POWERS

Chris sits down with Stanton Williams, Executive Advisor at Culture Index, a personality profiling system and process that allows leaders to determine where their staff is best suited within an organization as well as hiring the best possible people for a role. On this episode, Chris and Stanton break down every aspect of the Culture Index, Chris elaborates on how much this has helped him personally as well as the Fort Capital team, some experiences Stanton has had in helping organizations move from the 'Start' phase into the 'Scale' phase, and what kind of traits are among folks who are elected to high political office. Enjoy!  Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitallp.com (04:19) - Stanton's Background (11:38) - What is the Culture Index? (13:20) - Who created the Culture Index? (16:44) - Breaking Down the 7 Traits Measured in the Culture Index (17:07) - Autonomy (18:26) - Sociability (19:59) - Pace (22:21) - Conformity (24:15) - Energy Units (24:54) - Logic (25:49) - Ingenuity (26:43) - The Culture Index Survey (28:04) - The Combinations of Traits and Patterns (28:37) - The 4 Types of People (28:51) - Visionaries (29:36) - Technical People (30:25) - Social People (31:15) - Organizational People (31:53) - Complementary People that Should Surround You and What Buckets Pair Up Well Together (33:22) - When you meet with a company for the first time and they hire you, what happens from there? (35:12) - What do you say if people say you’re full of shit? (37:30) - How often do you see people that have reverse polarity? (38:53) - Do you ever see patterns with someone being in the same role in multiple companies and yet they still fall under reverse polarity? (40:03) - Assuming a company is able to scale but stays small, are there common themes that serve as the reason they stay small? (42:06) - What category do inventors typically fall in? (43:44) - What do you tell the person who’s able to start the company but doesn't realize they can't scale it? (45:40)  - Do most small businesses even know what they want? (47:27) - The two types of CEOs: The Starter and The Scaler (49:31) - When does The Starter know that their time is up? (51:33) - The “C Job” (56:18) - The Cost of Turnover (57:26) - Do you have any Culture Index success stories? Book: The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Wilink (1:03:20) - The Personality Traits of a Politician (1:07:55) - Why don’t companies use this? (1:10:35) - Is there really no way for people to change who they are? (1:13:39) - What would you tell someone who says they want to change? (1:14:50) - Do you have a morning routine? (1:16:03) - What's the best advice you’ve ever been given? (1:16:29) - If you had a billboard that you could put anything on, what would it say? (1:17:40) - What is the best way for people to contact you? Email Stanton: swilliams@cultureindex.com The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Zach Aarons & Aaron Block are the Co-Founders of MetaProp VC, the most active early-stage real estate and PropTech investor globally with 125+ investments under their portfolio. On this episode, Chris talks with Aaron and Zach about their journey to becoming partners, the NYC venture capital world, the emergence of PropTech as an investable asset class, their processes for investing in companies, what early-stage founders do well when raising capital, and much more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com (02:44) - Zach’s Background  (09:52) - Why do you say you weren’t capable of building and scaling a tech company? (13:21) - Aaron’s Background (16:48) - What ultimately led you to raise capital and start a fund? (18:08) - How large was the first fund? What are some things looking back that you didn’t expect? (20:48) - Did Zak Schwarzman have a VC background or institutional money experience? (24:23) - How large was your second fund? (24:28) - How much is being invested in PropTech globally? (25:02) - How many deals do you see per year vs. how many you ultimately invest in? (25:52) - Which things within deals jump out to you that immediately cause you to say 'no'? (29:50) - What are good founders doing well while they’re raising money? (34:17) - Do you require founders to have a co-founder? (36:10) - Do you care if the founder has a real estate background? (39:42) - What would a founder say is the value given to you from MetaProp post-funding? (41:56) -  How often do you communicate with the founders you work with? (46:59) - What's the difference between leading a round vs. just participating in a round? (50:12) - What does a typical project look like for your consulting and advisory side of the business? (51:27) - Is there a certain asset type