previous downturns? What's different this time? (41:47) - What gives people a reason to think that the industry wouldn’t exist in the future? (43:35) - What does ESG mean? (50:40) - Is there any light at the end of the tunnel to get us past this? (52:50) - Is it a good thing for oil prices to go back up? (55:25) - Do you have any comments on our relationship with other oil-producing countries? (56:03) - What happens if we don’t keep drilling? (57:36) - Have we found all the energy in the world? (58:06) - Is there any technology on the horizon to get more out of the ground? (58:51) - What are your thoughts on the new presidential administration's impact on the industry? (1:00:21) - How long is a drilling permit good for? (1:01:22) - Why is the Permian Basin the most prolific in the country? (1:02:02) - How are things valued deal to deal? (1:02:46) - What was it like to host POTUS at one of your wells? The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Dec 3, 2020 • 52min
RE #91: Spencer Levy - Chairman of Americas Research & Senior Economic Advisor for CBRE
Spencer Levy is Chairman of Americas Research and Senior Economic Advisor for CBRE. He plays an integral role in the development and implementation of the global research strategy and business plan. On this episode, Spencer and Chris discuss what COVID has done across multiple asset classes and markets and why he's bullish on cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. They also talk office and retail, Spencer's 2021 predictions, interest rate environments, technologies that are coming in the near future that will massively impact real estate, and more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com (02:28) - Spencer’s Background and Business Career (03:44) - How does research funnel up at CBRE? (05:33) - Were you seeing COVID and its implications before the rest of the USA? Did something, in particular, stand out to you? (07:21) - As it stands today, what pops out at you in your research that we should be thinking about in the US in terms of opportunities and challenges? (09:22) - COVID Vaccines and Their Effect on Short Term Thinking (10:23) - Is there an indicator that people are heading back to the office? (13:32) - What stands out to you in retail? (16:01) - Is there any hope for the regional mall? (17:52) - Are you expecting to see a distressed market or will we skip it entirely? (20:22) - What does your research tell you about the supposed exodus of major cities like LA, NYC, and SF? (22:14) - Does any of this exodus have to do with the extremism of governmental response to COVID? (24:52) - What are some overlooked markets across the US that will be robust cities in the near future? (27:39) - Is there a technology we will see over the next decade that will be transformational? (29:27) - What are the impacts of self-driving cars when it comes to real estate values? (31:04) - How do they affect parking garages in downtown areas? (32:45) - What are some of the major impacts the new white house administration will have on CRE? (34:48) - Are we going to be in a low rate environment for quite a while? (36:42) - What are some data points to look at when scoping the viability of a new market? (40:00) - Do you have any comments on data centers and their demand? (42:48) - What does responsive real estate mean? (44:30) - What are your predictions for 2021? (45:33) - Do you have a morning routine? (46:38) - What is the best advice you’ve ever received? (47:48) - Is there a book that has had a significant impact on you? (49:08) - Places to Learn More About CBRE CBRE Website The Weekly Take Podcast Interested in investing with Fort Capital? Contact us here. The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Nov 30, 2020 • 1h 12min
RE #90: Evan Kasper - Founder of ELK Development - Co-Living Pioneer
Evan Kasper, Founder/CEO of ELK Development, is an established leader in the furnished rental sector. Before starting ELK Development, Evan was the co-founder of the Medici Group, the largest co-living company globally with thousands of units under management. In 2016, he launched Medici Group’s US division and grew it to a $100MM operating business. On this episode, Chris and Evan dive into the world of co-living real estate. Evan describes the three pillars of co-living: affordability, flexibility, and convenience. Evan also touches on how co-living has been affected by the pandemic, and then Evan breaks down the pros and cons of the three structural practices in this space: master leasing, management partnerships & owner-operators. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChrisLearn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com(01:18) - Evan’s Background(03:47) - Evan’s First Experience in Co-Living SpacesQuarters.com(06:33) - How did you cut a billion dollars of the GSA from the government? Was it easy?(08:19) - How long were you at Medici and when did you leave to start ELK?(09:48) - At Medici, would you master lease a developed building, or would you go into apartments and convert them into co-living spaces?(10:41) - How many buildings were empty and simply ready to be occupied?(12:00) - In general, how do you define co-living? How does that relate to what you’re doing at ELK?(15:04) - Three Pillars of Co-Living: Affordability, Flexibility, Convenience(17:03) - How big is a micro-unit or co-living unit?(18:14) - What are the advantages of owning this kind of real estate as an operator? How would each party make money if they’re separate (owners and operators)?(20:38) - As the operator/owner, are you signing a master lease to yourself to provide this flexibility or is it done lease by lease? (20:57) - Are you designing these units to be able to furnish them with the demand in each lease?(21:56) - The Difference Between Micro-Units and Co-Living Spaces(22:56) - What's the percentage of people requesting furnished vs not furnished? Has that changed at all through COVID?(24:08) - Are you renting the furniture provided in units or purchasing it?(24:18) - What amenities do you see in co-living that you don’t see in a traditional multifamily community?(27:08) - Is the sharing economy still an amenity in 2020?(29:01) - How are these assets financed? How did the lenders look at it?(32:07) - Why would you be getting less in rent if you’re converting these into bigger units?(54:50) - How do you think about the potential for discrimination lawsuits or fair housing issues as it relates to curating a unit mix?(56:42) - Is there any personality profiling to help see who would be good fits together? (Similar to dorm room housing in college)(57:42) - What are your thoughts on the DC co-living project that doesn’t have locks on bedroom doors to create more trust?(58:37) - What questions should an owner or developer be asking when deciding between a master lease or management agreement? How do you detect their financial strength?(1:00:35) - Are there best practices for converting existing units into co-living?(1:02:15) - Are there any zoning challenges that come up within these conversions?(1:03:32) - Why did you choose the LA market?The Weekly Take Podcast with Spencer levy(1:07:39) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?(1:08:24) - Is there a book you would recommend?Principals: Ray Dalio(1:08:54) - If you owned a billboard, what would you put on it?(1:09:56) - How to Contact EvanEvan on LinkedInWebsiteEmail: Info@ElkDevelopment.comThe FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts