Former Chairman of Zale Corporation, Don Zale, shares the founding story of Zales, the diamond industry, managing shareholders within the family and externally, Zale's hostile takeover, and life lessons for listeners.

Emily Holdman is Managing Director of Permanent Equity - a firm using 30-year funds to invest with no intention of selling in small and medium-sized private businesses. In her role, Emily is principally responsible for leading the firm's origination and investment process, and its marketing.On this episode, Chris and Emily discuss: How to know when a seller is ready, and when to move forward on a business Underwriting businesses Buying an Amusement Park Ride Manufacturer How to ask great questions when entering an unfamiliar industry We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/surveyLinksPermanent EquityEmily on TwitterTopics(00:02:34) Emily’s background and career(00:06:47) Acquiring MediaCross and growing the business(00:13:00) Moving into Acquisitions at 23 years old(00:18:06) Going three years without acquiring (00:24:10) How to know when a seller is ready(00:31:50) Emily’s role at PE(00:33:25) When do you know it’s time to move forward with a seller?(00:38:40) How many businesses do you see before moving on one?(00:45:21) Why does everyone disagree over working capital?(00:47:23) How to underwrite a business in Alaska(00:56:21) Why PE loves Texas & Enthusiast Businesses(01:02:02) Buying an Amusement Park Ride Manufacturer(01:07:04) What are some questions you ask early on to become familiar with an industry?(01:12:32) How do you know if a seller is giving good answers if you’re unfamiliar with an industry?(01:16:52) Transaction tensions(01:23:46) Why the Twitter sentiment on self-reliance is annoying(01:32:02) Women in Investing(01:39:23) Advice for girlsSupport our SponsorsFort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapitalFollow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/Chris on Social Media:Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcHLinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNXVisit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvysLeave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

In this episode, Chris and Jason celebrate their 300th episode and answer listener-submitted questions about building a successful partnership, navigating the real estate economy, implementing technology and AI in business. They reflect on their podcast journey and discuss the benefits of communication, trust, and open-mindedness in a partnership. They also explore the ownership structure of Fort Capital, handling doubts and making pivotal decisions, building a world-class operating company, and expanding into new property types.

Born in Siberia, Artem immigrated to the United States at the age of nine. In 2009 he formed SCHON | TEPLER Partners to capitalize on the unprecedented opportunities in distressed residential real estate during the GFC and has evolved into a full-service, vertically integrated, multi-family real estate development firm. Since his first purchase of a single-family house as an investment for $300k at the age of 23, Artem has been involved as a principal in the development/redevelopment of more than $400m of real estate.On this episode, Chris and Artem discuss:➡️ life in Siberia under Communism➡️ immigrating to the United States➡️ the thread between Jiu Jitsu and Career success➡️ a walkthrough of putting together a Los Angeles Multifamily projectWe'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/surveyAdditional Resources👉Artem on Twitter👉Schon Tepler PartnersTimestamps(00:04:02) Discovering Zyn(00:05:41) Life in Siberia under Communism(00:13:14) Immigrating to America(00:19:14) Thoughts on Russia/Ukraine(00:27:21) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu(00:32:58) Artem’s early RE career(00:48:56) Buying a home from a murderer(00:51:10) Artem’s business today(00:54:10) Self-performing construction vs. outsourcing(01:03:54) Measuring success in construction(01:14:19) How an LA project comes together(01:25:10) Covid’s Impact on Multifamily(01:31:26) Affordable housing(01:34:00) Thoughts on the near-term marketLinks➡️ Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX--The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Chris Hutchins is the host of the award-winning All the Hacks podcast, where he helps listeners upgrade their life, money and travel. Previously, he was the founder/CEO of Grove (acquired by Wealthfront), an investor at Google Ventures, and a co-founder of Milk (acquired by Google).On this episode, Chris & Chris Hutchins discuss:➡️ Chris' filter for finding hacks in life➡️ the business of credit card points➡️ travel hacking➡️ the business of PodcastingWe'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/surveyAdditional Resources👉 All the Hacks👉 Chris' Website👉 Chris on Twitter👉 How Airlines Quietly Became Banks👉 AllTheHacks.com/CardValue👉 AllTheHacks.com/TP👉Point.me👉Roame.travel👉Seats.aero👉Oceansxyz.com👉 The 2-Hour Cocktail Party by Nick GrayTimestamps(00:03:03) Chris’s career (00:07:57) Is it fair to say almost everything is hackable?(00:08:55) What filter do you apply to find a hack?(00:20:22) The business of credit card points(00:33:32) Choosing the right credit card and travel hacking(00:52:31) Business hacks for entrepreneurs(00:57:38) The Business of Podcasting➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX--The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Mark Brooks is Chief Operating Officer and Co-President of Permanent Equity - a firm that invests with no intention of selling in small and medium-sized private businesses. In his role, Mark and his team are responsible for the operations of PE's 13 (and counting) portfolio companies spanning multiple industries including aerospace, construction, manufacturing, ad tech, and professional services.On this episode, Mark & Chris discuss:➡️ what makes a great and a terrible manager➡️ how Mark manages owners of acquired businesses➡️ how to create alignment and incentives➡️ why Management is not a TradeWe'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/surveyAdditional Resources👉 Permanent Equity👉Mark on Twitter👉The Permanent Equity PodcastTimestamps(00:03:05) Mark’s career at AOL and The Motley Fool(00:08:21) What is a good manager and what is a bad manager?(00:11:29) What does your role look like at PE?(00:17:37) What’s the cadence of communications with the businesses under PE?(00:23:14) Are there cues in conversations with owners of a potential acquisition that put a deal in question?(00:25:07) Do any of the businesses you buy already have a board in place?(00:27:03) How do you handle owners who may not be as open to being managed?(00:31:22) How do you incentivize owners differently than other Private equity shops?(00:39:22) The 'Working with Mark' document(00:43:41) Management is not a trade(00:48:53) Do you agree that people leave managers, not companies?(00:51:23) What’s the difference between a Manager and a Principal?(00:56:03) What do you use in addition to personality tests to identify talent?(01:01:11) How do you play out a scenario when you have two equals in a business and need to have one move up to manage the other?(01:07:23) How do you know you’ve struck a balance between being too flat and being too management-heavy?(01:12:17) How do you create alignment and incentives for teams that may not necessarily be impacting the bottom line?(01:22:39) Why are incentives so much easier to understand in hindsight?(01:27:34) What should the communication cadence between managers and teams look like?(01:30:39) True Management is an inversion➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX--The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Sean Burton is CEO of Cityview, a vertically integrated real estate investment management and development firm that specializes in developing, acquiring and operating opportunistic and value-add multifamily projects in gateway markets across the Western U.S. Cityview has invested in more than 130 projects and was named the decade’s largest multifamily developer in LA by Los Angeles Business Journal.On this episode, Sean and Chris discuss:➡️ land entitling➡️ an overview of the Los Angeles market➡️ what makes a great multifamily developer and operatorWe'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/surveyAdditional Resources👉Cityview👉Sean on LinkedInTimestamps(00:03:57) Sean's journey into Real estate(00:05:11) Learnings from working in the White House(00:07:26) An Overview of Cityview(00:10:25) What matters to you when considering a market or an asset to acquire?(00:12:02) Are you finding sites that are already entitled or do you need to entitle before closing?(00:14:48) Is it taking longer to entitle land these days?(00:16:05) The desire to build more housing in LA, the homeless crisis, and an overview of the LA market(00:21:38) Where in LA are you looking for sites?(00:22:51) Do you see any similarities between today’s market and the GFC?(00:25:11) Have building costs stabilized?(00:26:56) What would it take for a development deal to make sense right now?(00:31:22) What makes a good tour when showing equity a project?(00:32:47) Is Office to Residential even realistic?(00:35:06) What makes a great MF developer and operator?(00:36:51) Is there any from an amenities standpoint that you’re focusing on?(00:39:21) Is there any technology you’re implementing?(00:41:55) How are you positioning yourself for the next few years?(00:45:47) How do you capitalize deals?(00:48:15) Thoughts on the First Republic Bank takeover ➡️ RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX--The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Jim O'Shaughnessy serves as Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of Stability.ai. He is the Founder and CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures, LLC (OSV). O'Shaughnessy Ventures focuses on his deeply rooted interest in art, science, investing, and tech, marrying them with his long-held desire to establish positive sum scenarios through partnerships and investments. OSV focuses on 4 specific areas: Infinite Adventures (venture capital), Infinite Films, Infinite Media, and the O'Shaughnessy Fellowship program.Prior to OSV, Jim was the Founder of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC (OSAM), an asset management firm that Franklin Templeton acquired in 2022.Jim is the author of four books on investing, was awarded several U.S. Patents on investment strategies and investment technologies, and was called a "Legendary investor" by Forbes.com.On this episode, Chris & Jim discuss:➡️ the cumulative cultural evolution➡️ quant investing➡️ the difference between probabilities and possibilities➡️ how Jim is navigating O'Shaughnessy VenturesWe'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/surveyAdditional Resources👉 Jim on Twitter👉O'Shaughnessy Ventures👉Stability.ai👉Jim's Books👉The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich👉 The Flynn Effect👉Wait but Why by Tim Urban👉The True Believer by Erif Hoffer👉 The Internet Contrarian by Jim O'Shaughnessy👉A Generational Buying Opportunity by Jim O'Shaughnessy👉Claude Shannon's information theoryTimestamps(00:02:17) Jim’s grandfather(00:04:15) “You can always understand the son by the story of his father.”