Episodes

Eric is a trusted deal lawyer with extensive M&A and capital markets experience. Having worked for elite law firms such as Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Eric has worked on high-stakes transactions for clients such as Amazon.com, Jerry Jones, Banc of America Securities LLC, Palantir and Greenlane Holdings. On this episode, Eric and Chris discuss: Starting the SMB Attorney Twitter account and launching the first Social Media-driven law firm A walkthrough of the process of c...

Evan Baehr is the managing partner of Learn Capital, a venture capital fund that backs and builds companies that drive human flourishing. He’s Founder of Teneo, a national leadership organization, author of the best-selling book Get Backed from Harvard Business Press, and host of the Arena, a TV show celebrating bold founders. On this episode, Evan and Chris discuss: How Evan is advancing human flourishing The roles of government vs. community in human flourishing How to build and grow communiti...

Joe Shelerud is Co-Founder and CEO of Ad Advance, a digital advertising agency and Amazon Advertising Advanced Partner. Joe’s career in business and engineering quickly pivoted into the Amazon space after he started selling on Amazon back in 2014. After scaling his own 7-figure brand, Joe and his business partner founded their agency Ad Advance in 2017. Together with his team, Joe has helped brands all over the globe scale their brands. Joe is also the host of The Ad Project podcast, a show that...

Chris is proud to be a 6th generation Utahn and a 3rd generation commercial real estate developer. His career has focused on helping people build their cash flow in commercial real estate and having fun while doing it. Chris has been involved in over 1,000 drive-thru deals throughout the mountain and desert states throughout his career. Chris joined the brokerage community in 2002. He spent tireless hours helping multiple national retailers such as Dollar Tree, Starbucks Coffee, Verizon, Wendy’s...

Growing up in Wichita Falls, Texas, Donald Zale watched his father, a Russian Jewish immigrant from an orthodox family, turn a small jewelry store into the Zale Corporation. Don worked alongside his father in the jewelry store and assumed the role of chairman of the board in 1980. In addition to being a successful businessman, Don and his wife, Barbara, became known as a philanthropist, using their wealth to help build hospitals, fund scholarships and aid the homeless. Don works chiefly on his f...

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 questi...

Chris is joined by his business partner and Fort Capital CEO Jason Baxter to celebrate the 300th episode of the Podcast. On this episode, Chris and Jason answer listener-submitted questions regarding: How to build a successful partnership How Fort Capital is navigating the real estate economy Implementing technology and artificial intelligence in a business We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing relevant content to our listeners. https://www...

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 tha...

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 Podcasting We'd appreciate you filling out our au...

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 mana...

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 mark...

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...

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...

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 owners We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on providing...

Ryan is a trust and estates attorney. He represents entrepreneurs, families, and financial institutions with a primary focus on shouldering his clients’ problems and helping them achieve their objectives. On this episode, Ryan and Chris discuss: ➡️ the 6 Basic Estate Planning Documents ➡️ how parents can set up plans for their children ➡️ succession planning for family businesses ➡️ using trusts in PE investments We'd appreciate you filling out our audience survey, so we can continuously work on...

Dupree Scovell is the managing partner and chief investment officer at Woodbine Development Corporation, a full-service real estate company that specializes in hospitality. He got his start in the hotel business at the age of 16, working as a dishwasher at Hyatt Regency Dallas. In 2011, Dupree joined Woodbine and expanded its footprint with the opening of a West Coast office in Los Angeles before returning to Dallas in 2019. Currently, he and his brother, King, work together as managing partners...

Bob is Head of the NY Private Capital Group within JLL Capital Markets in New York City. Bob was Chairman and Founding Partner of Massey Knakal Realty Services, New York’s #1 building sales firm. In 2014, Cushman & Wakefield acquired Massey Knakal. At Cushman & Wakefield, Bob served as Chairman of New York Investment Sales. He was ranked the top originating investment sales broker at Cushman & Wakefield, globally, in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Bob joined JLL in September of 2018 as Chairman – NY Inves...

Brett is the CEO and Co-Founder of New Story, an organization pioneering market-driven solutions to end global homelessness. Brett is a Y Combinator graduate, and New Story was named among Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies in the World” four times in the last five years. New Story aims to bring life-changing housing solutions to 1M people by 2030. Brett is also a Co-Founder of Hometeam Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on housing innovation. On this episode, Chris and Brett discus...

Wilkie has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Contango Oil & Gas since 2018. Prior to Contango, he was employed by Goff Capital, the family office of John C. Goff, from 2007 until August 2018. Mr. Colyer was responsible for the firms’ energy investing and has held a material role in public and private investments in sectors including financial services and real estate, among others. On this episode, Chris & Wilkie discuss: ➡️ lessons learned working for John Goff ➡️ story of buying and bec...

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/survey Scott Everett founded S2 Capital in 2012 to acquire multifamily Real Estate. In the past 11 years as CEO of S2 Capital, he has built a Real Estate investment company that has transacted on $10B of multifamily assets totaling 45,000 units and 3 operating companies that generate annual revenues in excess of $400M with over 600 employees....

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/survey Joe Pohlen is the Founder and Partner of Cardinal Senior Management, an assisted living company operating facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania. This is Joe's second appearance on The Fort, if you'd like to hear round 1, you can do so here. On this episode, Chris and Joe discuss: ➡️ Family dynamics and American culture towards how we...

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/survey Gabe is responsible for all aspects of the investment process including deal origination, due diligence, financing, investor relations, dispositions, and refinancings. Gabe works closely with the Head of Renovations on building repositioning and the Chief Operating Officer on asset management and property management. Gabe believes that...

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/survey Kelcey Lehrich is the Co-Founder and CEO of 365 Holdings. 365 Is a vertically integrated owner and operator of consumer product brands focused on eCommerce. On this episode, Chris & Kelcey discuss: ➡️ How they look at investing in niche e-commerce businesses ➡️ Why they've chosen shared services hold-co structure ➡️ The current eCommer...

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/survey Levi Benkert is a proven innovative business leader with 20 years of experience in strategic real estate-related business development. Levi founded Harbor Capital, a private equity firm focused on industrial real estate in Texas. Levi has leveraged his skills to identify unique opportunities, maximize growth, raise capital, and create ...