that is getting more investment than others? (54:02) - What kind of technology is around single-family and multi-family? (55:35) - Is PropTech aiding in the effort to get people back into the office or the WFH situation? (56:33) - Do you think the idea of COVID Cleaning & thermal scanning could be seen as short-sighted? (59:55) - Do you have a crazy 5-10 year prediction? (1:00:49) - Do you have a crazy investment that got away? (1:03:29) - Do you have a morning routine? (1:04:03) - If you owned a billboard on a major highway and could put whatever you wanted on there, what would it say? (1:04:48) - How can people reach you? Email Zach: zaarons@metaprop.vc Book: PropTech101 The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

On this episode, Fort Capital CEO Chris Powers outlines the underwriting process on industrial deals from start to finish making it simple to understand whether you’re green or a seasoned veteran. This episode will provide an outline for how these deals get done and the mistakes that a lot of people make along the way so you can deal smarter in the future.  Enjoy!  For more on Underwriting, visit the Fort Capital website here.  Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitallp.com (01:07) - What is Underwriting? (02:14) - Variables that Contribute to the Value in Underwriting (02:40) - Market, Demographic and their Respective Trends (03:50) - Purchase Price (04:15) - Expenses (05:04) - Modeling Expenses Out in a 5-Year Model (05:21) - Taxes & Insurance (06:15) - Tenants (07:03) - Where Rent is Today vs. the Market Rate (07:59) - Tenant Renewal Probability (09:55) - Current Vacancies (10:42) - Capital Expenditure Requirements (11:44) - Tenant Improvement Costs (12:26) - Underwriting the Capital Structure & Refinance Scenarios (13:49) - What does an exit scenario look like? (15:15) - Things People Miss and Mistakes We’ve Missed Along the Way (18:45) - How Fort Capital Thinks About the Process of Doing a Deal (19:59) - How Long the Underwriting Process Should Take (20:42) - Where We Get Most of Our Data (21:12) - Where does information live when underwriting? How is it communicated to the team & non-team? (22:58) - Final Thoughts on Underwriting (23:58) - Writing an Investment Memo (25:10) - What We Think about Presenting in Our Memos (26:12) - Reasons to Acquire (26:38) - Location Overview (27:09) - The Property Itself (27:35) - Tenant Overview (28:10) - Sources and Uses of Funds (29:02) - Financial Summary & What Investors Can Expect in Return (30:22) - Partnership Terms (31:48) - Models & Return Summary (32:17) - Property Photos & Market Map (33:02) - Conclusion & Free Resources from Fort Capital The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight up Podcasts

Barry Davis is the CEO of EnLink Midstream, one of the largest midstream energy companies in the United States. On this episode, he and Chris discuss an emphasis on hard work and relationships in business, the state of oil & gas in 2020, the Better Man organization, as well as the importance of faith in business leadership. Enjoy!  Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitallp.com (02:17) - Barry’s Story (05:14) - How did that early emphasis on hard work and relationships influence your teen years and intro into the business world? (06:22) - How did you go from being a landman to starting your first company? (09:09) - Was there a certain opportunity or experience that made you to take the leap? (10:01) - How would you describe the Midstream business in 2020? (11:08) - What was the outside capital environment? What did the first day in the office look like? (12:32) -  Can you paint a picture of where the company is today? (14:10) - What’s life like as a private CEO vs. a public CEO? (16:25) - Do things like strategy and vision evolve when you go from 50 employees to 1,000+? (17:48) - What's the state of oil & gas today and is this different from cycles in the past? (22:09) - What are the businesses that will survive COVID doing right now? (23:26) - How do you view ESG? (Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance) (25:54) - How Chris and Barry Met and the Significance of this Episode (26:59) - How did thinking about a balanced life and doing things differently from others in business captivate you? (29:25) - How are you able to incorporate faith with business leadership? (32:04) - Are there certain things someone in their 30's can do that will set them up for their 2nd half of life? (34:18) - What is the Better Man organization? (37:52) - What is biblical manhood vs. how manhood is defined by today’s culture? (39:16) - What’s the experience like in the curriculum? (40:54) - When did you get involved with the Halftime Institute and how has it impacted you? (43:17) - How do you plan on spending the 2nd half of your life? (44:38) - Do you have a morning routine? (45:41) - What does ‘do the right thing and you’ll always be able to go back to where you’ve been’ mean? (47:06) - What’s a book you’ve read that has had an impact on you? The Bible Halftime by Bob Beuford 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller (48:53) - If you had a billboard that you could put anything on for the world to see, what would you put? The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Chris sits down with his longtime friend Rayne Austin, the VP of Stronghold Resource Partners, to do a deep dive into the Cattle Business. Rayne walks Chris through the multiple phases of the life cycle for cattle, how each phase makes money, the "Big 4" packers, and how COVID-19 exposed a major bottleneck in the industry. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChrisLearn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com (03:46) - Rayne’s Background(05:43) - What are the phases of a cow's life and how do you move from one to the next?(08:42) - Do the calves only live off of their mother’s milk or are they consuming feed in the first phase?(09:52) - Do cows sell for less if they haven’t been weened?(10:14) - How much money are people trying to get from selling in the calf/cow phase?(10:57) - How do you transfer 10,000 calves to the stockyard?(12:05) - How many calves fit in a truckload?(12:24) - What’s the purpose of the stockyard?(14:00) - How big are you trying to get the cows to become in the stock phase?(14:20) - What’s the pricing model for cattle?(16:40) - What do cows look like at the end of the stocker phase? What happens when they move to the feed yard?(17:50) - How long do they stay in the feed yard?(18:06) - Where does all that feed come from?(18:41) - Do they go to slaughter from the feed yard?(19:05) - Why don’t folks complete all three phases under one roof?(20:22) - What are the biggest risks in the industry?(21:33 ) - What are the biggest upsides to the business?(22:31) - Why were the packing houses doing well but not the cattle ranchers during COVID?(24:08) - What happens when you have cattle ready to leave the feed yard but packers not willing to take them?(25:28) - Can a cow get ‘too big’ to where it affects the meat?(26:19) - How is veal made?(27:25) - Rayne’s Experience Working at the Largest Virtual Auctioneering House(29:34) - Does everyone buy in the business hedge or is it case by case?(30:41) - Why are calves who haven’t been weened high risk?(31:36) - Why do some people hedge and some don’t?(33:04) - How is the majority of this business made up from an ownership perspective?(37:39) - Does the climate and location of feed yards change what the cow will look like?(39:56) - Are the majority of these legacy companies just growing to a point where the barrier to entry is more difficult?(41:41) - What’s the day to day like for someone like your grandfather working in the field 7 days a week?(44:35) - How many cattle are there per acre in America?(1:11:31) - Who are the Big 4 in Cattle?(1:11:58) - What did the government do for cattle ranchers during COVID?(1:13:10) - How far out can you hedge?(1:14:26) - Since you’ve been around, what’s been the best year to be in this business?(1:15:58) - Do the major packers dominate the industry or does it revolve around the cattle rancher?(1:16:35) - How would you value a cattle operation?(1:18:44) - The U.S. Beef Trade Deal with China(1:19:49) - If you had 100 million dollars and you had to invest in the cattle business, where would you put it?(1:21:45) - What is a day like for a ranch hand?(1:24:01) - What does it cost to lease land to put your cattle on?(1:26:25) - We’ve found ways to make food for cheaper and less. At what point have we gone too far and we’re just making bad beef?(1:28:02) - Do cattle ranchers pay insurance on the cattle?(1:29:58) - How far are we from a point in time where there are not enough people in the industry?(1:30:42) - What’s your favorite cut of beef?(1:31:01) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

