No Cap by CRE Daily

Season 4, Episode 11: Jack Stone and Alex Gornik sit down with Yaakov Zar, Founder & CEO of Lev, to unpack how a former tech entrepreneur is changing the way commercial real estate deals get done. Before launching Lev, Yaakov built and sold his first company, Dispatch, to Vista Equity Partners. Today, he’s at the center of CRE’s tech transformation—blending capital markets expertise with AI and automation to simplify how investors and developers secure financing. He shares the story behind Lev’s pivot from brokerage to software, what’s next for AI in real estate, and how data and design will define the next generation of real estate technology. TOPICS 00:00 – Introduction 03:00 – Startup Roots and Dispatch Exit 08:44 – How Mortgage Frustration Became Lev’s Origin 14:25 – Digitizing the Financing Experience 19:45 – AI and the Future of CRE Software 25:02 – How Lev Memo Is Changing Deal Execution 31:10 – Agentic AI and Workflow Automation 36:47 – Harnessing Data and Unstructured Information 41:00 – Brokers, Efficiency and Industry Adoption 45:18 – Building Great Software and Leading Through Change Shoutout to our sponsor, Lev. The AI-powered way to get real estate deals financed. For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCapCREDaily About No Cap Podcast Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate. About CRE Daily  CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.

Season 4, Episode 10: Jack Stone and Alex Gornik sit down with Winston Fisher, Partner at Fisher Brothers, one of New York’s most iconic private real estate firms with over 100 years of ownership, development, and management across the city skyline. Winston shares how he’s helping steer the fourth-generation firm into its next era. bridging tradition with technology and culture through projects like AREA15, the immersive entertainment destination in Las Vegas. He discusses innovation inside a legacy business, what it takes to keep a century-old brand relevant, and why experience is becoming real estate’s most valuable asset. TOPICS 00:00 – Introduction 02:18 – Growing Up in a Real Estate Legacy 06:47 – Lessons From Family Leadership 11:34 – Reinventing Fisher Brothers for the Future 15:29 – The Story Behind AREA15 21:02 – Real Estate Meets Experience and Culture 26:48 – Why Creativity Drives Modern Development 33:17 – Balancing Risk, Tradition, and Innovation 39:10 – The Future of New York’s Urban Core 45:26 – Leadership, Legacy, and Next-Gen Vision Shoutout to our sponsor, Lev. The AI-powered way to get real estate deals financed. For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCapCREDaily About No Cap Podcast Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate. About CRE Daily  CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.

Seth Weissman, founder of Urban Standard Capital and a former investor at Goldman Sachs and Perry Capital, shares his journey in real estate. He discusses the importance of a design-driven, relationship-first approach to lending. Seth highlights his strategy in West Chelsea before its transformation, how committed capital enables swift decision-making, and the unique advantages of private credit in today’s market. He emphasizes the blend of equity insights in loan underwriting and the culture at USC, where even Bean the office dog plays a role in fostering teamwork.

Season 4, Episode 8: Jack Stone and Alex Gornik sit down with Alicia Glen, Founder of M Squared, former Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development in NYC, and Co-Chair of the Gateway Development Commission, to unpack what it really takes to get housing and infrastructure built in America. Glen brings a rare insider view on how public and private sectors collide, the realities of financing affordable housing, and the lessons she learned managing the country’s most complex urban markets. She also shares how M Squared is reimagining capital to drive social impact while staying commercially disciplined, and what cities must do now to stay livable and competitive. TOPICS 00:00 – Introduction 02:10 – From Goldman Sachs to City Hall 06:28 – Inside NYC’s Housing Agenda and Early Lessons 10:15 – Building M Squared and Its Mission 14:47 – Politics and Production of Affordable Housing 18:59 – When Public and Private Sectors Collide 23:40 – The Gateway Project and Federal Funding Realities 28:22 – Market Constraints, Zoning Reform and Affordability 33:31 – Structuring Capital for Impact and Scale 38:26 – Lessons From City Hall and Cross-Sector Leadership 47:51 – The Next Chapter for Cities and Urban Development Shoutout to our sponsor, Lev. The AI-powered way to get real estate deals financed. For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCapCREDaily About No Cap Podcast Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate. About CRE Daily  CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.

