

POWERS
Chris Powers
POWERS brings you inside the minds of world-class leaders who have built, battled, and succeeded at the highest levels.POWERS digs beyond the surface with questions driven by curiosity, uncovering stories and insights rarely shared publicly. Each episode delivers timeless wisdom and hard-earned lessons that apply across business and life.The show has earned a reputation for asking the right questions at the right moment. The focus is on timeless principles, proven through years of discipline and risk, not on shortcuts. Each conversation is direct, deliberate, and designed to leave listeners sharper than when they arrived. The aim is simple: to deliver insights that matter and can be carried into business and life.Since its launch, POWERS has drawn a high-caliber audience of builders, investors, and decision makers. Past guests have represented companies such as Starwood Capital, JLL, Hillwood Capital, Chick-fil-A, Morning Brew, Founders Podcast, Tiny Capital, Permanent Equity, Fort, Matthews REIS, Bonobos, and ConvertKit.At its core, POWERS is a celebration of leadership, of work that matters, and of the American spirit that makes it possible.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 12, 2023 • 1h 20min
#308 - Shiloe Bear - Principal @ Creek Development - RE Development Lessons, Converting Industrial to Lab Space & Bay Area Market
Explore the journey of Shiloe Bear, Founder of Creek Development, as she shares insights on outsourced development, converting industrial space to biotech labs, and the current state of the Bay Area real estate market. Discover the importance of design in development, minimum viable projects, and the value of relationships in the industry. Dive into topics such as office to residential conversion, the environment for Oakland, and the future plans of Creek Development. Also, learn about the challenges and opportunities in lab space projects and the philosophy of investing in commercial real estate.

9 snips
Sep 7, 2023 • 1h 21min
#307 - Ana Fábrega - Edupreneur & Chief Evangelist @ Synthesis - Rethinking How We Educate Our Children
Ana Fábrega, Edupreneur & Chief Evangelist @ Synthesis, discusses the current state of education, teaching children in a digital world, and how to teach children to fail. They also delve into the problem with ADHD in America and the role of educators within the school system.

Sep 5, 2023 • 1h 13min
#306 - Eric Pacifici - Partner @ SMB Law Group - Expert Insights in SMB M&A
Eric Pacifici, trusted deal lawyer with extensive M&A experience, discusses starting a social media-driven law firm, the process of closing on a business, realities of SMB searching, types of businesses and business brokers he works on, what makes a great buyer, installing a new CEO post-acquisition, management buy-outs, holdcos vs. rollups, ChatGPT's impact on the legal profession, and reps, warranties, and insurance in SMBs.

7 snips
Aug 29, 2023 • 1h 3min
#305 - Evan Baehr - Managing Partner @ Learn Capital - On A Mission to Advance Human Flourishing
Evan Baehr, Managing Partner @ Learn Capital, discusses advancing human flourishing, the role of government vs. community, building and growing communities, changing communities as they grow, and writing a bill to protect international mail-order brides. They also explore Evan's perspective on ESG investing.

Aug 24, 2023 • 1h
#304 - Joe Shelerud - Co-Founder @ Ad Advance - Creating The Perfect Digital Ads
Joe Shelerud, Co-Founder of Ad Advance, a digital advertising agency, talks about bidding for online advertising, the battle between Amazon and Facebook, dealing with algorithm changes, and selling the business to Permanent Equity.

Aug 22, 2023 • 1h 13min
#303 - Chris Hatch - Principal @ NNN Income - Born to Develop NNN Properties
Chris Hatch, a 6th generation Utahn and commercial real estate developer, discusses topics such as why Salt Lake City is a fantastic place to work and live, adopting a child from Tonga, developing sites for national retailers, what makes a great development site, and the science of the Drive-thru.

Aug 15, 2023 • 1h 13min
#302 - Don Zale - Former Chairman of Zale Corporation - A Great American Business Story That Brought Diamonds To The Masses
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.

25 snips
Aug 10, 2023 • 1h 43min
#301 - Emily Holdman - Managing Director @ Permanent Equity - How To Buy Great Businesses
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

21 snips
Aug 8, 2023 • 1h 31min
#300 - Chris & Jason Celebrate Episode 300 - Building Our Partnership, Fort Capital, Tech/AI, and the Future
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.

Aug 1, 2023 • 1h 40min
#299 - Artem Tepler - Co-Founder @ SCHON | TEPLER Partners - Developing Real Estate and Living the American Dream
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