On today's episode, Antonia Botero, the Founder and Principal at MADD Project, joins Chris to discuss her experience in large scale multi-family conversions and ground-up development construction in Manhattan. They'll discuss project & construction management in the real estate industry, how to hire a General Contractor, how to make a great contract, early things to do to make a project more successful, ways to save on project costs, holding contractors accountable, negotiating and much more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com   (02:35) - How did you become a wizard in project & construction management? (06:31) - What does studying architecture mean from your perspective and do you recommend others do the same? (09:57) -  How has technology opened the ecosystem for people to quickly study architecture? (11:45) - What does ‘getting into the field’ mean to you? Why were you drawn to it? (12:37) - Designing Feasible Buildings vs. Buildings that Simply Look Good in a Rendering (15:29) - What is MADD Project? (15:57) - Why is having an owner's rep useful? (19:45) - When is the best time to hire an owner’s rep in a project? (22:35) - What is it like getting a project done in a mega-city like New York and dealing with community boards? (27:32) - What’s the difference in breakdowns on the consulting side of MADD Project? (30:53) - What’s the best way to hold contractors accountable to their timeline? (33:29) - What are three things that make for a really strong contract? (35:32) - Are you usually the GC on a project or do you help hire a GC?  (38:25) - What does bonding mean? (39:29) - Which incentive structures work best with contractors? (42:42) - What is a GMP?  (Guaranteed Maximum Price) (45:20) - When entering a brand new market, what are things you want to hear from a GC before doing business with them? (47:08) - What do drawings look like in a good place vs. a bad place? (48:40) - How do you know who’s worked on a certain project when talking to GCs? (49:25) - Have you learned any major lessons following big mistakes? (58:07) - How do you deal with change orders if there’s ambiguity in the contract? (1:00:12) - What next-gen construction form do you see having the most viable cost savings over the next 5-10 years? (1:02:41) - Are you seeing signs that construction costs will come down? (1:04:30) - Do you have a morning routine? (1:06:03) - What’s the best advice you’ve received? (1:06:22) - What is the best book you’ve read recently? The Art of Asking - Amanda Palmer (1:07:05) - How has twitter impacted you and your business? (1:09:14) - If you owned a billboard on the side of the road, what would you put on it for the world to see? (1:10:12) - Antonia's Contact Information Antonia's Twitter The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Sce Pike is the Founder and CEO of IOTAS, a complete smart apartment ecosystem with simple installation giving residents the best user experience for their Smart Apartments. On this episode, she and Chris talk about the early days of the startup, the importance of getting right in front of your customers, how IOTAS is helping users at the property management level, Sce's experience during the DotCom Bubble, and much more. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapital.com (01:42) - Sce’s Story (03:40) - What did IOTAS look like early on as a startup? (05:49) - Are there things about IOTAS that might have been different if you hadn’t started the company in an actual apartment? (08:19) -  Can you explain the IOTAS product from a software perspective and how it integrates with hardware? (10:33) - Are you a better fit for someone building brand new units or are you able to integrate with an already established apartment? (12:14) - For fully operating complexes, what is IOTAS' process for coming in and integrating everything? (13:28) - What are the most common ways that tenants are using the product? (15:08) - What does it look like at the property management level? (16:37) - Is there data on the average savings amount you’ll present to potential customers? (17:17) - Do you provide reports on efficiencies? (17:59) - What’s the long term vision for how the IOTAS set up works? (18:36) - Is there anything that the IOTAS product is doing that you didn't expect? (22:42) - What are the biggest bottlenecks for your ability to scale? (24:50) - How did the partnership with Amazon come about and why did you choose them? (28:46) - What’s the difference between using Alexa without linking their account and actually linking it? (29:31) - When are potential tenants interacting with Alexa? (30:36) - Is this an exclusive partnership with Amazon? (30:52) - What’s it like working with Amazon? (31:51) - Is Apple trying to get into this space? (32:26) - What does an exit look like in this space? (33:26) - What’s the definition of a TelCo from your perspective? (33:55) - How did you get into this industry? (35:46) - What was your web design business like in college? (36:19) - What was the DotCom Bubble like in the early 2000s? (37:18) - What was it that ended the company you were employed with during the bust? (40:00) - What is "creative destruction"? (41:18) - How were you able to create self-guided tours and have them ready in 4 weeks? (43:07) - How does the self-guided