The Fort

Chris sits down with Joe Du Bey, Founder and CEO of Eden, a management solutions company based in San Francisco. They discuss the process of raising capital, finding investors, the life of a start-up CEO and more. They also discuss mentorship, learning, their favorite podcasts and social media. You can see more about Joe and Eden at www.eden.io Follow Chris on Twitter: @Fortworthchris    For more information on Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.fortcapitallp.com Make contact with The FORT: thefortpodcast@gmail.com 7:02 - How did you meet your co-founder 9:24- How does someone without a tech background find a great engineer 11:00-  What did YC do for you 18:14 - what did you decide to do with your first round of investment 19:18- smart marketing with a start up 21:30- How much has OKR helped you 22:57- How do Vc encourage growth 25:11- Whats the best advice you’ve received from one of your investors 26:28- Being the CEO of a startup 31:46- Determining the best metrics 32:33- The notion that you don’t need to be in SF to start a tech company 35:06- The perfect customer for Eden 37:27- Biggest problems people face in their office 40:53- The future of Eden 44:27- Joe’s experience raising capital 46:45- What does a good VC do for a startup 50:23- Pressures in the start up world 52:00 Mentorship, learning, podcasting, social media and life balance

Chris sits down with Alex Snodgrass, Health& Wellness Blogger/Influencer with over 225k followers and founder of The Defined Dish. You can check out her content at http://www.thedefineddish.com and @thedefineddish on Instagram.  Follow Chris on Twitter: @Fortworthchris    For more information on Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.fortcapitallp.com Make contact with The FORT: thefortpodcast@gmail.com 3:00 - The start of Alex's journey as an influencer 7:12 -  The process of becoming an influencer 10:20 - Having a family as an influencer 12:00 - Planning out content  14:45 - The importance of being yourself 17:20 - Alex's relationship with her followers 19:04 - The Whole 30 Diet 21:45 - Things to avoid in food 22:53 - The future of food 24:52 - Partnering with brands 31:18 - How metrics matter in being an influencer 33:44 - Influencer agencies 37:02 - Monetizing the influencer business  38:05 - Alex meeting with her community 40:22 - How food affects the mind 42:38 - Fad diets and consistency 43:58 - Apps for influencers to use 46:20 - Setting Goals 48:22 - Mentorship 51:47 - How technology allows influencers to control their content

Chris and Jason sit down for a 2018 in review. They discuss how their business relationship has developed, the growth of Fort Capital and how their lives changed over the past year. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: @Fortworthchris   Make contact with The FORT: thefortpodcast@gmail.com For more information on Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.fortcapitallp.com 02:13 — The Fort Operating System 07:09 — What do you think is the biggest thing as an individual that you learned in 2018? 15:03 — Expansion into The River District 24:39 — How do you think about the price that can be paid for land? What are things that can add value to land? 31:15 — Why did you decide to go to Harvard? 31:57 — What has been the most beneficial part of deciding to go back and get that education? 32:43 — What We Don’t Think About 39:24 — Trends in Retail 45:00 — The Upside of Industrial 45:37 — What is the biggest change you have recognized in yourself since becoming a dad? 48:46 — If you could have a billboard for a month in Times Square that the whole world would see, what would it say? 54:25 — The Power of Decision Making 56:05 — Biggest Reflection of 2018 — Importance of a Good Business Partner

Chris sits down with Rhett Carter, Founder and CEO of Heights Investment Partners. They discuss the market, generating ideas, entrepreneurship, as well as how the world of investing and stocks work. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: @Fortworthchris   Make contact with The FORT: thefortpodcast@gmail.com For more information on Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.fortcapitallp.com 02:29 — Rhett’s Background 05:26 — How has having a mentor in your life changed you? 08:55 — What was the tipping point to start your own business? 11:03 — What was it that you felt like you could offer that you weren’t seeing in the market? 12:36 — Does getting larger push you farther away from the original thesis? 15:19 — How do you begin to think about an idea? 19:22 — How do you think about valuing tech stocks? 20:48 — Once you figure out a theme that you like, how do you learn? 23:43 — What was the experience getting to meet with Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos? 26:10 — How do you determine when something that was a good idea that is in your portfolio is no longer a good idea? 29:22 — How much time do you spend thinking about new ideas vs. ideas that you already have in your portfolio? 31:00 — How many new companies do you bring in on a given year? 31:57 — How do you think about un-learning? 35:47 — How do you think about a successful year? 38:42 — Do you think the temperament of investing can be learned? 39:44 — Was raising the initial capital difficult for you? 41:51 — Are you always raising capital? 43:05 — What is the most influential book that you have ever read? 44:53 — Do you put more emphasis on the future or the past when investing in companies? 45:40 — What trends are you seeing in the world? 49:53 — Rhett’s Thoughts on the Market 54:33 — How do you not get caught in groupthink?

Chris sits down with Naman Trivedi, CEO and founder of Wattbuy. They discuss renewable energy, the future of electricity, resilience of entrepreneurs and more. Enjoy!  Follow Chris on Twitter: @Fortworthchris  Make contact with The FORT: thefortpodcast@gmail.com For more information on Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.fortcapitallp.com 02:11 — Naman’s Background 06:24 — Has renewable energy always been something you were passionate about? 07:17 — Was your first start-up, Grid Potential, the pivot that got you into Wattbuy? 11:06 — How are you thinking about getting your product out to the masses? 14:03 — Are we going to see more de-regulation among previously regulated states? 16:15 — How do you know what the right data is? 18:25 — What constant feedback or data are you getting from your customers? 21:57 — Where are we in the story of solar? What do the next five years look like? it 26:10 — What is something super interesting that you are working on? 28:40 — For the utility companies that sign up with you, is the network effect at play? 30:18 — How does the electric company that is feeding the line into my house know whose electricity it is? 32:30 — Why would one utility provider be able to charge more than the other? 33:52 — What has been your experience in building a start-up? 37:28 — When you are hiring, do the early employees buy into the transparency and vision? 38:28 — What has your experience been raising capital? 40:30 — Would you recommend to anyone starting a start-up to go through an accelerator program? 42:21 — Was there one moment that changed the course of Wattbuy? 44:50 — What is the best book you have ever read and why? 45:27 — What is the best advice you have ever received? 46:12 — When do you take time to think? 48:16 — Is the sprint a short-term goal that needs to get done quickly? 49:18 — When you are building something new for the first time, is it difficult to communicate what you want?

Chris sits down with Bryan Perkins, CEO and President of Novaria Group which is an aerospace manufacturing company. They discuss the aerospace business, buying other businesses, life management and the power of thought. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: @Fortworthchris  Make contact with The FORT: thefortpodcast@gmail.com For more information on Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.fortcapitallp.com 02:43 — Bryan’s Background in Aerospace 05:12 — Why hadn’t the consolidation of the big companies already occurred when you became an entrepreneur? 06:34 — What is aerospace? 07:55 — What is a small business to you? 09:52 — Novaria’s Business Model 11:31 — Do you have the same playbook for every company that you buy? 12:14 — Do you ask businesses to do business with each other? 13:31 — How do you source opportunities? 15:55 — Who contacts you about buying a business? 17:00 — Does the leadership and ownership usually stay on board post-close? 18:35 — What information makes you comfortable to buy? 19:22 — How many businesses do you think you have underwritten? 20:15 — What are the most common challenges across small businesses? 24:06 — Have you asked a majority of the questions before making an agreement to buy? 25:16 — How do you get the previous owners on to the plan? 26:02 — How many businesses have you bought to date? 27:01 — What is the biggest difference between owning 4 businesses vs. 14? 28:18 — What does buying a manufacturing company mean? 30:10 — How many parts do you make across all 14 businesses? 33:45 — Do you think the manufacturing equipment of the future will be more agile? 36:20 — How would you describe what 3-D printing looks like? 37:33 — What will be the biggest surprise in aerospace to the average consumer? 39:45 — Is your business going to go after consumer drones? Is that even considered aerospace? 41:03 — What is the end game for Novaria? 42:40 — How far in advance do you know that aerospace companies are buying your parts? 44:01 — Is it possible today to start a bolt building business from scratch? 45:45 — How has being in Fort Worth played a role in your business? 47:39 — If you had to give your 21-year old advice, what would it be? 57:42 — What’s the biggest difference between 100 and 800 employees? 59:57 — What is your favorite interview question? 1:01:22 — When do you find time to think? 1:13:16 — How has being a Dad changed your view on business and life? 1:15:16 — How has your relationship with your wife affected your business? What is a tip for someone looking to do better in their marriage?

Chris and James Beshara sit down for part 2 of their conversation. James is the former Founder of Tilt.com (acquired by Airbnb) and former Airbnb exec. They discuss motivating as a leader, dealing with layoffs, negativity in the media and the importance of how you spend your time. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: @Fortworthchris Make Contact with The FORT at thefortpodcast@gmail.com For more information on Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.fortcapitallp.com 02:06 — What are some of the things that might get in the way of living a life of laughter? 08:33 — How Failure Breeds Friendship 13:23 — Story of Laughter on One of the Hardest Days 17:32 — “How to Lay Off 30% of Your Staff and Get Hugs” 35:20 — A Positive Thought About Laying-off in Tech 38:20 — How the Fundraising Process is Similar to Lay-Offs 41:11 — What are the kinds of things that the people who came back asked you? 51:14 — Journalism and Reviews on Business Leaders 57:51 — What needs to happen to get journalism back to the center and more factual? 1:09:08 — Do you agree with what Peter Thiel did to Gawker? 1:13:52 — The Length of the News 1:19:09 — Network Theory 1:24:19 — Choosing What Leads Your Conversations 1:28:14 — “Breaking” News 1:29:40 — What is a topic or area of your life that you think or talk a lot about? 1:38:39 — Spirituality and Time 1:44:00 — James’ New Year Ritual

