We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Liberty writes about business & investing, science & technology, and the arts. He allows others to leverage his curiosity by sharing the most interesting things that he finds and thinks about in his newsletter and podcast, Liberty’s Highlights. It’s a Serendipity Engine to add some exploration in your life.

On this episode, Chris & Liberty discuss:

➡️ His process for discovering the best things on the internet and writing about the to 16,000+ readers

➡️ Why he'd put 100% of his net worth into Constellation Software

➡️ The impacts of ChatGPT & AI

➡️ The value of being a creator and a discussion about Founders Podcast

Chapters:

(00:03:48) - Coming up with the Liberty RPF name

(00:05:07) - How would you describe ‘Exploration as a Service’?

(00:07:46) - What have you learned from writing 400+ Newsletters?

(00:10:40) - How do you know if you’ve done your best work?

(00:11:53) - If you had to invest 100% of your net worth in one company, which would it be?

(00:22:44) - How would you value Founders Podcast?

(00:27:57) - Is there any pattern you’ve seen that makes a company explode in growth?

(00:30:21) - The changing business model of spokespeople having equity or owning the brands they promote

(00:36:23) - Is legacy media dead?

(00:45:03 - ChatGPT vs. Authenticity

(00:50:19) - The hyper growth of AI companies

(00:56:38) - The power of the Sauna 

(01:02:08) - How can people find you online?

Additional Resources

👉 Subscribe to Liberty RPF: https://twitter.com/LibertyRPF

👉 Follow Liberty RPF on Twitter: https://www.libertyrpf.com/

➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://bit.ly/XealEnergy

➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

--

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

 We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

https://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Jake Wurzak is the Founder and CEO of DoveHill Capital Management, LLC. Jake also serves as the President of Wurzak Hotel Group. Since founding DoveHill in 2011, he has led the investment in over $1.5B of hospitality projects across the United States. Jake aims to differentiate DoveHill by focusing on distinct hospitality assets that create a sense of place and impactful experiences.

Jake holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University and earned a BBA with a concentration in finance from the University of Miami. Jake sits on the board of the Broward Center for Performing Arts and the Fort Lauderdale Art Museum. In addition, Jake is a member of the Young Presidents Organization Gateway chapter.

Jake is passionate about traveling with his family and one of his favorite destinations is Brush Creek Ranch in Wyoming. He is an avid skier and once hiked up the Highlands Bowl four times in one day!

On this episode, Chris & Jake discuss:

➡️ How he creates an exceptional hospitality experience

➡️ How they underwrite hotel investment opportunities

➡️ Partnering and learning from Barry Sternlicht

➡️ How they add value to different types of hotels

Chapters:

(00:03:47) - How do you experience hotels?

(00:06:00) - What is hospitality?

(00:09:03) - Why and how did you get into this business?

(00:10:31) - Jake’s companies

(00:12:22) - How did Covid affect Hospitality?

(00:18:48) - How has the industry changed post-pandemic?

(00:20:54) - How did you approach hotel conversions?

(00:22:28) - How do branded hotels differentiate from each other?

(00:23:58) - What does good operating look like in a branded hotel?

(00:25:50) - How are daily rates set & What are the major KPIs?

(00:33:25) - AirBnb vs. Hotels

(00:36:01) - How do you define Lifestyle?

(00:37:07) - Who are great people or companies that are creating amazing lifestyle experiences?

(00:39:48) - Are there any emerging brands that will overtake the top luxury hotels like 4 Seasons and St. Regis?

(00:41:38) - How would a hotel development come together?

(00:45:04) -What are you looking for in a hotel when you want to buy?

(00:48:07) - What’s a soft brand?

(00:49:05) - Do you need to have experience to partner with a Hilton or Marriott?

(00:50:00) - What does upgrading management look like?

(00:55:20) - What feedback do you see most often from guests?

(00:58:33) - Partnering with Barry Sternlicht

(01:04:36) - Experiences at the One in Miami

(01:08:42) - How do you approach the Food & Beverage side of your properties?

(01:10:16) - What’s the greatest hotel in the world?

(01:14:02) - How do you view hotels as an investable asset over the next 5 years?

(01:17:05) - Is there anything on the horizon that will make hotels more profitable?