tour work? (44:52) - Where have you learned your leadership style? (45:45) - What’s the reality of Portland right now? (47:54) - Do you have a morning routine? (49:19) - What’s the best advice someone’s ever given you? (49:59) - Any books that have inspired you? The Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben Horrowitz Measure What Matters - John Doerr (50:53) - If there was a billboard that you could put anything on for the world to see, what would it show? (51:14) - What's the best way to reach you or find IOTAS? The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Mark Duclos is the Co-founder & President of Sentry Commercial and the President of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR). Sentry focuses on brokerage, property management, and construction management based in the Hartford and Western Massachusetts area. On this episode, they discuss the future of the office, working on deals with massive companies like Amazon, technology in real estate, Mark's experience in SIOR, and much more. Enjoy!  Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com (01:58) - Mark’s Story (07:26) - Which markets are you focused on and where are they located? (08:55) - What’s going on in the Western Mass/Connecticut market right now within the asset classes you work in? (12:50) - Are people that are leaving Connecticut staying in New England or are they leaving the area completely? (13:39) - What’s your take on office in the next 12 months? (16:51) - Do you think that NYC will come back stronger than ever or is there more permanent damage that people are overlooking? (18:14) -  Are you seeing an influx of demand for E-commerce? (19:56) - Is there anything different about working with Amazon compared to other clients? (21:36) - Is the 3.8 million square feet all under one roof or how is that broken out? (22:45) - Are you involved in any of the Amazon moves to purchase defunct malls, JC Penny, Sears, etc.? (23:40) - What is SIOR and why did you become so involved? (26:02) - How do you become a member of SIOR? (26:57) - What kind of insights does SIOR provide its members? (28:11) - What is your role as president of SIOR? (30:24) - What have you learned in this leadership role through the past year? (32:16) - How does your business use technology and why is it so important as we move forward? (36:27) - Why did you decide to get into Residential & then into Multi-Family? (37:44) - Do you have a morning routine? (40:10) - What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? (41:46) - Is there a book that has had an impact on you? - Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi - Feedly: The News Aggregator (42:44) - If there was a billboard you could put anything on for the world to see, what would you put? (44:09) - How can people contact you? The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts  

On today's episode, Chris breaks down why Fort Capital has spent so much time and energy in the Class B Industrial space over the past 4+ years. He lists the four most important reasons for pursuing Class B Industrial as well as why he believes this asset class has a promising future. Enjoy!  Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris Learn more about Chris Powers & Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com (01:09) - Episode Agenda (01:40) - The “ah-ha” Moment in 2016 and 4 Big Ideas (02:07) - Idea 1: Do we think online sales will increase or decrease? (02:49) - Idea 2: Class B Industrial is Infill in Nature (03:29) - Idea 3: How Travis Kalanick, Founder of Uber, Goes on to Found Cloud Kitchens Using Industrial Space (05:16) - Idea 4: The Depleting Supply Class and Growing Tenant Base (10:21) - Why Class B Industrial is Sticky (12:02) - The Cannabis Opportunity for Class B Industrial (13:00) - The Historical Ownership of Class B Industrial & Flying Under the Institutional Radar (14:25) - Class B Industrial Has a Predictable CapEx (16:16) - Management in Class B Industrial (17:16) - The Value Add and Their Un-Sexiness (18:13) - The Wrap Up (19:36) - Call Out to Owners & Brokers Looking to Chat/Sell Industrial Fort Capital's Deal Incentive Program The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Entrepreneur Nick Huber discusses his journey from starting a lawn care business to launching Storage Squad, a successful student storage company. He talks about the challenges, growth, and future of his business. They also discuss the use of Twitter for learning and engagement, the importance of finding a supportive spouse, technology in managing self-storage facilities, predictions for Walmart and Amazon, digital marketing strategies, and the power of Twitter for networking and capital-raising.