Season 4, Episode 7: Jack Stone and Alex Gornik sit down with Sharon Wilson Géno, President of the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), the leading voice for America’s apartment industry in Washington. She explains how NMHC is tackling today’s biggest issues—affordability, regulation, and capital—while separating signal from noise on rent control, tax policy, and the GSE debate. Expect practical policy ideas cities are using now (single-stair, fast-track permitting, Florida’s “Live Local”), why Section 8 modernization matters, and what’s really driving insurance and operating costs. TOPICS 00:00 – Introduction 01:12 – Career arc and why housing policy became the mission 06:03 – What NMHC does and who it represents 08:14 – NMHC–NAA partnership and three-level advocacy (federal/state/local) 11:01 – Public perception, renters, and reframing the “American Dream” 21:04 – Tax policy: carried interest context and a doubled LIHTC 26:26 – Rent control myths and the Housing Solutions Coalition playbook 33:06 – Real solutions: zoning fixes, single-stair, permitting, Live Local 49:42 – GSE privatization chatter: constraints and market timing 55:56 – Insurance, taxes, labor and the tech/industrialized construction edge Shoutout to our sponsor, Lev. The AI-powered way to get real estate deals financed. For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCapCREDaily About No Cap Podcast Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate. About CRE Daily  CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.

Season 4, Episode 6: Jack Stone and Alex Gornik sit down with Cliff Booth, founder and chairman of Westmount Realty Capital, for a straight-talking look at four decades of success in industrial real estate. Cliff shares how he built one of the most resilient portfolios in the game and what it really takes to stay ahead when the market turns volatile. He reveals the lessons learned from navigating market cycles, rising interest rates, and fierce capital competition, all while avoiding the hype around single-tenant Amazon assets. Expect insider insights on cold storage, flexible industrial, and how relationships still matter in a crowded landscape. TOPICS 0:00 Introduction 4:15 From antiques in Montreal to Dallas industrial real estate 9:45 Building Westmount before e-commerce 15:30 Avoiding Amazon single-tenant hype 22:10 Market cycles and rising rates 28:55 Cold storage and infill industrial 33:40 Capital flood and competition 38:15 Relationships and integrity in deals 43:00 Industrial market outlook and leadership Shoutout to our sponsor, Lev. The AI-powered way to get real estate deals financed. For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCapCREDaily About No Cap Podcast Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate. About CRE Daily  CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.

Today we’re featuring our friends at LoopNet’s In The Loop, a podcast spotlighting the people, ideas, and innovations shaping the future of work. Check them out wherever you listen to podcasts. ----more---- How can workplaces endure ecologically, financially, and socially? In this episode of In the Loop, Jordan Goldstein, co-CEO of Gensler, explores the future of sustainable and resilient office design. From global design trends and innovative materials to the role of AI in commercial real estate, Jordan shares how the industry is rethinking sustainability. You’ll learn why repositioning existing buildings matters, how policy and incentives drive real change, and what it takes to create workplaces built for tomorrow. In the Loop is LoopNet’s commercial real estate podcast highlighting the people, ideas, and innovations shaping the future of work. For bonus video content, check out their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@loopnet Follow their podcast where you listen: https://lnk.to/intheloop View spaces designed by Gensler: https://bit.ly/3JdT7dY

Season 4, Episode 5: Jack Stone and Alex Gornik sit down with Ben Miller, CEO and Co-Founder of Fundrise, to reveal how technology is transforming commercial real estate investing and changing how retail investors access private markets. Ben shares the story behind Fundrise’s rise to over $7 billion in real estate assets, why commercial real estate investing is all about macro trends now, and what drives the build-to-rent housing wave. He breaks down the latest on private credit, multifamily, and AI in real estate investment management. Plus, find out how Fundrise’s digital platform is making real estate crowdfunding accessible to millions. TOPICS 00:00 Meet Ben Miller 04:45 How Fundrise democratized real estate investing 12:30 Macro trends driving commercial real estate returns 19:55 Build-to-rent strategies and platform innovation 26:40 Private credit and multifamily market shifts 34:10 Securitization and institutional investor trends 41:45 AI’s impact on CRE investment and management 49:10 Fundrise’s outlook for private markets in 2025 Shoutout to our sponsor, Lev. The AI-powered way to get real estate deals financed. For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCapCREDaily About No Cap Podcast Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate. About CRE Daily  CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.

Season 4, Episode 4: Jack Stone and Alex Gornik sit down with Brian Pieracci, Head of North American Private Real Estate Equity at Heitman, to examine why alternatives are reshaping commercial real estate portfolios and outperforming traditional core assets. Brian shares how Heitman pioneered allocations towards self-storage, medical offices, senior housing, and single-family rentals. He breaks down what drives demand in these sectors, the challenge facing office real estate, and how institutional investors are changing their strategies in response. Brian also explains Heitman’s global approach to alternative assets and the importance of diversification in today’s market. TOPICS 00:00 Meet Brian Pieracci 05:15 Early bets on alternatives 13:00 Office real estate vs alternatives 21:40 Self-storage and senior housing 29:30 Strategies for global expansion into alternative sectors 37:00 Balancing core, value-add, and alternative assets 44:30 What institutional investors demand from alternative investments 52:10 The future of CRE beyond the office Shoutout to our sponsor, Lev. The AI-powered way to get real estate deals financed. For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCapCREDaily About No Cap Podcast Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate. About CRE Daily  CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.

Season 4, Episode 3: Jack Stone and Alex Gornik sit down with Kevin Heras, CEO of InvestNext, to explore how a Detroit-built platform is reshaping how real estate firms raise and manage capital. Kevin shares his path from Spain to Michigan Tech to the early Handshake days, then explains the first InvestNext prototype and why standardizing subscriptions, funding, and reporting matters for both GPs and LPs. He breaks down sponsor best practices, the case for partnerships over vertical integration, and where proptech is heading as data and building connectivity unlock better decisions. He also previews what’s next at InvestNext and how potential accreditation changes could expand access to private real estate. TOPICS 0:09 – From Spain to Detroit and Early Influences 3:06 – Handshake Lessons and Startup Bug 5:57 – Corporate Consulting to Entrepreneurship 9:21 – What InvestNext Is and Who It Serves 11:02 – Standardizing Subscriptions, Funding, Reporting 12:01 – One Portal for LPs Across Sponsors 17:32 – What Makes a Good Sponsor vs a Bad Sponsor 21:02 – Partnerships Over Vertical Integration 29:37 – Proptech Outlook and Market Discipline 35:24 – What’s Next for InvestNext and Access to Capital Shoutout to our sponsor, Lev. The AI-powered way to get real estate deals financed. For more episodes of No Cap by CRE Daily visit https://www.credaily.com/podcast/ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCapCREDaily About No Cap Podcast Commercial real estate is a $20 trillion industry and a force that shapes America’s economic fabric and culture. No Cap by CRE Daily is the commercial real estate podcast that gives you an unfiltered ”No Cap” look into the industry’s biggest trends and the money game behind them. Each week co-hosts Jack Stone and Alex Gornik break down the latest headlines with some of the most influential and entertaining figures in commercial real estate. About CRE Daily  CRE Daily is a digital media company covering the business of commercial real estate. Our mission is to empower professionals with the knowledge they need to make smarter decisions and do more business. We do this through our flagship newsletter (CRE Daily) which is read by 65,000+ investors, developers, brokers, and business leaders across the country. Our smart brevity format combined with need-to-know trends has made us one of the fastest growing media brands in commercial real estate.