(00:14:00) Cumulative Cultural Evolution(00:26:16) What is Quant Investing?(00:36:54) How does a Quant investor know they have their algorithm right?(00:45:29) How does our emotional predisposition affect our investing approach?(00:50:43) The huge difference between probabilities and possibilities(00:54:43) How TV news devolved into propaganda(01:01:48) How America is distinguished from other countries(01:07:28) The Great Reshuffle(01:22:00) What’s something you’ve done at OSV you wouldn’t have been able to do with LPs?(01:23:13) Why did you invest in Stability AI?(01:28:35) What does success look like for OSV?➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX--The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Sahil Bloom is an inspirational writer and content creator, captivating millions of people every week through his social insights and bi-weekly newsletter, The Curiosity Chronicle.Sahil is also a successful entrepreneur and owner of SRB Holdings, a personal holding company currently comprised of seven cash-flowing businesses, and the Managing Partner of SRB Ventures, a $10 million venture investment firm committed to investing in and accelerating the most compelling startups in the world. Prior to launching SRB Ventures in January 2022, Sahil was an early-stage investor in 40+ startups across the technology landscape, including multiple unicorns.On this episode, Chris & Sahil discuss:➡️ Sahil’s upbringing and core influences➡️ building an audience & spinning up online businesses➡️ where he’s reinvesting money➡️ His forthcoming bookWe'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/surveyAdditional Resources👉 Sahil on Twitter, Instagram & LinkedIn👉 The Curiosity Chronicle - Sahil's Newsletter👉 Sahil's website➡️ Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNXTimestamps(00:05:12) Sahil’s life in New York(00:07:45) Sahil’s upbringing and core influences(00:20:19) The day Sahil decided to start writing online(00:25:10) How do you explain what you do?(00:28:09) Finding a network on Twitter(00:30:53) Making the decision to not engage in Twitter BS(00:35:17) Realizing this could become a business(00:41:37) Making big decisions requires speed(00:43:50) Spending time simply to think(00:47:13) Sahil’s vision for a future ecosystem(00:54:50) How Sahil spins up new businesses(00:56:33) How would you describe your flywheel?(01:01:53) Writing a book(01:08:12) The power of LinkedIn(01:10:35) How are you reinvesting the money you’re making?(01:17:01) Plans for the future(01:21:06) Is there an infinite amount of things to talk about in your brand?--The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts

Chris is joined by Fort Capital CEO Jason Baxter and Executive Vice President Steve Bailey to discuss how the company has executed on its mission to establish a world-class Property Management arm of the organization.On this episode, they discuss:➡️ how and why FC got into property management➡️ cost savings & economies of scale➡️ how the team utilizes data➡️ incentivizing folks to think like ownersWe'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www.thefortpod.com/surveyAdditional Resources👉 Fort Capital👉 Jason on LinkedIn👉 Steve on LinkedIn➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUq➡️ Check out Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/➡️ Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNXTimestamps(00:04:52) How and why Fort Capital got into Property management(00:10:06) The relationship between FCP and Fort Capital(00:10:57) Fort’s philosophy around tenant retention and tenant relationships(00:13:54) The emphasis on face-to-face interaction(00:15:51) How PM prepares to take over an asset(00:20:20) Operation Paperless(00:25:53) Cost Savings & Economies of Scale(00:30:51) Converting Gross Leases to NNN(00:32:45) Tenant Improvements and appeasing tenants vs. falling back on the lease agreement(00:35:29) Bringing maintenance technicians in-house(00:37:20) Intangible benefit of having in-house PM(00:40:29) The PM team’s role in underwriting new opportunities(00:45:09) Adjusting leasing rates(00:47:46) The Lease Admin team(00:51:34) The reason to bring leasing in-house(00:56:58) How leasing is looking at the data coming in (00:59:26) Holding 3rd party leasing teams accountable(01:03:19) What to look for when hiring a great PM(01:06:40) Using technology in PM(01:15:32) Re-forecasting(01:19:03) Why a company with an in-house PM team would still take on 3rd-party(01:21:40) Effectively communicating with 3rd parties(01:27:50) The process of onboarding a new 3rd party partner(01:32:10) Why won’t a lot of 3rd parties manage industrial properties?(01:35:57) How to incentivize people to think like owners--The FORT Podcast with Chris Powers is a place where you can find meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, real estate, investing, and more.Be sure to follow the podcast, so you never miss an episode!The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts