349 episodes
The Fort - An Entrepreneurship Podcast Chris Powers
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- Business
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4.9 • 12 Ratings
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The Fort is an entrepreneurship podcast.
Here, we uncover the proven strategies, insights, and inspiring stories of today’s greatest leaders in the worlds of business, real estate, entrepreneurship, and investing. Each episode’s mission is to help you to level up your entrepreneurial game by hearing directly from the men and women in the arena. Chris is able to uniquely uncover things not commonly discussed because he is an entrepreneur himself. We not only cover business, but we also cover the personal side of entrepreneurship.
The Fort began in 2018 as a way for Chris to publicly explore the fascinating world of entrepreneurship. Since he was a child, he’s been characterized as obsessively curious about the world around him.
The Fort has now been downloaded over 2M times, across more than 50,000 unique listeners.
Each week features conversations with entrepreneurs, Founders, CEOs, and Executives from some of the leading companies in America. Past guests have represented companies such as JLL, Hillwood, S2 Capital, Chick Fil A, Morning Brew, Founders Podcast, Tiny Capital, Permanent Equity, Fort Capital, Matthews REIS, Bonobos, and ConvertKit.
🐦 Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FortWorthChris
💡 Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/
📹 Subscribe to The FORT on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FORTpod
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#349 - Mark Hart - CEO/CIO Corriente Advisors - How He Predicted The ‘08 Housing Market Crash (And Won BIG)
Mark Hart is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Corriente Advisors and an active investor in private technology companies.
Throughout his career, Mark has developed a unique process and reputation for identifying potentially powerful macro and investment trends and opportunities ahead of consensus. Mark’s contributions and concepts have been widely showcased across various popular media platforms, earning him invitations to speak at prestigious gatherings of investment professionals in the Western world.
We discuss:
- Learnings from Richard Rainwater
- Betting against the housing market in 2008
- How Mark developed his macro thesis
- Thoughts on China, inflation, bitcoin and AI
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
Links
Mark on X
Corriente Advisors
Topics
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:54) - Mark’s career
(00:10:49) - How do you think about research?
(00:15:44) - Betting against the housing market in ’08 (X)
(00:23:52) - The China trade
(00:25:19) - The European sovereign debt crisis
(00:29:00) - How do you research a global trade?
(00:31:52) - Mark on rebuilding his approach to life
(00:37:44) - Thoughts on China in 2024
(00:46:55) - Inflation
(00:53:12) - Bitcoin
(01:00:52) - AI
(01:04:56) - Cannabis
Support our Sponsors:
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Relay Human Cloud: https://bit.ly/3sjQcaY
Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital
Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/
Chris on Social Media:
X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd
Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys
Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0
Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO
The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts -
#348 - Omar Morales - Investment Sales @ Berkadia - Meet The 30-Year-Old Who’s Sold $3.3B Of Miami Real Estate
Omar Morales is an investment sales broker at Berkadia that sells land & multifamily properties across South Florida. He has sold over $3.3 billion worth of real estate ranging from $130M land deals to $355M multifamily properties, even though his average deal size is roughly $50M.
In this episode, Chris and Omar discuss:
- The state of the Miami RE market
- Building a world-class network
- The importance of building an online brand
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
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:34) - The Morales family coming to America
(00:10:49) - What’s the state of the Miami RE market?
(00:13:52) - Miami sub-market analysis: Brickell
(00:19:05) - How have you built a world-class network?
(00:28:11) - Blackstone
(00:30:40) - How hard is it to enter the Miami market?
(00:35:16) - Are there noticeable differences between domestic and foreign buyers?
(00:36:31) - What’s your activity been like this year?
(00:43:31) - How are people dealing with insurance in your market?
(00:46:25) - The Condo crisis
(00:55:59) - What are the things that get you to a quick ‘no’?
(00:59:01) - Where would invest $20m in Miami and where would you invest $200m?
(01:00:52) - Miami sub-market analysis: The Wynwood market & Design District
(01:03:48) - What characteristics do your smartest clients have that separate them from the rest?
(01:06:54) - What has building a brand online done for you?