Additional Resources:

👉 Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JWurzak

👉 Jake's Podcast - Masters of Moments: https://mastersofmoments.com/

👉 Dovehill Capital Management: https://www.dovehillcos.com/

➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://bit.ly/XealEnergy

➡️ Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

--

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

 We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

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Andy Dunn co-founded the menswear brand Bonobos and served as CEO until its 2017 acquisition by Walmart. As an investor, he has backed more than eighty startups, including Warby Parker, Coinbase, Away, Glossier, Real, Parade, SeatGeek, and Alula. 

In May, Dunn will release a memoir, titled Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind, which explores the intersection of entrepreneurship and mental illness. 

Dunn’s next business venture, called Pumpkin Pie, is a social media app currently in beta that aims to detoxify digital culture.

Dunn, a graduate of Northwestern and Stanford's MBA program, also serves on the boards of Monica + Andy, an organic baby apparel company founded by his sister Monica Royer, tech social good nonprofit Raised By Us, and the Network for Executive Women.

On this episode Chris & Andy discuss:

➡️ How he's dealt with bipolar disorder and why its something common in entrepreneurs

➡️ Why apparel companies succeed and why they fail

➡️ Selling to Walmart

➡️ The future of e-commerce and brick & mortar

Key Takeaways

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:03) - Andy’s experience dealing with mental illness and depression

(00:12:18) - What is it about someone with mental illness that would make them a great entrepreneur?

(00:19:19) - Elon, autism, and narcissism

(00:21:42) - Are these illnesses genetic or nurtured?

(00:24:04) - How is mental illness looked upon now vs. when you were diagnosed?

(00:28:44) - Andy’s experience working for Mark Lore (Of Walmart??)

(00:37:53) - Why did your apparel company succeed and why do so many fail?

(00:44:25) - Were people buying the Bonobos brand or a high-quality garment?

(00:49:33) - What is the world of e-commerce like in 2023 vs. when you started in ’07?

(00:56:07) - Selling Bonobos

(01:02:51) - Walmart vs. Amazon

Additional Resources

👉 Andy on Twitter

👉 Bonobos

👉 Pumpkin Pie

👉 How I Built This - Bonobos: Andy Dunn

👉 Burn Rate by Andy Dunn (Releases on May 9th)

👉 Monica + Andy

➡️ Learn more about Xeal

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

--

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

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

http://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Paul oversees the strategic direction and development of Arcadea across all areas of the firm alongside his partner, Daniel. Paul began his career as a member of the Citigroup Global Analyst program, where he gained exposure to a number of divisions before landing on the high yield and investment grade credit research desk. After Citi, Paul joined Arsenal Growth, a VC & Growth Equity firm in the US with offices in Palo Alto and Orlando. Starting as an Associate and leaving as a Principal, Paul focused on high-growth b2b enterprise software and eCommerce businesses.

Paul then joined Constellation Software (“CSI”), where he had a number of executive roles including leading the global investment team of one of CSI’s six operating groups, acting as CEO of a public sector business, and leading a group of businesses in various verticals.

On this episode, Chris and Paul discuss:

➡️  Lessons learned from working at Constellation Software

➡️  How they underwrite investment opportunities

➡️  Investing with permanent capital and a long-term horizon

➡️  How Arcadea creates value for their portfolio companies

Key Takeaways:

(2:55) - Paul’s career and background

(6:28) - How was Constellation structured? Why was it 6 operating groups?

(8:14) - What’s the benefit of carrying a light corporate office?

(10:37) - Thinking in a high-clarity manner

(13:19) - Is there anything about your family’s history or your love of classical music that played into your ultimate career in acquiring SAAS companies?

(15:15) - How did you end up building Arcadea Group?

(17:58) - Does high growth always mean early stage?

(19:53) - Have most of these businesses you acquire taken on VC?

(24:15) - What is a Vertical SaaS?

(26:35) - What can you do differently operationally in VSaas versus other Software services?

(27:56) - What is Long-termism and why are you pursuing that route?

(32:55) - Do you only offer one injection of cash or do you inject as needed?

(36:38) - Who’s making the decision of whether the business needs more capital?

(40:16) - Do companies mature to a point where they no longer fit the Arcadea model?

(42:11) - What is a quick ‘no’ for you when looking at a company?

(44:54) - What happens in the first year of an acquisition?

(50:03) - What makes an exceptional operator?

(52:32) - How do you make your CEOs think like investors?

(54:51) - What are your investors expecting from you as permanent capital?

(56:27) - What does it do for your business to have such an accomplished advisor on your board?

(59:07) - What happens when a founder or CEO abruptly exits?

(1:01:30) - Are you successful because you’ve been in the seat of the CEO and operator?

(1:03:22) - What are Kanban and Scrum?

Additional Resources

👉 Arcadea Group: https://www.arcadeagroup.com/

👉 Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pyancich/

➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://xealenergy.com/

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

--

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

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

http://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Bill D’Alessandro is the Founder and CEO of Elements Brands, one of the original holding companies for direct-to-consumer brands. He has acquired or founded more than a dozen businesses with over $100M of revenue and has realized seven exits in both DTC and SaaS. Bill is also the co-host of the Acquisitions Anonymous podcast.

On this episode Chris & Bill discuss:

➡️ Lessons learned from Element Brands and owning 6 businesses

➡️ His pivot to owning Natural Dog Company and why focus is powerful

➡️ How to decide between marketing & product innovation

➡️ Insights on the pet industry and why it's huge

Key Takeaways:

(3:13) - What was your strategy in 2016 and why have you totally flipped on it in 2023?

(4:57) - DTC is not a business model

(6:14) - Prioritizing marketing over product innovation

(10:36) - Was there ever a time when you thought this massive ad spend was unsustainable?

(12:23) - What’s happened in the past 18 months since Apple changed its advertising privacy model?

(14:33) - Putting brands on autopilot

(16:22) - When did you start to realize only one of your eight brands was worth working on?

(19:53) - How has your life changed after consolidating your focus?

(22:14) - Is there a way to make the Aggregator model work?

(25:46) - How big is the pet industry and where is its potential?

(26:59) - What are you going to do with this business now that you’re solely focused on the one instead of 8?

(30:14) - Why have you chosen to go into retail?

(33:18) - How do you get your product into 4-5k stores?

(35:55) - Is there any brand with leverage over Walmart?

(36:54) - What could make this move into retail go wrong?

(39:35) - What’s your approach to product packaging and design?

(42:45) - How did you arrive at the decision to launch 12-16 new products this year and how do you decide what they’ll be?

(46:32) - What needs to happen in order to get into Walmart and Target?

(48:59) - Would you get a higher valuation on your company if you’re in Walmart/Target and successful there?

(49:46) - What has podcasting done for you?

Additional Resources

👉 Bill on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillDA

👉 Natural Dog Company: https://naturaldog.com/

👉 Acquisitions Anonymous Podcast: https://www.acquanon.com/

👉 BillDA.com: https://billda.com/

👉 PickFU.com: https://www.pickfu.com/

➡️ Learn more about Xeal: https://xealenergy.com/

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

--

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

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

http://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Michael is CEO of Girdley Enterprises, LLC, a diversified holding company of 11 businesses. 

In this episode Chris & Michael discuss:

➡️ Becoming a creator and the business of creating

➡️ How he has built a hold-co and keeps everyone accountable

➡️ How he takes a business from idea to a running business

➡️ Why he wants to focus on BIG ideas

Key Takeaways:

(2:08) - Sudden Deafness & Insights into Girdley’s Persona

(6:52) - Why have you chosen to spend so much time building your presence online?

(10:05) - What makes for great content on Twitter?

(11:38) - How much time is spent on your threads and writing?

(17:41) - Building a media team

(23:38) - Twitter’s change under Elon

(27:44) - Girdley on changing his Twitter strategy

(29:33) - Has LinkedIn translated well for you?

(31:46) - Girdley on Remote teams

(33:10) - How are you able to stay on top of multiple different companies?

(37:27) - What do you fail at?

(38:44) - Do you teach the EOS or hire someone to implement it?

(40:53) - What do you feel like you still have to learn?

(41:43) - What does your Chief of Staff do?

(45:49) - Was there a pivotal moment when you realized where you were the strongest in your role?

(47:06) - What do you mean when you say you only want to work on “big” things?

(49:36) - What is your process from formulating an idea, to launching, to stepping back?

(56:23) - Are you still involved in VC?

(57:16) - How do you approach capital allocation in your HoldCo?

(59:41) - What happens when you’re not aligning with a CEO?

(1:01:41) - Are there best practices for incentivizing a CEO?

(1:02:40) - What is a Holding Company?

(1:06:02) - Why did you decide to create a course?

(1:10:14) - How do you approach distribution and scaling content?

(1:11:59) - How do you see the 4th quarter of your career playing out?

(1:13:33) - Why have you chosen podcasting as a medium?

Additional Resources

👉 Girdley on Twitter: https://twitter.com/girdley

👉 The Complete HoldCo Course: https://holdco.girdley.com/

👉 All of Michael's Links: https://links.girdley.com/

👉 Traction by Gino Wickman

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ CRE Daily Newsletter: https://www.credaily.com/

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

--

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

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

http://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Peter Askew runs a bootstrapped, .com domain development business (often solo). He typically sources domains from the expired aftermarket and uses their descriptive nature as inspiration for each venture.

Current projects: VidaliaOnions.com | RanchWork.com | DudeRanch.com

On this episode Chris & Peter discuss:

• Investing in domains 101 and why ".com" is king
• How to build job boards & why they're so valuable
• How to build businesses from purchased domains

Key Takeaways:

(2:05) - How did you become a failed domain investor?

(6:42) - What does “building a project” mean in your world?

(13:30) - How would a common person find these domain marketplaces?

(16:36) - How do you value Domains?

(21:47) - How did you get from buying a domain for onions to actually selling the onions?

(27:05) - Why aren’t you in a hurry to grow the business?

(28:30) - The domain industry

(31:24) - What makes an amazing domain investor?

(33:15) - Can I simply license out domain names?

(37:21) - Can people hack and steal domain names?

(39:04) - Does AI or Web3 disrupt this space?

(40:37) - What’s the most valuable domain name in the industry?

(42:14) - Do you have to have a site in order to monetize a domain?

(45:47) - How would you build a job board for an industry from scratch?

Additional Resources

👉 Peter on Twitter - https://twitter.com/searchbound

👉 Peter on how to build a niche job board

👉 Snap [NAMES] - https://www.snapnames.com/

👉 DropCatch - https://www.dropcatch.com/

👉 UDRP - https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/help/dndr/udrp-en

👉 NamesCon - https://namescon.com/

👉 NameBio - https://namebio.com/

👉 Sedo.com - https://sedo.com/us/

👉 Dan.com - https://dan.com/

👉 GoDaddy Auctions - https://auctions.godaddy.com/beta

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ CRE Daily Newsletter: https://www.credaily.com/

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

--

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

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

http://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Charlie started the John W. Rich parody account, which became the springboard for his content agency, Alpha Social. Charlie has helped dozens of clients build up their personal brands with Twitter content, amassing millions of followers for his clients and 190,000+ followers on his John W. Rich account. In June of 2022, Alpha Social was acquired by Workweek.

On this episode Chris & Charlie discuss:

• How starting a parody account on Twitter (John W. Rich) led to launching a ghostwriting agency
• How to build an online audience
• The value of twitter for building a business & brand
• How to use Twitter to launch a business

Key Takeaways:

(2:02) - Charlie on creating the John W. Rich Twitter account

(8:04) - Is there a way to monetize this account to be a full-time business?

(10:19) - How’d you select John’s profile photo?

(11:22) - How have you leveraged this account into a content agency?

(13:10) - What is a client looking for when they come to work with you?

(18:02) - What’s the cadence for a client’s content release?

(20:09) - Do you encourage your clients to basically “do whatever they want” alongside the content you’re creating for them?

(21:57) - What is the value of taking Twitter seriously?

(24:07) - How are your clients building up accounts into businesses?

(28:15) - How often should you be telling the story that you build your account on?

(30:22) - Are there any hacks you’ve learned from Twitter to make it a better experience?

(34:53) - Has Twitter gotten worse since Elon took over?

(40:21) - Why do you think users enjoy reading threads?

(44:59) - Is there any emerging trend you’re seeing that is working for Twitter engagement?

(49:38) - Do you think that people can separate the shit post from the shit poster?

(55:42) - What was the process of selling your agency to Workweek and what is your role with them now?

(57:10) - How will the creator economy evolve over the next 5 years?

Additional Resources

👉John W. Rich on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cokedupoptions

👉Charlie Light on Twitter: https://twitter.com/charliewrich

👉Alpha Social Group: https://alphasocialgroup.com/

👉Workweek: https://workweek.com/

👉Brett from Designjoy: https://twitter.com/BrettFromDJ

➡️ Learn more about Relay Human Cloud

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ CRE Daily: https://www.credaily.com/

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

--

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

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

http://www.thefortpod.com/survey

Brandon Sedloff is Managing Director and Founding SVP of Sales at Juniper Square where he focuses on business development, and strategy and serves some of the world's largest institutional investment managers. Juniper Square empowers GPs and LPs to focus on building enduring relationships and exceptional investment opportunities. Our partnership enablement solutions empower investment partners to connect and communicate seamlessly across every interaction, freeing teams from the disjointed and siloed systems, operations, and processes holding organizations back from realizing their full potential today. 

On this episode Chris & Brandon discuss:

• Chris' story and timeline of career
• Lessons learned and unique strategy at Fort Capital
• Discussion on raising capital and why Fort is considering institutional capital

Topics

(3:02) - Chris’ journey into commercial Real Estate and early career

(6:23) - Why do you think Real Estate was your calling?

(9:05) - Did your studies at TCU play into your eventual career?

(12:24) - When did Fort Capital come into existence?

(20:08) - Who’s Jason Baxter and what’s his role?

(21:47) - How did you transition out of housing development and into industrial?

(26:02) - When you got into industrial, how did you find your niche within this asset class?

(34:54) - What are the headline stats on Fort Capital today?

(37:05) - What is the process of finding a deal and the syndication model you pursue?

(45:20) - How have you become so skilled at raising capital?

(51:38) - The power of social media & Twitter

(59:43) - What do the next 5 years for FC look like?

(1:06:00) - How do you think about transitioning from building trust with non institutional capital to raising from institutional capital?

(1:09:42) - How has technology played a role in the success of Fort Capital?

(1:20:54) - What are 3 reasons investors should care about Class B Industrial in the Sun Belt?

Additional Resources

👉 Brandon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/

👉 Working Backwards by Bill Carr: https://bit.ly/3FpKQ1I

➡️ Learn more about Juniper Square

➡️ Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

➡️ CRE Daily

➡️ Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/

➡️ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris

➡️ Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

➡️ Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/

➡️ Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube

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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!

We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. Responses received by 05/11/23 will be entered in a drawing for $500 cash.

http://www.thefortpod.com/survey

In today’s episode, Chris is joined by Chad Cook, founder of Quadrant Investment Properties, a Dallas-based real estate investment company specializing in urban office opportunities. 

Before founding QIP, Chad was Vice President of Acquisitions at Hillwood Investment Properties, where from 2004 to 2012 he focused on development and acquisition opportunities in numerous markets nationally. 

In addition to helping lead the company’s acquisition team, Chad also coordinated over $1 billion in dispositions and played an integral role in the sourcing and structuring of numerous institutional joint ventures and development partnerships.

Prior to joining Hillwood, Chad was the Director of Leasing and Disposition at Emerson Partners, a Dallas-based owner, and operator of office and industrial properties. 

Today, Chad and Chris talk about their edge in developing urban office properties, how to create places where people want to be, what's happening in the capital markets, converting offices into apartments, Hudson Yards, and what happens to offices that aren't in demand.

Key Takeaways:

Intro (00:00)

Chad’s background (02:46)

What happened when Chad left Hillwood (14:40)

What Chad is doing today (19:14)

The Design District in Dallas (28:38)

On offices (37:03)

The impact of COVID-19 on the real estate market (42:48)

Considering the halo effect when planning (51:34)

Office-to-residential conversions (53:38)

The secret sauce to creating likable places (1:03:45)

On Hudson Yards (1:07:57)

Developments that inspire Chad (1:12:35)

Outro (1:15:14)

Additional Resources:

• Quadrant Investment Properties: https://quadrantinvestments.com/
• Chad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-cook-9a151a/
• Fulton Market Chicago: randolph-market-land-use-plan.html">https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dcd/supp_info/fulton-randolph-market-land-use-plan.html
• Hudson Yards New York: https://www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/

• Learn more about Relay Human Cloud: https://www.relayhumancloud.com/ 
• Learn more about Oshman Aviation: https://www.oshmanaviation.com/
• Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com
• Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/  
• Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris
• Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/
• Sign Up for our Newsletter: https://newsletter.thefortpod.com/
• Subscribe to The FORT with Chris Powers  on YouTube

—

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!