Chris sits down with Betsy Price, Mayor of Fort Worth. They discuss all the great things happening in Fort Worth such as education and the tech scene in the city. Mayor price also talks about plans for the future of the city and how being the Mayor has changed her life. Enjoy! Follow Chris on Twitter: @Fortworthchris For more information on Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.fortcapitallp.com Make Contact with The FORT at thefortpodcast@gmail.com 01:20 — What has it been like to be the Mayor of Fort Worth? 04:04 — What is something that you wish you knew before becoming Mayor? 06:04 — How has social media changed your position? 07:18 — Have you built thicker skin with some of the negativity that come through social media? 08:02 — When did you know that you were going to run for Mayor? 09:04 — What do you think Texas is going to do about property taxes? 10:57 — What is going on across our city to make our public-school system better? 11:46 — How can citizen help Read Fort Worth? 12:58 — How impactful is the parent or guardian in the success of kids? 15:13 — How would you know if a city has a good workforce pipeline? 16:21 — What is the tech scene and start-up culture like in Fort Worth? 17:12 — How has Facebook moving into Fort Worth affected the city? 20:46 — How is the medical scene? Are we looked at as a medical dominant city? 22:02 — How has the change in mobility and transportation affected how we will grow in the future? 24:27 — Do you think the majority of the growth in Fort Worth will occur in the urban center or more spread out? 25:38 — What are our hopes and dreams for how downtown space will be filled? 27:49 — What are the great qualities of a leader? 29:03 — What is the best advice that you have ever been given? 30:30 — What does Fort Worth look like in 10 years? 34:17 — What events will be held at Dickies Arena? 35:18 — Can you give us one typical day for you?

Chris sits down with friend James Beshara, former Founder of Tilt.com (acquired by Airbnb) and former Airbnb Exec. They discuss the founding of Tilt, entrepreneurship, philosophy and friendship. Enjoy!  Follow Chris on Twitter: @Fortworthchris For more information on Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.fortcapitallp.com Make Contact with The FORT at thefortpodcast@gmail.com 01:42 — James’ Background 04:38 — How James got into His First Startup 11:32 — What happened to make this first startup end? 13:30 — What did you do when you came back to the US? 19:20 — The Goal for any Rational Human Being — A Long Life Full of Laughter 25:07 — Happiness = Expectation – Reality 27:44 — The Downside of Social Media 32:49 — How did the culture of Silicon Valley affect you and your business? 36:36 — Was there a shift where you were told to focus on a business model and not just on growth? 43:05 — Why do you think it is that Silicon Valley cheers for raising money as opposed to making Money? 48:26 — What is it like to work for another company after running your own? 50:45 — Do you think the culture at Airbnb is similar to Amazon? 53:14 — Do you think some of the fate of Tilt had to do with the market? 1:03:30 — Advice for an Inspiring Entrepreneur 1:05:28 — The Hard Times as an Entrepreneur 1:09:57 — The Art of Knowing Where to get Involved as a Leader 1:18:46 — The Importance of Genuine Friendship and How it Relates to Business 1:35:13 — James’ Last Advice for Listeners 1:36:49 — Chris and James’ Funniest Story

Chris sits down with Jason Fox, former NFL player and founder of Earbuds. They discuss the process of starting a tech company, building an app, life in the NFL and meeting Warren Buffet. Enjoy! For more information on Chris Powers and Fort Capital, visit www.fortcapitallp.com Follow Chris on Twitter: @Fortworthchris Make Contact with The FORT at thefortpodcast@gmail.com 01:51 — Jason’s Background 03:20 — What is Earbuds? When did the idea come to fruition? 09:48 — When can listeners get the app and try it for themselves? 11:23 — Moving His Tech Company out of Fort Worth 15:04 — What is your advice for someone wanting to launch a tech company in Fort Worth? 17:19 — Would you recommend having a team member build the software/app or outsourcing that to a third-party company? 22:06 — When did you think you would launch the app? When are you launching the app? 30:19 — Would you recommend the incubator route to those first entering into the tech world? 33:09 — How do you build a team? 37:12 — What is your favorite interview question? 39:13 — How hard was it to fundraise? What was your experience like? 43:39 — What did you have to offer in your second round that you didn’t have in your first round? 45:10 — Who is the right legal team for you these days? 45:56 — What does a great 2019 look like for Earbuds? 51:14 — What is your role? How do you get all of these deals? 55:22 — True or false — Starting a start-up is like jumping off a cliff and trying to build an airplane before you hit the ground? 58:36 — If you could give advice to your 21-year old self, what would it be? 1:00:55 — What is your favorite app on your phone? 1:01:59 — Is bitcoin going to make it? 1:03:30 — What is the last book that you read? 1:07:29 — If you could meet anybody who would it be?