Omar Morales:
Follow Omar on X
Omar on LinkedIn
Berkadia
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RE Cost Seg: https://bit.ly/3oC7JcY
Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/
Chris on Social Media:
X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd
Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys
Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0
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The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts -
#347 - Elaine Agather - Chairman of DFW Region @ JP Morgan Chase - How A Texas Cowgirl Became The Chairman Of JPMorgan Chase (DFW)
Elaine Agather is Chairman of the Dallas Region for JPMorgan Chase & Co. She also serves as the Central Region Head and Managing Director of The Private Bank at J.P. Morgan.
Elaine joined Chemical Bank of New York in 1979, working in London, San Francisco, and New York until she relocated to Dallas in 1984. After the 1986 merger of Chemical Bank and Texas Commerce Bank, Elaine was promoted to Chairman of Texas Commerce Bank in Fort Worth in 1992 and joined the Private Bank to manage client advisory groups across the state in 1997. In 1999, she was elected Chairman and CEO of Dallas.
On this episode, Elaine and Chris discuss:
- Working with Jamie Dimon
- Wealth Management 101
- Bank runs, cyber threats, AI, and the state of Banking
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
Topics
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:43) - Elaine’s early career in banking
(00:15:40) - Taking over an underperforming bank
(00:18:46) - Elaine’s rodeo career
(00:28:11) - Working with Jamie Dimon
(00:31:17) - Wealth Management
(00:34:08) - How to transition wealth well
(00:39:07) - The process of bringing in a generationally wealthy client
(00:42:19) - The SVB & First Republic bank runs
(00:45:04) - How to find an exceptional wealth manager
(00:46:11) - Cyber threats, crypto & AI
(00:48:40) - The state of banking
(00:51:36) - DFW
(00:55:03) - How do you know you’ve done a good job?
(00:58:29) - Elaine’s 8: Get over it
Support our Sponsors
Juniper Square: https://bit.ly/45yiYUqFort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital
Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/
Chris on Social Media:
X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd
Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys
Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0
Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO
The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts -
#346 - David Perell - How Writing On The Internet Can Change Your Life
David Perell is a writer, teacher, and podcaster. He believes writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. David seeks to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.
More than 1,500 people from more than 70 countries have participated in David’s Write of Passage programs. The five-week bootcamp draws on David’s experience writing online, building an audience, and his interviews with dozens of great writers on his How I Write Podcast.
On this episode, Chris and David discuss:
David's upbringing and influences
David's writing and creative processes
How the Internet has changed the goals of writers
The Jetski Theory, the Never Ending "Now" Theory, and other great takes explained
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
Links:
David on X
How I Write Podcast - YouTube, Apple, Spotify
Write of Passage
David's website
The 11 laws of show running
What the hell is going on? By David Perell - https://perell.com/essay/what-the-hell-is-going-on/
Topics
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:02:32) - David’s upbringing
(00:07:43) - The influence of Walt Disney
(00:10:48) - The loss of soul and creativity
(00:15:18) - David’s creative process
(00:17:54) - How David writes
(00:25:50) - Why should other people start writing?
(00:29:14) - Writing in text vs. Google Docs
(00:31:15) - How have people benefitted from your writing program?
(00:33:10) - Storytime
(00:38:17) - Great writers on Twitter
(00:42:38) - How has the internet changed the goals for writers?
(00:42:28) - Setting out to prove or disprove the story of Jesus
(00:51:51) - The Internal Struggle of American Idolatry
(01:01:24) - David explains various takes
(01:22:33) - How will AI impact the world?
(01:24:35) - The shiny dime theory
Support our Sponsors
Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital
Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/
Chris on Social Media:
X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd
Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys
Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0
Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO
The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts -
#345 - Chuck Anderson - Co-Founder @ Bandera Ventures
Charles Anderson founded Bandera Ventures with Pryor Blackwell and Thomas Leiser in May 2003. The Partners have over 140 years’ of experience in commercial real estate development, encompassing more than 62 million square feet of development and acquisitions throughout the United States and Canada. Bandera’s real estate development expertise includes office, industrial, retail, medical, data centers, and build-to-suit projects.
We discuss:
How Trammell Crow was able to produce so many successful RE operators
Building Bandera Ventures
Why DFW is the best real estate market in America
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
Links
Bandera Ventures
Trammell Crow Company
Topics
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:03:06) - Chuck’s background
(00:07:39) - Experiences working at Trammell Crow
(00:10:39) - Thoughts on the current market
(00:15:20) - How Trammell Crow was able to have so many All-stars under one roof
(00:17:58) - Chuck’s role at Trammell Crow
(00:19:57) - Ideating Bandera
(00:22:35) - Battling cancer & the power of Bible study
(00:32:32) - Advice for young folks
(00:34:58) - Inside Bandera
(00:40:50) - Data centers
(00:47:08) - Bandera’s org structure
(00:50:13) - Recourse Debt
(00:52:54) - What would it take for you to do an office deal?
(00:53:59) - TI
(00:57:22) - Super luxury markets
(01:00:27) - Capitalizing deals
(01:05:42) - Development
(01:07:08) - Why DFW is the best market in the country
(01:15:43) - Permitting and Zoning
(01:18:50) - Market predictions
Support our Sponsors
Better Pitch: https://bit.ly/42d9L0I
Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital
Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/
Chris on Social Media:
X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd
Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys
Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0
Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO
The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts -
#344 - Rusty Reid - CEO @ Higginbotham - Building An Insurance Business That Has Compounded 20% YoY for 35+ years
Rusty Reid was named president and CEO of Higginbotham in 1989 at the age of 27. At that time, he implemented the firm’s defining “single source” service model whereby customers can obtain all their insurance and financial services under one roof. He also had the foresight to establish Higginbotham’s employee ownership structure, aligning all employees’ interests in the success of the firm. Under Rusty’s leadership, Higginbotham has grown to become the nation’s 21st-largest independent insurance brokerage firm and Texas’s largest—one with full property/casualty, financial, and HR service capabilities through offices coast to coast.
We discuss:
How to recruit well and build a culture
Successfully integrating acquired companies
Philosophy of generosity
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
Links
Higginbotham
Topics
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:01:56) - Infectious energy
(00:04:38) - Rusty’s early life and career
(00:22:34) - Company growth strategies
(00:31:30) - How to recruit well
(00:37:35) - Building culture
(00:42:15) - Rusty on ‘buying themselves’
(00:56:18) - Going on offense and acquiring companies
(01:01:27) - The value in staying busy
(01:05:52) - How to value an insurance business
(01:11:16) - How do you integrate an acquisition?
(01:17:10) - StonePoint partnership
(01:20:45) - Thoughts on AI
(01:26:51) - Philosophy on generosity
Support our Sponsors
Fort Capital: https://bit.ly/FortCapital
Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/
Chris on Social Media:
X: https://bit.ly/3BYIjcH
LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/45gIkFd
Watch The Fort on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3oynxNX
Visit our website: https://bit.ly/43SOvys
Leave a review on Apple: https://bit.ly/45crFD0
Leave a review on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3Krl9jO
The FORT is produced by Johnny Podcasts
Customer Reviews
Start with Ep 81
There is no shortage of CRE investing podcasts. Most are surface level at best. Chris is one of the few insiders who shares what really goes in large scale industrial and commercial transactions.
Listen to Ep 81- underwriting and investor memos. It will show you how generous Chris is with his proprietary Intel
- Shane
Top notch
I came across Chris on Twitter. Immediately he became one of my favourite follows. The podcast is no different. Great interviews across a variety of CRE and business topics.
Notifications on for this one
This is the only podcast where I have the notifications on, and the only podcast I’ve reviewed to date.
Here’s why:
1. Chris is an excellent interviewer and focuses on his guests rather than himself - and he has a fantastic, humble perspective.
2. His guests are “accessible achievers” in that they got to an accessible level of success by taking actions that are accessible to all of us - so, it will be people you may not have heard of, but that’s a good thing because how much do we really have to learn from Elon Musk’s playbook?
3. His guests cover a nice array of topics without being all over the place - he’s focused on investing, SMB and real estate while periodically touching on other hot topics.
4. Finally, he comes at his interviews from a grass roots rather than highbrow perspective. This means you’ll get a look at the playbook his guests used to achieve accessible success.
If it isn’t obvious, I highly recommend.
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